Rukavina's Extreme Weather and Climate Blog

Climate Central - State of KY Report Card - Full Report When it comes to responding to inland flooding disasters, Kentucky is spot-on. Prepareing for future disasters with a long-term plan is a different story and we know we can do A LOT BETTER! For the first time Climate Central released report cards featuring how well each of the 50 states prepares for current hazards and future climate change. A closer look reveals relatively bad grades for states in the Local 6 area. Missouri was at the bottom of the 4-state area coming in with a grade of "F". Kentucky and Illinois followed with a grade of "D" while Tennessee earned highest marks in the region with a "C". The nearly failing grades in Kentucky showed up when looking at future disasters, planning, and long-term preparedness statewide.  The graphic above shows the breakdown of the grades assigned to the different climate related disasters deemed future risks. The same study/grading showed Kentucky...

Please be sure to have a way to receive severe weather alerts for the holiday weekend, especially Sunday and Monday. Sunday Afternoon Update:  A Tornado Watch has been issued for most of the Local 6 area until 10PM. A warm front sits across Southern Illinois and Indiana allowing for a more unstable air mass across IL/KY this afternoon. The Storm Prediction Center has been watching our region for the past couple of day for the threat of severe storms this afternoon and evening. An isolated tornado is also possible. Damaging winds will be the primary threat with storms that develop. Here is the latest map the Storm Prediction Center put out mid-afternoon. Be alert that conditions will change quickly this afternoon and evening and those who are spending time outdoors or on area lakes should be especially vigilant. Friday PM Update: Unfortunate timing with the holiday weekend finally here but a chance of severe storms has crept into the forecast for Sunday the 3rd and M...

It happens every few years or so...the uneasy "earthquake swarms" that erupt on the New Madrid Earthquake Zone right here in the Local 6 area. I think many of us like to put out of our minds that we live on one of the most active fault zones in the United States but the reality is that we record hundreds of very small tremors each year that we just can't feel. Thanks to an increase in technology and social media, they are getting more attention each time they occur. Here is a quick glance at the past 30 days worth of earthquakes registered with the USGS for our region. (You can click the images to enlarge.) These tremors range from 1.1 to 2.9 in magnitude, most of them either too small or too deep to feel on the surface of the earth. A cluster of earthquakes of this magnitude over a relatively shorter period of time is known as a "swarm". Most geologists agree that this is not necessarily a precursor to a larger quake and equally does ...

Climate Central - State of KY Report Card - Full Report When it comes to responding to inland flooding disasters, Kentucky is spot-on. Prepareing for future disasters with a long-term plan is a different story and we know we can do A LOT BETTER! For the first time Climate Central released report cards featuring how well each of the 50 states prepares for current hazards and future climate change. A closer look reveals relatively bad grades for states in the Local 6 area. Missouri was at the bottom of the 4-state area coming in with a grade of "F". Kentucky and Illinois followed with a grade of "D" while Tennessee earned highest marks in the region with a "C". The nearly failing grades in Kentucky showed up when looking at future disasters, planning, and long-term preparedness statewide.  The graphic above shows the breakdown of the grades assigned to the different climate related disasters deemed future risks. The same study/grading showed Kentucky...

Tuesday Morning Update: The Storm Prediction Center has redefined the outlook areas for today and Wednesday. A few storms this afternoon may reach severe limits, mainly with the threat of large hail and damaging winds. The overall severe weather risk remains to the west today but then transitions into our area on Wednesday. Be alert to quickly changing conditions later tonight and during the day on Wednesday. Below is a group of links to severe weather preparedness to get yourself ready at home and work before storms roll into the area.  Monday Evening Update: Spring is in full swing and during the heart of severe weather season, a stormy weather pattern is setting up for the next several days. There are a few times where some of these storms will push severe limits and reviewing your severe weather safety plans at home and work will prepare you in the event you need to take quick action.  The highest risk for strong storms arrives late on Tuesday and throughout t...

THURSDAY IS A WEATHER AUTHORITY ALERT DAY Wednesday Afternoon Update: Showers and storms will spread across the Local 6 area this evening and during the overnight hours as warm, moist air moves into the region. A cold front back over the Central Plains will begin advancing our way from the west on Thursday morning. As the front moves into the area around late morning to lunchtime, thunderstorms will re-develop across Southeast Missouri and move east into Western Kentucky, Southern Illinois, and West Tennessee. There may be a few strong storms with the first batch tonight but the higher severe weather risk comes with storms developing on Thursday along the front. Damaging winds, isolated tornadoes, and hail will be possible with storms on Thursday.  Storms should start to wind down and move out by early evening on Thursday with the passage of the cold front. Weather Geek Extra: For any of you who have looked at a sounding of the atmosphere....this is what is...

Friday Afternoon Update: A Flash Flood WATCH is still in effect for portions of NW TN until Saturday afternoon. We are likely to see additional counties added to this map as the threat of heavy downpours returns to the area. Another round of rain sets to move in for the weekend adding to the flooding impacting parts of the area this week. Lowland areas as well as those situated along creeks, streams, and rivers are at additional risk for flash flooding. Below is a look at estimated rainfall totals from Friday night through Sunday afternoon. RPM Model - 18Z Fri Run Wednesday Afternoon Update: Additional counties have been added to the Flash Flood WATCH as of this morning and now includes counties across all of Southern Illinois, and the Mississippi River counties in KY/TN and the Paducah Area. You can see the map positioned below. In addition to those changes on the map, the placement of heavy rain has been shifted a little further to the SE, thus prompting the National Wea...