The Frogurt Is Also Cursed

Here we go again!

( 4 tornado warnings on the IL/IN border - 7:06pm EDT IND Radar )

(And from the storms that brought the hail here Friday evening, the local NWS folks confirmed 2 tornadoes, and an east side Indy spotter got a photo of some huge hail.)

3 Tornadoes Confirmed (w/ Damage Photos)

I'm more than a little groggy this morning. I went to bed around 11, which is about when I usually do on Sunday nights, but couldn't get to sleep. Partially from my brain still trying to tell me it was only 10pm, partially from the adrenalin from the storm I'm sure.

This morning, all things considered (the fact that a possible tornado went through downtown right after an outdoor concert crowd of 80,000 dispersed), Indianapolis was pretty lucky. The 3rd tallest building downtown, the Regions Bank tower, suffered several floors of blown-out windows and the skin of the building on some lower floors was pulled away. There is other damage around down and some school delays and power outages still being fixed this morning.

High Winds Strike Indy
Storm Scatters Glass Downtown

And the NWS is sending out numerous damage assessment officials to confirm the reports, to see if they were caused by tornadoes or straight-line winds. The NWS Storm Prediction Center's graphic and list for yesterday is scary: SPC Storm Reports for 04/02/06.

PSA

Anyone who knows me at all realizes I am no activist. I am very much a "don't mess with how I live and I won't mess with how you live" person. But if I had to pick a crusade, here it is: No matter where you live, get yourself a NOAA All-Hazards Radio (and if I'm not mistaken, Canada has a similar system). You can set them to activate for your specific region, down to portions of a county, and they're used not just for tornadoes, but also hurricanes, flood warnings, fire danger, etc. (and, yes, the Dept. of Homeland Security can use them in case of emergencies due to acts of terrorism). I wonder if the reported 14 dead in Tennessee from yesterday's storms knew enough in advance what was coming.

Despite everything we know, weather is still scary and unpredictable. It's an easy thing to ignore, too. Until it hits you. Literally.

Right in Downtown Indy - look for the little funnel-shaped symbol right in the middle of Indianapolis

The local AM radio is talking about debris around the streets and such. And the Mellencamp Final Four concert just let out on the Circle downtown about 45 minutes ago.

As the next line gets closer:

Zoomed in, Mesovortex promoted to Tornado Warning (The upper right corner of the warning box barely includes us.)
Same (roughly) time, statewide view

I went searching for reasons why the Winter Storm Warning the local WFO issued 21 hours before the snow was predicted to begin ended up starting about 5 hours later and dropped about 3 inches less snow than originally forecast.

I love that some WFOs post Forecast Discussions - short write-ups explaining what they used to make the forecast just made. The one from about 3:30am this morning explains it: The low moved farther south and had its moisture source from the Gulf cut off by a stronger low in the southeastern states, among other aspects.

All I know is that I left home over an hour earlier than usual, at 7:20am, and I didn't get to the parking garage at IUPUI, normally a 25-minute drive, until 9:10am. Morning rush was a frigging disaster area. I'm glad Toni got Mia to the airport (even though Mia's flight was delayed departing) and got all the way back to our side of town and to work okay. By the time I left after my last class at 2:15pm today, the highways were wet, but much more passable.

I didn't even bother to shovel the driveway, but rather dove straight into homework. I don't think this snow cover (we probably have 3 - 4 inches here at home, Indy's official total at the airport is 5.2 inches) is going to last for too many days.

Based on a poll in twc_aficionados, the mod decided to have members post a definition each week. Gee, looking at my own LJ username, I wonder what I should do for my first one? ;-)

I know what the term means, but I have never, that I can recall, heard a meteorologist use the word synoptic on the air before. Alexandra Steele just said it on The Weather Channel, of all places.

I don't generally expect too many non-layperson weather terms from TWC. Of course, she used it with such a precise technical term immediately following (stuff). :-)

"Night after night of raw winter. Experience the power, and the Wrath of Winter, on a chilling week of Storm Stories, only on... The Weather Channel."

Sheesh.