whether the weather's blog

north carolina's rainfall record is set
 Today in Weather History: 1916 - 22 (Yes, twenty-two) inches of rain fall in ...
Jul. 15, 2009

today in weather history
1981 - Montana was in the midst of a snowstorm that dumped ten inches at Glacier National Park, and produced winds to 90 mph. Meanwhile, Denver, CO, set a record high with a reading of...
Jul. 7, 2009

today in weather history
Ok, it happened yesterday.  Interesting nonetheless:   In Sterling,...
Jul. 6, 2009

alligator falls from the sky
 Today in weather history: Charleston, SC, 1843 - An alligator falls from the sky during a thunderstorm.   If you think that's fishy, click...
Jul. 2, 2009

kaboom! today in weather history
Lightning safety tip #1:  Don’t take shelter in a shed full of dynamite 1924 - Six men working at a rock quarry near Winston-Salem, NC, sought...
Jun. 24, 2009

today in weather history
    1944 - Four tornadoes killed 153 persons and caused five million dollars damage in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland. The tornadoes formed during...
Jun. 23, 2009

today in weather history
1987 - A massive hailstorm hit eastern Colorado causing an estimated 60 to 70 million dollars damage. At La Junta, CO, hail as large as softballs caused 37 million dollars damage.  ...
Jun. 23, 2009

today in weather history
1902 - The temperature at Volcano Springs, CA, soared to 129 degrees to set a June record for the U.S.  
Jun. 23, 2009

today in weather history
1981 - A woman in Lubbock, TX, was struck by lightning. The bolt of lightning struck just above her right shoulder, passing through her body.  It ripped off her sweat pants...
Jun. 22, 2009

today in weather history
 2009 - Raleigh, NC  The sun shines again!  At least for a while this morning.  There will be a good chance of heavy rain showers and some...
Jun. 18, 2009

today in weather history
1988 - Severe thunderstorms produced large hail and damaging winds in the Carolinas. Thunderstorm winds gusted to 75 mph at Eden, NC.   1859 -...
Jun. 17, 2009

today in weather history
 Now this is hot!    1896 - The temperature at Fort Mojave, California, soared to 127 degrees, the hottest reading of record for June for...
Jun. 15, 2009

it's raining fish!
 We've all heard it's raining cats in dogs.  But it's not unusual for it to rain fish in many island countries, and some coastal mainland areas. In 2002, In Norfolk,...
Jun. 12, 2009

today in weather history
1842 - A  snowstorm struck New England. Snow fell during the morning and early afternoon, accumulating to a depth of ten to twelve inches at Irasburg Vermont. Berlin, New Hampshire...
Jun. 11, 2009

thusday, 11 june -- severe weather in store
For those of you reading this early in the morning hours of Thursday or when you get to work, things are looking fairly tranquil outside. But keep an eye to the sky today. The atmosphere is very...
Jun. 11, 2009

today in weather history
1752 - Benjamin Franklin narrowly missed electrocution while flying a kite during a thunderstorm to determine if lightning is related to electricity.    Today's...
Jun. 10, 2009

today in weather history
Tornadoes galore!  1974 - Severe thunderstorms spawned at least twenty-three tornadoes in Oklahoma during the afternoon and evening...
Jun. 8, 2009

today in weather history
 Talk about an unlucky place.  Tornadoes destroy same town three times! 1916 - A tornado struck the town of ...
Jun. 5, 2009

flash flood watch in effect until noon 5 june
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for Wake and the surrounding counties until midnight. The full text follows. Moderate to heavy rain is falling over Wake County at 11 pm,...
Jun. 4, 2009

tornado watch until 8pm
The National Weather Service has issued a TORNADO WATCH for  many counties in NC - mainly along the NC/VA border until 8pm.  The primary threat from these storms will be...
Jun. 4, 2009

today in weather history
1825 - A hurricane struck Long Island NY leveling trees, homes, and causing damage to ships. The early season hurricane, which originated around Cuba, caused major damage along...
Jun. 4, 2009

today in weather history
1921 - A cloudburst near Pikes Peak CO killed 120 people. Pueblo CO was flooded by a twenty-five foot crest of the Arkansas River, killing 70 persons. Fourteen inches of rain was reported...
Jun. 3, 2009

today in weather history
1988 - Severe thunderstorms in Texas and Oklahoma produced hail more than three inches in diameter near Stilwater OK, and softball size hail in Jones County of north central Texas....
Jun. 2, 2009

today in weather history
Lucky or not?  You decide. 1980 - A man from Falmouth, Maine was struck by lightning, restoring his eyesight. The man had been blind...
Jun. 1, 2009

severe weather possible today
 Today in Weather History: 1953 - A tornado, 600 yards wide at times, killed two persons on its 20 mile path from southwest of Fort Rice ND into Emmons County....
May. 29, 2009

today in weather history
1877- A  two day long sandstorm (sand) blasted Yuma, AZ.   What causes a sandstorm?   Sandstorms usually happens due to a change of air temperature....
May. 28, 2009

today in weather history
1896 - A massive tornado struck Saint Louis, MO, killing 306 persons and causing thirteen million dollars damage. The tornado path was short, but cut across a densely populated area....
May. 27, 2009

ncsu tornado chasers
 This week, a group of NCSU students left Raleigh to travel to the midwest.  For the next month, they will be part of the largest tornado research project to date, VORTEX2 (Verification...
May. 13, 2009

ncsu tornado chasers
 This week, a group os NCSU students left Raleigh to travel to the midwest.  For the next month, they will be part of the largest tornado research project to date, VORTEX2 (Verification...
May. 13, 2009

severe thunderstorm warning issued for wake, durham, and orange counties
The National Weather Service in Raleigh has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Wake, Durham, Orange, Harnett, Lee, and Chatham counties until 7 pm this afternoon. A bow line of severe thunderstorms,...
May. 9, 2009

hurricane hunters at rdu
Hurricane season is only a few weeks away (begins June 1st) but the Hurricane Hunter is landing at RDU tomorrow. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association is including...
May. 5, 2009

tornado watch
 Just an update, since there is now a TORNADO WATCH in effect through 10pm for these counties: Alamance            ...
Apr. 20, 2009

severe storms later today
 It definitely looks like it's going to be a stormy late-afternoon, especially now the sun is out and stirring up an already unstable atmosphere!   I was just reading the update from the Storm...
Apr. 20, 2009

severe storms later today
 It definitely looks like it's going to be a stormy late-afternoon, especially now the sun is out and stirring up an already unstable atmosphere!   I was just reading the update from the Storm...
Apr. 20, 2009

lights in sky
On the top-voted stories list, you will see a story titled "Lights in Sky Prompt Flood of Calls in MD, VA, NC". I saw this! We had just left the movie theater around 9:30 last night...
Mar. 30, 2009

today's weather in ireland
Today's Weather Dry for the rest of the day with widespread sunshine. Mild in most areas too, with temperatures reaching 12 to 15 C - but cooler along some exposed southern...
Mar. 17, 2009

intereting development for the snow outlook
The image is of the latest satellite water vapor content of the atmosphere over the southeast US. I have been watching a dry slot develop all day long and it looks like it won -- at least for the time...
Mar. 1, 2009

winter weather warning posted
The National Weather Service in Raleigh has issued a Winter Weather Warning at 4:25 am this morning covering much of the WRAL viewing area.The area of greatest impact will be on a line west of I-95,...
Mar. 1, 2009

project galaxy zoo needs you!
 If you got a few minutes, you can actually help scientists classify the universe.  The first part of this project began in 2007.  It started to help scientists classify and organize...
Feb. 17, 2009

look and listen
 Who needs all those fancy computers and scientific instruments? Just look out the window! Despite the fact I woke up and saw little snowflakes blowing through the air this morning, spring...
Feb. 16, 2009

what causes this wind?
 It has been a windy couple of days, do you know what really causes this wind?  As you know probably already, there is low pressure and high pressure.  Like everything else in physics,...
Feb. 12, 2009

basic skywarn training
 Do you have an interest in severe weather?  Do you know what you're really seeing when you look at a sky that looks potentially ominous?  Is that a funnel cloud or is that scud??? ...
Feb. 11, 2009

afternoon storm update
At 3 pm, the snow is tapering off in Raleigh and for all practical purposes, the event is over. We will continue to get some light flurries for the next hour or two. The bulk of what remains of the...
Jan 20, 2009

morning storm update
This is an update to my initial blog located at: http://www.wral.com/golo/blogpost/4348605/ At 0530, the center of the low pressure...
Jan 20, 2009

this should get interesting
Well, the snow is on the way. There is no possibility that Raleigh will get away with just flurries. The question will be just how much snow will we get. All the right ingredients are here. There...
Jan 19, 2009

fair warning!
 Dress warm tomorrow, The temperature is going to drop all day tomorrow (Thursday)   Just wanted to give fair warning!
Jan 14, 2009

today in weather history...
Dr. Ted Fujita (who developed the Fujita Scale for classifying tornadoes)  died at the age of 78 in 1998.  A severe weather...
Nov 18, 2008

what is an ef3 tornado?
You might be used to toradoes being classified as F1, F2, F3, etc... but after this past weekend, you might be thinking, what does EF1, EF2, EF3, etc... mean? Starting in 2007, the National Weather...
Nov 17, 2008

space shuttle launches friday
 Oops! I forgot today in weather history today.  (It was a VERY busy day at work.)  Now that I'm at home and browsing the news, I see that the Space Shuttle Endeavour is going to...
Nov 13, 2008

today in weather history...
 November 12, 2003:  The fog was so thick this morning in Bostwick, Florida (South of Jacksonville) on US Hwy 17 that a tractor trailer cause a chain reaction wreck that killed...
Nov 12, 2008

today in weather history...
 November 11,1911:  At around 11pm, a F2 tornado travelled from Laingsburg to Owasso, Michigan (about 10 miles).  The tornado killed one couple when it ripped the 2nd...
Nov 11, 2008

today in weather history...
 November 10 1975:  The 729', 13600 ton freighter, Edmund Fitzgerald, was battered by winds up to hurricane force and 20ft waves, causing it to break up and...
Nov 10, 2008

following hurricane ike
If you are interested in following the effects of Hurricane Ike in real time, KTRH 740 AM is doing an excellent job of coverning the storm from their studios in Houston. ...
Sep 12, 2008

flash flood watch issued: 10 september
The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for much of central North Carolina including Wake County. The full list of counties currently under a watch is available ...
Sep 10, 2008

hanna, and dare i say, ike
Things are getting tougher and tougher with Hanna. The 11 am advisory from the National Hurricane Center is still differing from that of AccuWeather and the Weather Underground to the extent...
Sep 4, 2008

hanna and raleigh 11am update
Wind Speed Probabilities for Raleigh here too in case you're interested from  NOAA:   HANNA: winds: 65mph location: 24.5N 73.5W (720 miles SSE of...
Sep 4, 2008

hurricane hanna part one
The 5 am forecasts are out from the National Hurricane Center and they do not look good for us. And yes, I used the term Hurricane rather than the technically accurate Tropical Storm since hurricane...
Sep 3, 2008

hello josephine
And we say hello to Josephine, formally known at TD 10. This is really getting interesting. By the way, here is an interesting tidbit from ...
Sep 2, 2008

this may be an interesting two weeks ahead
Check out the image. From left to right: We have the remnants of Hurricane Gustav over Louisiana (keep that in mind for a moment.)We have Hanna to the east of Cuba which looks...
Sep 2, 2008

hurricane gustav
First, allow me to get something out of the way that needs to be said. Ray Nagin, the mayor of New Orleans presently and at the time of Katrina, is an idiot. In the past 24 hours, he has used terms like...
Aug 31, 2008

flash flood - just upgraded to warning
Given the heated political discussions taking place, some of you may have missed this advisory issued at 7:47 pm. If you live in eastern Wake or northwestern Johnston county, be prepared to take flight...
Aug 29, 2008

remember all the rain we got before hurricane fran?
Could it be here we go again?  Not be an alarmist, but I have been thinking about the possiblity that if Hurricane Hanna were to hit North Carolina, how potentailly devestating it could be. ...
Aug 28, 2008

remember all the rain we got before hurricane fran?
Could it be here we go again?  Not be an alarmist, but I have been thinking about the possiblity that if Hurricane Hanna were to hit North Carolina, how potentailly devestating it could be. ...
Aug 28, 2008

hurricane spawned tornadoes
Tornadoes are some of the most destructive forces of nature.They can pop out of nowhere and completely tear down a town. Most of you actively follow the advice of the National Weather Service when they...
Aug 27, 2008

look to the skies tonight
Growing up in the country, we would wake up at 3am, pull out lawn chairs and drink hot chocolate, while watching the Perseids Meteor showers each August.  If you're lucky enough NOT to live in...
Aug 11, 2008

2008 hurricane season update
From the Climate Prediction Center: In the August update to the Atlantic hurricane season outlook, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center...
Aug 11, 2008

perseid meteor shower
For all of the star gazers out there:   Unfortunately, the West coast is the place for the better viewing. But for anyone who is interested in the cosmos: From ...
Aug 8, 2008

weather spotter training
I attended basic and advanced weather spotter training offered through the National Weather Service a couple of years ago. It was held at Cisco and was a very interesting day for a small town person...
Jul 29, 2008