While temperatures will be in the middle 50′s for the first half of the week, big changes are in store as we look toward Wednesday. An early high of 55 will occur during the day before a cold front swings through. Current indications are that the cold air will hold off until the afternoon, then temperatures will fall quickly. A few showers may begin towards evening with a chance of snow flakes mixing in overnight and into the morning hours Thursday. If we do see snow, there will be no accumulation as the ground is well above freezing and temperatures near the surface will warm into the low 40′s for the end of the week.

Posted under cold blast

With temperatures feeling warm lately, today’s forecast high of 55 will actually be slightly lower than our 10 year Halloween average. Looking at the long term average of 54 though, we are right about where we should be. Conditions will remain dry through the evening with light winds.

-AB

Posted under weather

If you are headed out as a ghost, goblin, or a giant pumpkin, conditions will be very nice. As trick or treating begins, temperatures will be in the lower 50′s, but should fall rapidly as the sun sets. By the time most children are inside enjoying the treats, thermometers will be dipping close to 40.

-AB

Posted under event

Check out this awesome video from they tiny town of Rice, Texas. It was taken last Sunday. Shortly after a minute you can see a freight train being overturned. The video then shows cars and trucks spinning around on a busy highway. Amazing video! -ES

Posted under tornado

As we head into this Halloween weekend, it’s time for the annual Q98.5/Petland Costume Contest!

It’s going on tomorrow (Saturday) at Petland on the north loop around CherryVale Mall. Be there at 11am to get checked in. Yours truly will begin judging around 12:30pm. Bribes are not necessary

See you there and “Happy Howl-oween!” -ES

Posted under event, humor

Late this afternoon, we are expecting the National Hurricane Center to begin issuing advisories and warnings for Tropical Storm Tomas which has its sights on the Caribbean. The map above left shows the likely tropical storm tracks. Above-right shows the intensity forecast which shows a distinct possibility of Tomas becoming a hurricane. We’ll have more on Tomas tonight on 13News at 5 and 6. -ES

Posted under tropical weather

A tropical storm warning is in place for Bermuda as Tropical Storm Shary works its way towards the Atlantic. As of this morning, Shary is located about 220 miles southwest of Bermuda and is moving northwest at 18 mph. Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph and some strengthening can be expected later today but then weaken over the weekend. The center of the storm looks to slide past or just east of Bermuda tonight. Wind and torrential rainfall are the two major threats for Bermuda this afternoon.

Posted under weather

From the Dakotas to the Southern States, it seems like everyone is dealing with the aftermath of the massive “Land-phoon” that ripped across half of the United States.  This storm produced tornadoes, torrential rains, flooding, winter storms and blizzards. 

Heavy snow and strong winds battered the Dakotas for a second time on Wednesday, with visibility reduced to nothing as blowing snow made roadways disappear.  If that wasn’t bad, enough they were also covered in ice, snow and slush. In North Carolina, winds from the storm blew through neighborhoods blowing out windows caving in chimney and blowing over trees.

This rare, fast-moving storm destroyed homes in the Midwest on Tuesday. Eight tornadoes touched down in Indiana, and six in Ohio, including one with gusts of at least 111 mph that ripped through a town. Tornadoes also whirled through Racine County, Wis., where a section of roof was torn off a tractor factory. In Peotone, Ill., three people were injured when a home’s roof was blown off.
This storm had a pressure reading on Tuesday that was the lowest ever recorded of a non-tropical storm in the mainland U.S.

Posted under weather

13News Weekend Meteorologist Aaron Brackett took a few photos in his car going with the wind, and then against the wind to show the drastic difference the sustained 30mph wind had on gas mileage. Cool stuff!

Posted under Wind

National Weather Service report – A tornado rated at EF 1 was confirmed by a NWS survey team surveying the damage 3 miles southeast of Ashton in Lee County, IL.

A tornado touched down near Meridian Road southeast of Ashton at approximately 5:41 AM Tuesday morning. The tornado’s path length was surveyed at 1.1 miles long with a debris path that was 50 yards wide, convergent and narrow. Some of the damage included a couple of outbuildings with poor structural integrity, and a few that had their roofs ripped off. The top of a metal silo was ‘punched’ in and a grain cart was flipped on to its side. In addition to the structural damage, numerous 2×4′s were speared into the ground and metal siding was strewn into the fields to the northeast of the farm. The winds were estimated to be at 95 MPH.

EF1 tornado damage southeast of Ashton, IL.

Posted under tornado