Rukavina's Extreme Weather and Climate Blog

Wednesday AM Update: An early round of showers continues to move east across the area this morning in advance of the heavier showers and storms arriving later today and overnight. The Paducah National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood WATCH for much of Western Kentucky, Southeast Missouri and parts of Southern Illinois. Here is the latest map (right).  Area-wide we could pick up 1-3" of rain but where heavy rain persists or trains over the same areas, there is the possibility of somebody recording 4-5". Southeast Missouri, far Western Kentucky, and counties along the Mississippi River appear to be at highest risk for those higher totals. Flash flooding and river flooding will be the highest concern with this storm system. People who live near the Big Muddy and Cache Rivers in IL, the Black, St. Francois and Current Rivers in MO, the Obion River in TN and the numerous creeks in KY such as the Clarks, Obion, Cypress, and Perkins should be alert to fast rising water...

Friday Midday Update: The Storm Prediction Center has upgraded most of the Local 6 area to an ENHANCED RISK of severe storms today. The threats still include damaging winds, large hail, and isolated tornadoes.  The timing still looks pretty accurate according to the forecast images below. We anticipate scattered storms to develop and move east by early afternoon. A more organized line of possibly severe storms should develop over Missouri by early evening and push east before midnight tonight. Thursday Evening Update: Periods of high heat and humidity have been with us for a couple weeks now peaking today before showers and thunderstorms begin spreading into the Local 6 area late tonight and throughout the day on Friday. A cold front will push south across our area and bring lower humidity and cooler temperatures to get the weekend started. A few strong storms may skirt our area Thursday Night then redevelop by midday on Friday and bring along the threat of damaging...

Poison ivy creates a lot of headaches this time of year for gardeners and landscapers as it spreads and can even become invasive. It can be tricky sometimes to identify poison ivy from other vines in our backyard. Here is a short video I made in the wooded area near the station to help you quickly identify a sticky situation and protect yourself from weeks of itching.  Here are the 3 main tips I cover in the video: 1. Poison ivy has 3 leaves, never more 2. Poison ivy grows shoots offset side to side, not side by side 3. Poison ivy never has thorns In our ever-changing climate, plants and organisms will adapt and change to live/survive in future environment types. Poison ivy has long been an irritant and may get worse if our climate continues to warm (human induced or not).  From Climate Central: "A 2007 study by Lewis Ziska , a plant physiologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, supports this concept. His study exposed poison ivy pl...

Friday AM Update Heavy rain still appears to be our greatest concern as the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill pass directly over the Local 6 area throughout the day today. A Flash Flood WATCH continues for Southern Illinois, SE Missouri, and the Ohio River counties in Western Kentucky through Saturday. Here is a look at today's forecast concerning rainfall totals from the Weather/Hydrological Prediction Center. In any given area, 2-4 inches of rain will be possible. Low-lying areas are most prone to flash flooding. Showers and storms will increase in coverage and intensity during the day on Friday.  Keep preparedness and awareness in mind as heavy rain moves in. Locate areas of higher ground in the event you need to retreat there. Never drive across flooded roadways. Keep children from playing in flood waters. Water depth and swiftness is difficult to determine. Below is the latest Flash Flooding Potential Briefing from the Paducah National Weather Service.

You may have heard of (hurricane) Ike, but do you know Elena?  They are both worth getting to know as we prepare for heavy rain in parts of the Local 6 area from the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill. The Local 6 area may not lie on the Gulf Coast but inland tropical impacts have been felt many times before in our weather history.  Most people remember how the winds from the remnants of Ike brought record-breaking power outages to the Ohio Valley. Hurricane force wind gusts were recorded in Louisville after tropical storm force winds blew across Carbondale, Owensboro, and Poplar Bluff. 28 deaths were attributed to Ike in the Ohio Valley by the time it moved on to Ontario, Canada. It took Ike only a few hours to travel across the Ohio Valley on September 14, 2008 but as the day came to a close, over 600,000 people were without power and a State of Emergency was declared by Governor Steve Beshear.  Of course this only happened a few years ago. Another record-setting ...

Rainy May Sets Record for Soggy U.S. | Climate Central  (Click link to read full story)

Thanks to cloud cover and a persistent trough (dip in the jet stream) over the Eastern US, the start to June has been anything BUT summer-like and rather cool. After day 3, temperatures returned to near normal, and compact storm complexes have begun their annual dive south toward our area. Over the next two weeks it appears that a fairly zonal (a lack of big pattern swings) will set up across the Lower 48. This is why both maps below show "near normal" conditions in their outlooks for Mid-June.  So what is "normal" for the Paducah area for Mid-June? From the 12th through the 18th we typically see temperatures average 86 for highs and 65 for lows. Average precipitation amounts to 0.91" at the Paducah Barkley (PAH) location.   So far the influence of El Nino has been fairly weak which was expected as El Nino is still in its weakest stage. On a larger scale, its very definition has brought warmer waters off the western coast of South America, which has he...

PART 2 ( Click here to see Part 1. ) Try your hand at this interactive panel below where you can click on the 3 separate categories to reveal new information. Trent Okerson and Todd Faulkner featured this week's "Good Question" during Local 6 at 5pm Monday evening. They did an awesome job showing the power of water and why you should prepare. What is Flash Flooding?