NOAA, NASA to Preview Launch of New Environmental Satellite

Federal satellite experts will provide details about a new NOAA geostationary operational environmental satellite – poised for launch next month – that will support NOAA’s forecasts for severe weather.  The satellite will also receive distress signals that trigger life-saving U.S. search and rescue operations.

The new satellite, called GOES-O, is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 28 at 6:24 p.m. EDT.

WHAT:         Tele-conference media availability

WHEN:          Thursday, April 2, 2009, 1 p.m. EDT

                        Dial-in information – 888-396-9185, Passcode: GOES-O

WHO:             Gary Davis, director, Office of System Development, NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service;

Steve Kirkner, project manager, NASA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites;

Tom Wrublewski, acquisition manager, NOAA’s GOES-N Series;

Joe Schaefer, director, NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources. Visit: http://www.noaa.gov.

For more information about GOES-O, visit: http://goespoes.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/index.html

The Mid-South and the Middle Mississippi River Valley is in the middle of a big storm system sweeping across the Continental U.S.  today.  Fortunately, the middle section of this system is the best place to be.  To the north heavy snow and near blizzard conditions are in place from the Dakotas to Minnesota and the Great Lakes.  Further south, heavy rain and thunderstorms will move through the Gulf Coast states from southern Mississippi and Alabama through northern Florida.  Some of those areas could get as much as 5 to 7 inches of rain. 

Here in the Mid-South and across the Action News 5 coverage area we’ll be dealing with just rain moving from west to east through the day.  Rainfall totals will average a quarter to half an inch.  Some locations may get as much as three quarters of an inch.  Some lightning and thunder may accompany the rain as it move through but no severe weather is in store.  The cold front that is triggering the rain here will clear the region late in the day and the sky should rapidly clear behind the front.  That will make for a mostly sunny day Wednesday along with highs near seventy degrees.  The sunshine won’t last long as low pressure will m0ve out of  Texas Thursday bringing more rain and thunderstorms to the area.  SPC has painted a slight risk for severe weather from eastern Arkansas to the southeast coast and from Kentucky to northern Florida.  We’ll watch this system as its path will closely resemble that of the system that moved through the Mid-South last Friday. 

John Bryant will have move information on today’s rain and the latest Future-cast model today on Action News 5 at noon.  Dave Brown will be along for Action News 5 at 5, 6, and 10 with the latest details on our next storm system and the weekend forecast. 

The next stop on the Weather Roadshow, weather permitting, will be at the Baker Community Center on Church Road in Millington this Thursday at 6:30 PM.  We hope you’ll plan to join us.

A Low pressure center is once again cranking up in the Plains states.  This Low has been one in a series of disturbances that has brought the Mid-South rain.  It will likely bring rain to most of the region on Tuesday.  There could be some embedded thunder but don’t expect severe weather.  Rain amounts may exceed half an inch for some areas.  We are tracking the system and will of course bring you the latest as new information arrives into our Action News Five Weather Center.  Oh by the way, another shot of rain will come Thursday.  And totally unrelated to weather, “Say it Ain’t so Cal.”

It will be cold for everyone tonight.  There is a Frost Advisory in effect for our Easternmost counties.  This advisory does NOT include Memphis and Shelby county.  Here is the map which does include the specific areas.  The counties in blue are under the advisory.

I am posting an interesting link below which shows the average first and last freeze dates in our area.  It also displays historical records.

Check it out…

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/meg/freeze-data.php

A very dynamic Low pressure system has affected a good part of the United States East of the Colorado Rockies.  This Low owns a blizzard, flooding rains, tornado warnings, and cold temperatures.  Thankfully the Mid-South escaped major problems this time around.  Here’s the latest surface map that shows its current position.

As the Low moves away from us it will take the clouds and precipitation with it.  Before this happens, however, a few showers will be possible across our region until tomorrow morning.  If you do see rain, amounts should be light.  The Mid-South may even see some sunshine tomorrow afternoon, with the best chances in Southwestern parts of our coverage area.  Have a great night.

Most of the Mid-South woke this morning to rain.  It was heavy at times and even included some thunder and lightning.  An upper level disturbance moved from the southwest overnight to trigger the rain.  Mild instability coupled with significant moisture triggered the lightning and heavy downpours.  Here at the WMC studios we received just over an inch and a half of rain on top of an already rain soaked ground.  The upper level flow should push this precipitation to the northeast by late morning.  Clouds will linger today along with a slight chance for a few scattered showers to develop.  However, a more potent system will move into the area overnight.

A deep low pressure system will eject out of Texas to the northeast later today bringing the threat for severe weather late tonight and early tomorrow morning.  Here’s the latest surface map showing the low and the adjoining fronts. 

Today the strong low pressure is bringing heavy heavy snow and blizzard conditions to the Central Plains from Kansas to the Texas Panhandle.   Snow accumulations of as much as two feet are expected in some areas.  The accompanying cold front is triggering heavy rain and severe storms along the Gulf Coast into central and southern Alabama.  The warm front that extends eastward from the center of the low pressure will trigger rain and thunderstorms from the middle Mississippi River Valley to the Mid Atlantic states. 

Here in the Mid-South most of the day should be spent under a mostly cloudy sky with highs in the low to mid sixties along the TN/KY and AR/MO borders to the lower seventies in northern Mississippi.  The high in Memphis should reach 70 degrees this afternoon.  Dewpoint over most of the area will be in the lower fifties, however, dewpoints in northern Mississippi will reach the upper fifties near the TN/MS border to lower sixties near Greenwood.  This will contribute to increased instability over that area as we get into the later afternoon hours. 

Because of the close proximity of the warm front and the the increased instability the Storm Prediction Center has painted a slight risk for that portion of our viewing area today and a moderate risk  just south and west for southern Arkansas, northern Louisana, and central Mississippi.

Our threat for severe weather will likely arrive late tonight and early tomorrow morning.  My current thinking is a midnight to 5 AM time period for the Action News 5 coverage area.  The primary concern will be damaging wind and hail, but isolated tornadoes will also be possible especially in northern Mississippi. 

Because this is an overnight event, make sure your Weather Radios are plugged in and turned “on” and have fresh batteries.  Should the weather wake you during the overnight hours tune your TV to channel 5 or digital channel 4 for any breaking weather covereage.  If there is a need for wall to wall coverage we will also be on the web at wmctv.com.

John Bryant will be along for Action News 5 at noon with a look at the latest Futurecast forecast model and Dave Brown with be here for Action News 5 at 5, 6, and 10 with the latest information on the position of the storm system and the forecast.

It’s nice to have this afternoon’s brief dry spell after last night’s gully washers.

While we could get some more rain in Memphis tonight, the best odds go to northern Mississippi & southeastern Arkansas. 

After the round two of the rainfall, much of Thursday looks to be quite pleasant, with temps back in the lower 70s.

Ron Childers will have his weekly web chat Thursday from 10-11 a.m. on wmctv.com . He’ll be happy to take your weather questions as he includes his take on the possibility of Friday storms.

Random picture time…

Remember "Emergency!" from the 70s?

There is a severe thunderstorm watch for parts of the area until 9 PM, mainly for the counties West of the Mississippi River.  As I write this blog,  it does NOT include Memphis and Shelby county.  A special statement was just issued from the Storm Prediction Center concerning the situation.  Check it out…

THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 60
   CONTINUES.
  
   CONTINUE WW ALONG/AHEAD OF SQUALL LINE INITIALLY POSITIONED FROM
   SERN MO SWWD ACROSS CENTRAL AR.  SOME COUNTIES E OF WW MAY NEED TO
   BE ADDED AS CONVECTIVE TRENDS PERMIT…ESPECIALLY AHEAD OF NRN BOW
   ACROSS PORTIONS SRN IL.  HOWEVER…SUBSTANTIAL STABILIZATION TRENDS
   WITH EWD EXTENT INDICATE ATTM THAT ADDITIONAL WW MAY NOT BE NEEDED
   FARTHER E.
  
   CONVECTIVE BAND CONTAINS TWO PRIMARY BOWING SEGMENTS MOVING ENEWD
   APPROXIMATELY 40 KT…ONE MOVING ENE TOWARD CGI-MDH AREA…AND ONE
   NEAR ARG MOVING TOWARD NWRN TN.  SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS COLD FRONT
   ACROSS N-CENTRAL THROUGH SWRN AR BEHIND THIS LINE…WITH
   INSUFFICIENT TIME AND SPATIAL EXTENT FOR ADDITIONAL/FRONTAL
   DEVELOPMENT BEHIND STABILIZING EFFECTS OF INITIAL CONVECTIVE BAND.
   DEEP-LAYER KINEMATIC PROFILES AND LOW-LEVEL SHEAR WILL REMAIN
   FAVORABLE FOR SVR…WITH 45-55 KT EFFECTIVE SHEAR MAGNITUDES EVIDENT
   WHERE AT LEAST MRGL BUOYANCY EXISTS.  HOWEVER…LACK OF INSTABILITY
   WILL LIMIT SVR POTENTIAL WITH ACTIVITY OVER AND DOWNSHEAR FROM THIS
   AREA THROUGH REMAINDER AFTERNOON.  AIR MASS AHEAD OF LINE BECOMES
   DRIER AND LESS BUOYANT EWD ACROSS MS RIVER INTO IL/TN…WITH
   CONVECTION MOVING PAST EARLIER/PRE-STORM MOIST AXIS.  MOIST AXIS
   STILL IS EVIDENT JUST AHEAD OF LINE ACROSS CENTRAL/SRN AR…HOWEVER
   PRECURSORY CLOUD/PRECIP AREA HAS HAD LIMITED DIURNAL
   DESTABILIZATION…AND POTENTIAL FOR FURTHER ORGANIZATION OF ACTIVITY
   WILL BE LIMITED.  PRIND DOWNWARD REFLECTIVITY TREND OVER MOST OF AR
   PORTION OF LINE WILL CONTINUE…AND NRN BOW WILL WEAKEN AFTER MOVING
   OVER IL INTO MORE STABLE AIR.

A cold front is poised to move out of the Central Plains and through the Mid-South tonight.  A strong southerly flow, ample amount of moisture, and significant heating will be in place in advace of the front.  But the timing of the frontal passage is the key to this round of weather.  The front should move through overnight and it will trigger a line of heavy rain and a few thunderstorms.  Some storms could reach severe limits producing damaging winds and hail but the greatest threat with this cold front passage will be heavy rain.  Rainfall amounts will likely average an inch but could be as much as two inches in some location.

The most significant threat for severe weather will arrive Friday as a potent low pressure system ejects northeast out of northern Texas.  This storm system will have the potential to produce some of the strongest storms of the season thus far.  We’ll post more on this over the coming days. 

In the meantime, get ready for a warm and wind day today with a few sprinkles or brief showers and then heavier rain and thunderstorms tonight.  There is a Wind Advisory in effect for most of the Action News 5 coverage area today as sustained winds will blow at 15 to 25 mph. 

Now is a good time to make sure your weather radios are working properly, are turned on, and have fresh batteries.  It looks like they’ll get a workout this week.  So you want to make sure it’s working properly now instead of finding out that it doesn’t work later. 

Our Weather Roadshow is still on track for our next stop in West Memhis at the Mid-South Community College on Broadway this Thursday at 6:30 PM for a one hour session on how we do what we do, the tools we use,  and to answer your questions.  Dave Brown will do the 5 & 6 PM weathercast live from the event.  That’s always fun to watch so feel free to come early and see it for yourself.  The rest of the Action News 5 Storm Tracking Team will be there to meet and greet as well.  We look forward to seeing you this Thursday in West Memphis.

Our Storm Team this week will be tracking  numerous systems that will bring the Mid-South rain and thunderstorms.  The first system we will deal with comes tomorrow afternoon and evening.  A frontal boundary attached to a Low pressure area well to our North may bring heavy rains.  The Mid-South is under a slight risk for severe weather.  Here’s an image from the Storm Prediction Center showing the risk area.  We will watch this very carefully over the next 24 hours.

While the disturbance may bring “thunder-boomers”, our team is equally and maybe even more  concerned about an outbreak of severe weather on Friday.  Check out our blog daily for information regarding this situation as we have plenty of time to track it.