Kansas Atmospheres

I often apply the old "if a bear takes a dump in the woods" adage to storms.  If a storm gets tornado-warned, and it's out in the boonies away from phone cameras, does it produce a picturesque twister? If it's at night, the answer is, "who's to say?" South-central Kansas saw a rare mid-December supercell thunderstorm on Monday, Dec. 12. Conditions set up for cells to intensify in the southwest and south-central portions of the state, near my first stomping grounds in Comanche County. That part of Kansas is what I consider to be the quintessential landscape of the state. Rolling hills, creeks that swell with spring rains, century-old shelterbelts guarding farmhouses that've weathered all kinds of weather -- it's all found in the Red Hills region. I spent my elementary school-aged years (up to 6th grade) living in rural Comanche County, in a great old house, watching storms come and go over our valley. I went to school in Protection, which is on th...

Howdy folks! It's a mild December so far, which has me in a "ready for spring" mood. What do you keep in your car for just-in-cases? There's a few items I would recommend people stash in their vehicles to be prepared for longer-distance trips. Some of the obvious things are a spare tire, tire iron and car jack, along with a good flashlight and a multitool with pliers and a knife blade. I also keep a couple of spare 2-liter bottles of water on hand. If you're traveling in winter weather, a couple of old blankets and a bag of kitty litter or sand are good to have, in case of traction issues or getting stuck in a snow drift.  Mira's old Honda Civic Hybrid, the "Storm Stalker," from our central KS chase on April 14, 2012. I'm a fan of economical chase vehicles. For storm chasing, the car quickly fills up with gear. My chase partner Mira's little Honda Fit is surprisingly roomy inside, but we plan accordingly and pack light for maximized space. Ty...

Happy December folks!  I was chatting with my fellow weather nerd and chase partner Mira the other day about what to write for my next Atmospheres column, and had settled on an appreciation post about the hardest-working meteorologist in Alabama (and probably the country), James Spann, but I've had a different idea for now. Mr. "Respect the Polygon" Spann can wait. I recently attended Manhattan's Festival of Lights celebration and had a great time among all the holiday revelers. Kids lost their collective minds when Santa showed up to "flip the switch" on thousands of lights strung around Blue Earth Plaza here in the city. The centerpiece is a 60-foot, fully illuminated Christmas tree that performs a light show synced to holiday tunes on a local radio frequency.  It's pretty darn pretty when everything's lit up. This year's tree is, as I wrote for the newspaper, a bit "shorter and stouter" than last year's. That's intentional -...