Tornado and Severe Thunderstorm Threat Today

Keeping in mind that 5% is the threshold I track, there is a chance of a tornado or two today or this evening in the central Plains

The second map shows where thunderstorm-generated winds of 58 mph or higher and hail ≥1" in diameter may occur. The hatched area is where hail 2" in diameter or larger may occur. 

Keep an eye on the weather if you live in these areas.  

AccuWeather's Real Feel® Temperature

Here is a good primer and why we believe it is superior to other comfort indices.

Security Camera at Joplin Hospital

Speaking of Joplin, here is security camera video from the ER waiting room at St. John's Mercy Hospital during the tornado last May. Thank goodness the area had been evacuated. This video is very dramatic.

Hat tip: Dave Freeman.

"When the Sirens Were Silent" Review

By Jesse Ferrell. Just click here. 

Steve & Ted in the Morning

Here is my interview on KNSS about When the Sirens Were Silent:

Watch this at KNSS Radio

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

In Joplin yesterday, the guest preceding me on KSNF's Living Well was from Mercy Hospital. Angie Saborito's interview is here. She was with another gentlemen from the hospital as we were all waiting in the break room.

Anyway, as the producer came back to escort them to the studio, I said to Angie, "Break a leg!" A look of horror came over both of their faces!

I guess that was the wrong thing to say to two people who work in the medical profession.

"Break a leg" is a show business expression that means "good luck." There is even a song about it from Mel Brooks' The Producers. 

Are We Spending Too Much on "Climate Change"?

I've answered that question in the affirmative several times on this blog. That answer gets some support from two believers in the climate change hypothesis. The Capital Weather Gang's Jason Samenow elaborates. 

I'd elaborate a little and say we should cut what we are spending on global warming by two thirds. One-third of that money should urgently go into solar research to investigate the potential for global cooling and catastrophic solar storms and the rest of the savings into weather forecasting.  

Thank You, Joplin

Mindy and I had an enjoyable day in Joplin.

I can't seem to figure out how to embed the video, so if you would like to see KOAM TV's coverage, click here and if you would like to see KSNF's, it is here and here. Thanks to both Doug Heady and Gary Bandy for the interviews!

The city is gearing up for the one-year commemoration which is Tuesday. Mindy, I and the rest of the nation are cheering for Joplin's continued recovery from that horrible storm.

Today's Updates

The ebook company failed -- again -- in its self-imposed deadline to get the files to me. So, since I'm leaving for Joplin in a few hours, that means another delay of at least two days.

I'm really sorry about this as I know quite a few want to read it in ebook format.

On the subject of Joplin, I'll be making appearances on KOAM TV (CBS) and KNSF (NBC) today, prior to the event at the Library this evening.

Interesting Post on Major Hurricane Landfalls in U.S.

With hurricane season starting in a few days (June 1), Dr. Roger Pielke, Jr. has an interesting post about the recent lack of intense hurricanes striking the U.S. and, given that one occurs, when it is most likely. You can read his piece here.

Where Are the Books, Part II

We've confirmed it, When the Sirens Were Silent sold out its first day at Amazon!  More copies are on the way to them via priority mail.

The other question is, where is the ebook version? That is another tale of woe. The files were supposed to be ready the tenth. They didn't come until Monday and I found some stray typos that were introduced during the ebook formatting process. The company is promising me the files tonight.

If so, I'll transfer them to Amazon (Kindle) and Barnes & Noble (Nook) either tonight or tomorrow morning. It takes them a day or two to approve the book. I'm hoping it will be available this weekend or-- at the latest -- the first of next week.

Thanks, everyone for your patience! I believe you'll find the wait was worth it.

Where are the Books?

Good question. Amazon received the books in time for the yesterday's official release of When the Sirens Were Silent but they are showing the book as "out of stock." What I don't know is whether they had more orders than the number of books ordered in their first shipment and it is indeed "out of stock" or whether the first order is hung up in their warehouse. I suspect the former.

We received another order for 41 copies from Amazon today, so it suggests the number of orders Amazon is receiving is healthy.

As the author, I apologize for any inconvenience this may be causing. You are welcome to order directly from Mike Smith Enterprises, LLC, 4031 N. Tara Circle, Wichita, KS 67226. The cost is $15 for first class mailing. We generally put books in the mail the day after we receive your check.

Joplin Hospitals' Tornado Preparedness Going Forward

Here is a really interesting article about how Joplins' hospitals are preparing for tornadoes going forward.

And, a reminder: Mindy and I will be in Joplin tomorrow evening at 7 o'clock at the Public Library at 300 So. Main.  I'll be presenting a review of the warnings of the tornado and how we can strengthen the warning system going forward.

Yet Another Global Warming Prediction Gone Wrong

In 2007,

after reviewing his own new data, NASA climate scientist Jay Zwally said: “At this rate, the Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free at the end of summer by 2012, much faster than previous predictions.”

Oops.  Here are the values of Arctic sea ice up to yesterday:

Back in 2007 (blue line), the global warming doomsters took a one year minima in sea ice (caused by unusual wind currents, not temperatures) and told us we would be ice free this summer. Of course, the media ate it up.

Current values (thick black line) are the highest they have been since 2005.

While WattsUpWithThat and other web sites track all of this daily, don't count on seeing this story in the New York Times. This is yet another example of a catastrophic global warming forecast gone wrong.


Note to our new readers. I believe that human beings, on balance and other factors equal, warm the earth. But, there is zero evidence of catastrophic global warming of the type Al Gore and others like him hype.

USA..USA..USA??

Meteorologists across the U.S. have been noting the very, very different medium range (defined by meteorologists as 5-16 days) forecast being produced by the U.S. and European computer models for the period starting Memorial Day weekend.

Click to enlarge. European model at left, U.S. model at right. 

The forecasts above are valid ten days from now. Consistently, the European model has shown warm, dry weather across the central U.S.

The U.S. model for the last few days has been showing a very wet pattern for the central U.S. the last week of the month and, perhaps, into early June. Storm chasers are drooling over this series of forecasts. Wheat farmers would not be so thrilled as rain could interrupt what could be a very promising wheat harvest.

Generally, the European model is the more accurate. We'll check back in ten days to see which model is correct. Of course, it is possible that neither is correct.