Let the Wintry Mix begin!!

Well parts of the area have seen a light dusting of snow, mainly to the North of Dayton, so far today.  We have been in a dry lull the last three hours, but an area of convergence out to our west is pulling in a lot of moisture.  We are below freezing in the northern part of the valley and above freezing to the south.  So as you can imagine, the next 12-24 hours will be interesting because some areas to the north may see all snow, and some areas to the south may stay all rain until this time tomorrow when the cold air really punches into the area.  All in all, the highest accumulations for the next 48 hours should be about one to two inches.  Nothing major, but roads will be icy tomorrow night, keep that in mind as you are heading home from any festivities.

On a completely unrelated note, I am returning my brother his Sachs mopeds tomorrow.  He gave it to me to get it back running after he almost put it into its grave.  He didn't check the clutch and there was no fluid in there.... lucky it didn't blow on him.  Then he also caught his birds nest of wires in the peddle and really did a number on those... So basically I had to do some rewiring, engine/clutch work, and also take his stock (cough cough) exhaust and clean out as much of the carbon out of it as possible to actually allow air to flow through it again.  Anyways, it is running again, and I have to give it back.  I am still waiting for the stator plate for my Sebring. I cant wait to get her running again, I look so big on her two beautiful wheels, but I still love every minute she runs.... Then my Tomos, I need a few piston rings and I should be able to get that back together after trying to piece the top end back together after it was seized.... Mopeds are a never-ending headache, but the reward of riding them is worth it...

Have a good one, see you back tomorrow to finish off my 14 day-16 shift stretch of working...

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

More snow on the way.

Hope you all had a happy and safe holiday!  I have been super busy working the last few weeks straight along with a few double shifts.... Finally catching up on sleep and enjoying the sunshine, but things look to quickly change...

Cloudy Wednesday with snow arriving later in the evening.  Right now only expecting a light accumulation, between a dusting and half an inch.  Then it will switch over to a Rain/Snow mix for New Years Eve in the morning, then back to snow later that night.  The northern Miami Valley will see more snow, and the south seeing more rain.  Then frigid temperatures will be returning to the area for the late weekend and early next week.  Right now wind chills look to be below zero, brrr!!!

Hope you got to catch my siblings on-air the last two days.  Since my family lives in Darke County and they had a Level 1 Snow Emergency, I had them find snow drifts, and without me asking, went and stood right in the drifts to show how deep they actually were.  Thanks guys!!

Travel safe in the days to come and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Snow on the way

So there wasn't any snow for Christmas morning, but at least we will be getting some tomorrow.  The system that has been blanketing the Plains with Blizzard Warnings will cough a little moisture our way and we look to get a light accumulation.  The latest models are showing that South of Dayton will see between 0.5" and 1" and then areas north of Dayton will see between 1" and 1.5" of snow before Monday morning, with a few spots seeing a little more to the far Northwest.  Much of the snow will not arrive until later in the afternoon, starting in the Northwest and work its way to the Southeast slowly. 

Take it easy on the roads, and send in your weather photos!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

It's here!!! Merry Christmas!!!

Another morning on the morning show, and today will turn out to be a special one... hope you tune in to find out.  It will be special ALL morning, but especially from 8-9 AM. 

It looks like light spotty rain for the day today, not a complete washout.  Tonight the temps will fall below freezing and the rain will turn to snow.  We will see light snow and flurries tonight, with a dusting at most by tomorrow morning.  Light snow possible for tomorrow as well, but the best shot of snow will come on Sunday.  We could see about 1-2" of snow, a few places could see a little more but most of us only seeing 1-2".

Snow then tapers off as we head into the last week of 2009, and snow holding off until later next week.

Well have a safe and happy holiday and see you back here soon!!!

0 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Merry Christmas Eve!!!

A small batch of moisture, snow, moved over the western counties early today, most of the precip, but didnt hit the ground, evaporating instead.  That will not be the case tonight as heavy rain is headed our way.  The heavy rain will end tomorrow morning and a few remaining light showers will be around the area.  Then the light showers will switch over to light snow showers or flurries for tomorrow night.  We are still looking at about one inch, maybe slightly more, as we head through the weekend.  Colder temperatures as we head into next week.  Travel safe everyone!!!

1 day left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Quick Update

Busy day today.  Wintry mix this morning caused for a hectic commute for parts of the Miami Valley,  As a matter of fact, the central part of the Miami Valley had a Winter Weather Advisory for several hours.

Tomorrow there is a less risk of the wintry mix, but still a slight chance as we see flurries switch over to rain showers for the late morning and early afternoon into evening.  The rain will persist through the overnight hours and could be heavy at times.  Christmas we will see scattered showers turning to flurries and snow showers as we head into the evening hours.  The roads could see some re-freezing so keep an eye on the roads Christmas night.  A lot of this will depend on how fast the roads dry, we will see pretty strong winds the next 48 hours.  As we head into the weekend, temperatures will remain cold and we could see a light accumulation of snow, right now the models are looking around 1-2" of snow.  I will be back on tomorrow with an update on the accumulation totals possible.  Have a good one, travel safe, happy holidays and Merry Christmas!!

2 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Morning snow only a tease of a White Christmas...

Well the light snow we saw this morning was only a tease...  It would have been great it today was Christmas and waking up to a light snow falling.... nothing major to cause travel problems, but enough to make it pretty...

Unfortunately, the forecast doesn't have snow on Christmas morning.  We will see a few flurries the next few days at times.  On Christmas Eve we will be cold for most of the day, a few flurries at times, then by the evening, rain will arrive and last overnight.  The rain could be heavy at times, so its a good thing Rudolph's nose will light the way.  Rain will lingering, at times, through Christmas Day and switch back over to snow showers and flurries later Christmas evening.  The snow will then remain around the area then for the rest of the holiday weekend.  If you are traveling westward out to the Great Plains, get ready for very heavy snow!!

3 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Crazy morning on the roadways.

Well the half an inch of snow we got last night was just enough to look pretty and people to think it was harmless, but caused major headaches, especially in Dayton.  The wet roads that refroze and got that dusting of snow turned out to be a bad combination and accidents littered the highways. Parts of 35 going through town were shut down for several hours as salt trucks tried to get control of a few extra dangerous spots.  Reports from other counties such as Darke County had vehicles sliding off the roadways so no where really in the Miami Valley saw decent roads this morning.

It is looking pretty dry for most of Christmas Eve, so any commuting on Thursday should be fine.  Still expecting like flurries on Christmas Eve changing over to rain in the evening and remaining rain as we head into Christmas.  It doesn't look to switch back over to snow until Christmas late afternoon or evening. As much as everyone wants a White Christmas, at least we wont have to deal with shoveling out of near blizzard conditions, which parts of the Central Plains could very likely see in the days to come. 

Time to wrap presents!! 4 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Christmas forecast finally getting pinned down

With the recent computer models and blogs on here, the Christmas forecast has been on the line.  Finally the models are agreeing on the same track of the storm.  Unfortunately for us, it does not mean a White Christmas, instead it is looking like a Wet Christmas. We could see a little snow to start things off on Christmas Eve, but things will warm up and change over to rain for overnight and into Christmas.  Flurries and light snow showers will linger Christmas evening and overnight.  Things could still change, but the models have been in agreement the last 24 hours, which normally means things will hold pretty close to the models.  I will have updates here on Buck's Blog in the coming days just in case the track of the low changes and keeping an eye on things.

Well time to get ready for the evening news, then sleeping here at the station a few minutes, then back up for the morning show.... see you all this week in the mornings!!!

5 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael.

We got our first "real" snow!!

By real, I mean seeing all white outside and actually able to measure it.  We did get that dusting a few weeks ago, but was quickly melted and so light you couldn't actually measure it.  With the temperatures warming up today above freezing and now back below freezing, any roads that are left untreated and less traveled will begin to ice over.  Use caution because it may see wet and not icy, but then all of a sudden the wheels will feel like you are riding on marbles.

It looks like we will see a light dusting for Sunday night up to an inch of snow, nothing too major, but could still cause some slick spots for Monday morning.

For Thursday and Friday, we will be, once again, right on the line of the rain and the snow.  The latest models are showing the system starting out as snow late Thursday, changing back over to rain overnight and into Christmas morning, then back to snow flurries Christmas evening.... If the system shifts 40 miles one way or another from its current track, it could be all rain or all snow... Very interesting system and will definitely bear watching in the coming days.

6 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

A few changes to the upcoming systems...

The first system arriving tonight looks to hold together.  Most of the area should see 1-2" with some isolated spots, mainly south and east of Dayton getting a little more.  It should start this evening, maybe as a light sprinkle first then turn quickly to snow, and last through Saturday night.  This will be the first accumulation of snow this season, so take it easy on the roadways, accelerate slowly and give yourself plenty of room to stop.

They next system clipping us on Monday will be staying a little farther to the north.  We could still see a dusting or up to an inch of snow from Sunday night into Monday evening.

The biggest of the changes is coming with the system later next week.  As I said yesterday the rain/snow line was very near our area.  The last three models have indicated that we will be warmer than what they were showing yesterday.  This means that instead of the Miami Valley seeing the first snow "storm" of the season, right now it is showing a lot of rain on Christmas Eve and temperatures getting near or into the 40's.  This will melt a lot, if not all, of the snow on the ground from tomorrow and Monday.  It will need to be watched closely in the coming days to see how the track of the storm progresses.  I will say this, the fact that the models have not consistently been able to grasp the storm means that it still is a little to early to said without question whether it will be a snow or rain event.  With that said, the latest of the models are showing rain on Christmas Eve and a few lingering snow showers and flurries for Christmas.  I will update this frequently in the coming days, as always.

7 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

White Christmas?

As it looks right now we will see about three rounds of winter weather before Jolly Ole St. Nick slides down the chimney.  I will break down each of the storms.

The models are always changing, so make sure to check back in for an update on snow totals in the coming days.

First storm: Friday night until Sunday morning.  This system has been fairly consistent in the recent models.  It looks like most of the area will see at least an inch of snow.  As of right now, a few locations could see 2 or 2.5 inches.

Second storm: Sunday night into Monday night. This system has been showing gradual building and strengthening. This system is showing an additional inch of snow in recent models.

We will see a cold break of high pressure for the middle of next week, but the third system, and strongest of the systems, looks to arrive later week.  It should start Wednesday night and last through Christmas Day and into the weekend as flurries.  With the fact that this system is so far out, models are still getting a grasp on it and have not been completely in agreement.  The majority of the models have shown this as all snow.   A few other models have shown this starting off as a wintry mix and then back to snow.  If the system stays as snow, we could see several inches, giving us a White Christmas.  If the system shifts gears at all, we could see this turn into a rain event, and greatly decrease our snowfall.  It will need to be watched, but right now we are trending towards a White Christmas....  As always, check back on here to get an update on the predicted snowfall totals for the coming systems.

8 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Anyone got directions???

Cuz I am LOST!!! That's right, I talked about LOST in my last blog and season three came on DVD yesterday, so it has basically been LOST non-stop since yesterday.  Also got a new dryer yesterday because the last one was broken, and it takes half the time to dry the clothes now.  I expect to see a decrease in my electric bill.

Update on the chance for snow this weekend... right now it is looking like we could see a light dusting over all of the area, but a few spots could see 1-2" of snow, coming up this weekend.  It is still pretty far out to pin-point who will be seeing the most snow, if the system happens to switch  angles it would drastically change the amount of snow.  As always, I will be back on, in the coming days.... and as a sneak peek, next week looks cold, and we have a few more systems in the long range.... could we see a White Christmas???  You will have to check back in to see....  Have a good one!

10 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

LOST!!!

So Dawn and I currently do not have the third season.  We think it is at her parents house, and we have flew threw season one and two, but now we are moving at a much slower pace.  It was so nice when it was on DVD and we could watch it while falling asleep, but now I have to take my laptop out to the living room and hook it up to the TV.  The bedroom TV doesn't have the hook-ups for the laptop.  So anyways, now we have to watch them on Hulu and wait for the ads to play and such.... time wasted... especially on the internet... Anyways, Amazon had a HUGE deal the other day.  Season five came out on DVD last Tuesday, so Amazon was offering 70% off if you bought seasons one through five, and the price was the same, if not less, than if you bought two seasons.  So we thought, ehh, why not get it and find a use for seasons one, two, and four.  (Maybe Christmas gifts.)  Haha.

Icy morning today in Sidney, looks like with temperatures dropping close to freezing again tonight and patchy fog forming, we could see a little black ice form in some of the colder locations.  Not everywhere, but basically the normally cool spots.  Warm for the afternoon on Monday though, close to 50 degrees.  Then a cold snap Tuesday with a rain/snow mix.  The end of the week could be interesting, possibly our first accumulation of snow for the season.  I will keep you posted on that.  Have a good one!

12 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Keeping it close to home...

So for those of you who were out of town and didn't get to see my story on the Shelby County Community Christmas Dinner, here it is.   It was amazing to see how many people came out for the event and got together to just have a good time.  Anyone that wanted to come was welcome.  The line wandered around three sides of the building (inside, so no waiting outside), and it was a record-setter with 1625 people served.  It was a good time and I plan on returning again next year.

Looks like we could see a few pockets of freezing rain tonight.  If anyone happens to catch any of it, email me and let me know, amichael@daytonsnewssource.com.  Not everyone will see it because it will be widely scattered, but the good news is that by 7AM it all should be melted with temperatures warming through the night and rain showers through the morning.  Have a good one!!

13 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Another Cold Morning....

Now I love my dog, Buckeye, but taking him out at 2 AM with the winds about 20 mph, and the wind chills below zero is not fun at all...  Luckily he doesn't like the cold either and doesn't waste time.  I need to start getting back into the winter mindset while taking him out... Last year, I had a dedicated pair of hat and gloves.  So far, I haven't done that just yet.

Wind chills right now are around zero across the area, but temps will fall slightly and winds will pick up, so the morning will have wind chills around zero, or slightly below.  This afternoon, despite "warming" up into the upper 20's, it will feel like the teens, at best, with the winds remaining steady from 10-20 mph.

It is hard to believe that Christmas is only two weeks away!!  I still need a little shopping for Dawn and our parents left to finish.  I have all of my siblings taken care of, and they are normally the hardest to shop for. 

Keep warm out there, and remember, only 14 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Cold last 36 hours for me....

If you had the news on yesterday or today, I was on there for every newscast doing reports on the windy, cold conditions here in the Northern Miami Valley.  We had wind gusts around 30 miles per hour during some of my reports, but that wasn't too bad.  The bad part was when I was out this morning for four hours when the wind chill was below zero for most of the time.  It dipped to 9 below zero a few times, brrrrr.  I will say, it was a lot of fun going around with the mobile weather unit and monitoring the conditions.  I look forward to continuing that when the weather warrants.  I guess the good news is that DP&L was on top of the power outages and the few thousand people who did lose power during the day, had it restored very quickly due to the extra crews out in the field ready for problems with the 50+ mph gusts of wind some areas saw.  I couldn't imagine trying to keep warm at home with no heat or electric on a night like last night.

So now that the ground is finally cold, it looks like the season of school delays due to snow and ice has begun.  On the near horizon, it looks like the next week will remain pretty snow-free.  The best chance is a wintry mix early Sunday morning.  Other than that, just rain and flurries for the upcoming seven days.

Browns are playing tonight on NFL Network, which might not be a bad idea.... it just means that less people will be able to see how bad the Browns really are as a team.  I am a fan, but things really need to change in Cleveland, they are just downright embarrasing and not even competing as a professional football team.

One good uplifting thing to look forward towards: 15 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Quick one...

Getting ready to head to bed, might be called in early for the dangerous weather headed out way. Rain will persist through tonight and very strong winds through Wednesday night.  In fact the entire Miami Valley will be under a High Wind Warning from 7 AM Wednesday until 1 AM Thursday. We could see sustained winds of nearly 30 to 40 mph and gusts close to 60 mph at times.

We will see the temperatures fall below the freezing mark during the afternoon tomorrow.  Roadways that remain untreated could see ice starting to form, so as ODOT says: "Ice and Snow, Take it Slow."  Things remain very cold for the rest of the week and when the temps fall, we could see a light dusting of snow.   The big story will be the high winds and cold temperatures plowing into the area through the next 24 hours.  Time for bed, take it easy!!

17 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael.

So the snow stuck....

As I talked about in my last blog, and made it pretty slippery for the morning drive today.  Countless people sliding off the roads and some even causing main arteries of traffic to be shutdown for the morning commute.  The ODOT webcams on the morning show were a key part in not only showing the backed up traffic, but even placed in locations perfect to show a few of the actual accidents.

Tonight the wet roads will refreeze so keep an eye out for icy locations, especially on back country roads that are not salted.  It is also a good reminder to get your vehicle prepared for the winter, I added about 30 concrete blocks to the back of my truck today, with Dawn's help, who was off using a vacation day.  Also might want to add that ice scraper, brush, blanket, extra clothes, few bottles of water, a flare, or anything else you might need to hunker down in your vehicle for a while.

Update on the mid-week storm.  We could see an icy mix to start things off Tuesday evening, it will turn over to rain for Tuesday night.  Heavy rain at times will persist thru Wednesday morning, and then temperatures will plummet, and winds will start becoming VERY VERY strong.  We are talking about sustained winds about 30 miles per hour with gusts close to 50 at times.  There will not be a lot of moisture on the backside of the storm when the temperatures drop into the twenties for highs on Thursday and Friday.  We could see another dusting or maybe a light accumulation.  Too far out to pin-point how much, but I'll be back on in the coming days, as always with updates.

18 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Frigid Mornings=Good News for Snow-Lovers

With the last couple of mornings down into the teens, it might upset some people who do not like to cold, but for those who like the snow, it is a blessing in disguise.  The ground recently has been too warm for the snow to stick, but the ground finally has cooled below the freezing level at the surface.  If temperatures remain cold it will freeze the ground farther down, under the surface of the earth, and enhance our chances for snow to stick. 

One side note, on the way home from Canton yesterday, after Alter's win, a kid, about 7 years old, pulled up next to me on the highway and held up an Alter hat for me to see.  It made me smile and I gave him a thumbs up.

Interesting system moving our way for the middle of this week, should start as a wintery mix Tuesday night, rain for early Wednesday, and then switching back over to flurries or snow showers Wednesday night and early Thursday.  I will keep an eye on it, in the days to come, with updates on here.

19 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

From Canton, Good Morning!!

Getting ready for the Alter game here in Canton!!  Hopefully it will be as energy packed as I am hoping for.  We got your entire exclusive coverage coming up tonight on Dayton's News Source, and I will update my blog later with all the updates on the behind the sidelines action!!

Looks like its going to be a cold one, 24 degrees here currently!!

20 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Gooooood Evening from Canton!!!

I will say this first and foremost: Way to go Coldwater, you really played as best as you could, and you should be proud.

Second of all, it was cold tonight!!  I am still wearing my long johns as I write this!!  That's right, I admit it, it was a cold game!!  Luckily though, no snow or rain, only clear skies.  Anyways it was a cold night in Canton.

So I got to Canton about 1:30 and the kick off wasn't until about 3:00, so I decided to shoot some video of the Coldwater fans tailgating and having "breakfast."  Within about thirty seconds of starting to shoot the video they drug me into the tent and started shoving food at me.... I then only requested some caffeine because I knew it was going to be a long day.  I started to drink the Mountain Dew, which never tasted so good, when the MC of the tailgate came up to me with a heaping plate of food.  Now to let you know, I just finished a "Five Dollar Footlooooooong" from Subway, so I was pretty much stuffed.  When they brought me the plate, one of the senior moms took my camera and drink away from me so I had two hands to eat my food..... Needless to say, I had to eat the food, and it was DELICIOUS!!!  So I ate as much as I humanly could, and I mingled with the Coldwater fans before the game, and got some video of the kids Coldwater playing football on the "Hall of Fame" football field, and finally had to part ways to go into the stadium to try to get ready for the football game.

Once inside, I got my credentials and headed to the media room on the field level, under the stands, which was a 12 by 12 room with lockers and a 7 foot ceiling beneath the fans, a random Reebok football cleated shoe, and two tables for us to work on...  Needless to say, it felt like home!!  Seriously!!  I set up my editing station inside and talked with some of the newspaper photogs there, and finally headed out for the game....

Stepping onto the field, the bitter windchill hit you in the face reminding you that it is December here in Ohio.  Coldwater came out strong and scored the first points, but YU (Youngstown Ursuline) responded just as strong.  The defense of YU tore apart Coldwater because if there was one missed route or one missed pass, YU was there to gain on the play.  Coldwater did one HECK of a job playing tough.  Coldwater honestly NEVER gave up.  Even in the last seconds when they were down by 30 points, I remember Coach John Reed yelling out at them to get the play off with less than a minute left in the game.   I know they did not get the rings and didnt get what they were hoping for, but to any of you Coldwater players, you should be proud of what you have accomplished this year.  You represented the MAC and Western Ohio!!  We are proud of you and all you have done!! 

So then after the game, I got to talk to John Reed, Head Coach of Coldwater, and QB Keith Wenning, as well as a few of the mothers of the Coldwater Seniors, including the kind mother, Bev Sanning, who held my camera and Mt. Dew.  The team let the parents come into the locker room after the game and almost every single parent coming from the locker room was chocked up with sadness, but still proud of how their team did this season.  Coldwater has overcame a lot of obstacles this season, but still came out as the second best team in all of the State of Ohio, hats off to you!!!

21 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Packing up my bags.....

Heading off to Canton for the State Finals for high school football.  Both games will be in Canton, Coldwater today at 3 PM and tomorrow at 11 AM Alter is playing.  Make sure to tune in tonight starting at 6PM on ABC 22 for complete coverage including post game reactions.  I will also be blogging from Canton later today, so expect a few more updates on here.  To anyone else planning on making the trip, BUNDLE UP!!!  Wind chills today will be below freezing, dipping down into the lower 20's at times for today's and tomorrow's game.  Have a good one!

21 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

What's That Falling?????

I hope you enjoyed the title as much as I did...

Snow vs Sleet vs Freezing Rain vs Rain vs Rain/Snow Mix

Most people have a hard time understanding the difference between the forms of precipitation, so this will be a little tutorial because it is pretty basic and easy to understand.

There are two main set-ups for the various forms of precipitation: Cold Air Under Warm Air & Warm Air Under Cold Air. I built two graphics to help demonstrate the proper atmospheric conditions for each to occur.
Lets start with the Cold Air Under Warm Air. No matter if is winter or summer, you will find snow in the clouds that are producing any form of precipitation. Starting on the left: you need air that is below or at freezing, 32F, for snow to fall. This way there is no thawing of the snow as it falls from the clouds to the earth. Moving toward the right: The next form of precipitation on the ground is Sleet. The snow falls through a layer or warm air, melts and turns into liquid rain. The rain then falls back into the cold air and refreezes as sleet, or little solid ice pellets. These will bounce off your coat if you are outside in the elements. Continuing right: the third form of precip on this diagram is freezing rain. Many people find it hard to understand freezing rain, so I will try to be very specific. The snow from the clouds melts in the warm air and turns into liquid rain. It falls ALL THE WAY down to the earth as rain, but as you can see, it drops back into the cold air. There is NOT enough time for the rain to refreeze into sleet, so when the liquid rain comes in contact with the ground, grass, or your coat, it instantly freezes into ice. The surface that it is comes in contact is actually below the freezing mark, so once it stops falling and touches it, it begins to freeze immediately. For freezing rain to form, the temperature at the surface has to be at or below 32 degrees. If it is above 32F and rain does not freeze on contact with the surface it is NOT freezing rain. The fourth and final form of precip all the way on the right is rain. The snow will fall from the clouds, melt in the warm air, and stay as a liquid all the way to the ground because it does not encounter any air below 32F.
Now on to Warm Air Under Cold Air. We just finished talking about rain, which is on the left of this diagram, and as you can see, the snow melts into rain. The rain/snow mix occurs very near the Melting Level. When the Melting Level is very close to the surface, you can see that this is where you get the Rain/Snow mix to actually fall to the earth. When there is too much warm air, it melts all the snow into rain, but if the distance is just right, you can get the rain/snow mixture. Then as you can see on the far right, when you get completely freezing air, you get snow all the way from the clouds to the surface of the earth.

Hopefully this helped clear a few questions up for you, and help you better understand the different forms of precipitation that we will be seeing in the coming months. If you have any questions at all, feel free to comment on this blog because it will send me an email, and I can help you better understand.

22 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Update on our current storm...

As I start off this blog update, I made a map diagram to better explain our system that we are seeing.... right here.  This image is at 10 PM December 2nd.  The low is currently located over Louisville, KY with the cold front draped just to our west.  The single big arrow shows where the low will move out front of the cold front.  It will move through before the cold air behind the cold front from the west arrives.  As you can see the majority of the moisture is in ahead of the cold front.  There is a little moisture behind it near the Ft. Wayne area, but the cold front will be moving eastward slower than the low.  So basically we will see the cooler air from the south before the really cold air arrives.  Thus our temperatures will not be cold enough for any accumulation of snow.  Had there been more moisture behind the cold front, AND the cold front came through about 6 hours earlier, we could have seen a light accumulation of snow, but as you can see there had to be a lot of things perfect for that to happen.

These systems that come from the south, as this one is, are our normal "big snow" set-ups.  The systems ride up the back side of the Appalachian Mountains, and use the mountains as a bumper, kinda like bowling.  If we have seen cold weather long enough, like January and February, then we could have seen a very nice snow amount, as long as we aren't in the warm sectors.  As for the clipper systems that swing in from Canada, well, they normally bring a much more blast of cold air, but they tend to be a little drier, and not bringing the moisture like the gulf systems.

It is still very early in the winter storm system season, so have no fear if you are wanting snow, we still could get a few flurries tomorrow.  Northwestern counties could see it first, but the roadways should be pretty decent for the morning... the temperatures should remain above freezing until the afternoon.   Meaning chances of things icing up should hold off until the later commute, and by then the windy conditions should dry up the roadways faster than normal.

On a side note, I made pulled pork sandwiches tonight. Dawn said it was the best thing she had eaten.  Hope so, took a long time in the crock pot, then had to pull it all apart.... looking forward to eating the leftovers tomorrow.  Have a good one!!

23 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Winter still is a few weeks away....

And it looks like the chance to see any snow has greatly diminished on Thursday.  The system showed a few model runs earlier in the week with the cold air and moisture mixing, but now by the time the cold air arrives, there is no moisture left.  The only thing left will be a few light flurries... I am not going to lie, I was kinda looking forward to seeing an inch or two of snow to help everyone get into the holiday spirit, but as the title says, winter doesn't officially start for a few weeks.  Needless to say, the ground would have been really warm, and even if we did get snow this week, it wouldn't have lasted long on the ground.  Oh well, that is why we have January and February right?

24 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Hurricane Season comes to an end.

Well today marks the end of the Hurricane Season for 2009.  A pretty quiet year, if I would say so myself....  Only eleven named storms, as you can see below...  and only three of the storms were even a Cat.  Pretty quiet year in the Atlantic, however the Eastern Pacific was twice as active as the Atlantic.   There were a lot of factors playing into the lack of storms to our east, a lot strong upper level winds, and slightly cooler than average water temperatures.

Atlantic named storms for 2009:

#	Name	Date	Wind	Pres	Cat
1	Tropical Depression ONE	28-29 MAY	30	1006	-
2	Tropical Storm ANA	11-17 AUG	35		-
3	Hurricane-4 BILL	15-24 AUG	115		4
4	Tropical Storm CLAUDETTE	16-18 AUG	45		-
5	Tropical Storm DANNY	26-29 AUG	50		-
6	Tropical Storm ERIKA	01-04 SEP	50	1004	-
7	Hurricane-3 FRED	07-12 SEP	105	958	3
8	Tropical Depression EIGHT	25-26 SEP	30	1008	-
9	Tropical Storm GRACE	05-06 OCT	60	986	-
10	Tropical Storm HENRI	06-08 OCT	45	1005	-
11	Hurricane-2 IDA	04-10 NOV	90		2

Back home, we are keeping an eye on the storm system coming from the south, which will be arriving Wednesday into Thursday.  Yesterday the models were showing that the storms system would be bringing cooler air in sooner, and resulting in the first possibilites of accumulation snow this season.  The models have slowly been trending toward the warmer temperatures lingering a little longer, and resulting in more rain, before the initial switch over to snow.  The latest models are showing the switch over to snow overnight Wednesday night and currently showing a very light accumulation or possibly just a light dusting.  The difference between one and two degrees can mean the difference between the rain/snow transition being bumped a few hours one way or the other.... Needless to say, on the back side of this storm, we will see our coldest temperatures of the season, and making it hard to even get above freezing for Thursday and Friday.  It is a touchy system, and as always I will be on here daily with a blog update on it... Until then, take it easy and have a good one!!

25 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Beautiful Day!!

What a COLD morning today, my weather station, in Sidney, showed a low of 25.5 this morning!!  BRRRR!!  I stayed in bed most of the morning and enjoyed a little peace and quiet while watching several episodes of LOST.  Things warmed up this afternoon with all of the sunshine and southwesterly winds.  By the afternoon, temps were in the 50's so I walked over to the park and shot some hoops.  It was a little breezy and that is my excuse why so many shots didn't get into the hoop.  Most of my shots were right on as far as aim, but the distance was a little touchy, most of the time it hit off the back of the rim and came right back to me...

Tomorrow looks to be a lot of the same as today, at least to start the day.  We will see more clouds and rain arrive for later Sunday.  The entire game, Cleveland @ Cincinnati, should be dry and sunny.  Hopefully the Browns can get a second win.  Back to the weather, we will cool things down for next week, especially late into the week... Highs looking like they will be in the mid 30's.

Oh yea, forgot to mention, I was at the entire Coldwater football game last night, where they secured their spot in the game for State.  The state game is this coming Friday, and as of the last I heard, I will be making the trip to the Canton area for that.  I look forward to seeing another high energy game like last night.  It was amazing how much time the Coldwater QB had in the pocket..... He could have taken a phone call while waiting to throw the ball, seriously.  Great game Cavs!!  Best of luck!!

27 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Happy Thanksgiving Morning!!!

Early morning for myself, filling in for Mike Terwilleger who is getting ready for the Feast of Giving.  I did the weather last night at 10 and 11, tried to sleep at the station, but just couldn't, maybe to excited for the holidays... who knows.... haha...    Anyways, I will be down at the Dayton Convention Center joining Mike and Jeff later this morning, and excited to see all the thousands of people coming out for the festivities.  I will be there for the morning, then heading up to my grandmother's for another great thanksgiving dinner.  I cant wait for her famous sweet corn.

An update on our current weather system bringing us a chance for flurries.  The clouds cleared away this morning which allowed temps to plummet to the freezing mark for parts of the area.  We should stay dry for the rest of the morning and early afternoon.  Currently tracking a band of moisture by Chicago now that will be swinging our way for this evening.  If it holds together and does not lose its moisture, that will be our best shot of seeing flurries this evening.  The computer models are showing it holding together and it arriving around 5 PM or so.  With the temperatures so cold because of the clear skies, we may actually see a few more snowflakes than rain drops in the mix.  The pavement over the ground will be pretty warm and the snow will melt almost instantly, but keep an eye out on the bridges and overpasses, where it will get icy first.  The flurries will linger through part of the night, and into your Black Friday morning.  I will be back in all morning tomorrow to keep you up to date if you are heading out for any great deals.  Time to get ready to do the forecast, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!!  Hope to see you at the Feast of Giving.

29 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

LOST

So last night I started something that is going to be hard to stop, LOST.  I am a huge fan, and it was decided last night to pop in the DVD from season one in preparation of the final season coming in early 2010 on ABC.  The show is so amazing and so horrible at the same time.  While watching it you sit there on the edge of your seat while Jack, Kate, Sayid, and the other 47 original survivors try to cope with life after crashing on the island.  You sit in complete silence and bogglization of the mind.  Then when the commercial comes on, you are like, WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!?!?!  You complain about how lost you are and how you have five new questions since the last commercial break and how you hate the show because you have no idea what is going on.  Then as soon as the commercial ends, you wave your hands and yell at everyone to shut up because its back on.  The cycle will continue forever; its a complete and definite love-hate relationship.

So an update on the flurries heading our way.  We are tracking a few light rain showers moving in from Indiana currently.  We could see a few light showers early on Thanksgiving, but the afternoon should dry up a bit, then a few flurries possible as we head into the evening tomorrow night.  The flurries might mix with a few rain drops on Friday, but if you are heading out Friday morning, bundle up for wind chills that feel like the upper teens at times.  If you aren't a fan of snow, don't worry, there will not be enough flurries of snow to really cause too many problems; it should be melting away just about as fast as it falls.

30 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Foggy morning.

Busy morning for me today!!  We has some pretty thick fog and actually a Dense Fog Advisory for most of the Miami Valley, mainly to the North.  Anyways, Dawn already took the day off because she has ten vacation days she has to use up before the end of the year.  So she came along with me as I did reports on the foggy conditions.  We first started out in Sidney then up to Anna were visibilities were just under a mile at both locations.  We then started heading to southern Darke County where the first delays started coming in.  Minster was on the way and things weren't very bad there, about three miles visibility. Versailles was next and visibility was about a half mile or slightly under,which was bad enough to warrant a two hour delay.  Ansonia was next, and the fog had started lifting and we had about two or three miles visibility, so we pushed on to Greenville.  It was pretty easy to see the fog lifting in Greenville, the cell phone towers could be seen for the first one hundred feet off the ground, then instantly disappeared into the cloud deck, showing how things slowly were lifting. From there we went to Arcanum, which had the worst visibilities of the morning.  It was about a quarter of a mile if not lower at times, so easily the worst conditions of the morning.  Needless to say, I was pretty tired after all of that reporting this morning, but it was a lot of fun doing reports from all the communities on the weather.

So an update on the first taste of winter we are going to get later this week.  Right now it looks like we will see a few light rain showers tonight and early tomorrow morning.  Then things will continuously be getting cooler as we head through the day tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday.  We will still see a break in the rain tomorrow afternoon, but rain should start back up on Turkey Day.  The rain on Thanksgiving will be very light and widely scattered.  By the time we head into the evening, we could see a few flurries mixing in.  By Friday morning, looking like all flurries switching to a rain/snow mix for Friday afternoon, then drying things out for the weekend.

Time to do some laundry, have a good one!!  31 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Using my imagination...

So, as I have told you on here, my neighbor has Christmas decorations he has been collecting for years and years, so I basically decided I just have to accept having the "other" house on the street.  However, I did get pretty innovative.  I had three strands of lights left, still in the boxes, and I was trying to think of the best way to use them.  So I decided to try and make a Christmas tree in the front yard.  I took a five foot PVC pipe, put it into ground standing up and ran the lights up at an angle to it is in the shape of a cone... 

So an update on our chances to get snow later this week.  The latest models keep trending on less precipitation.  First off, let me say this, there will be no accumulation with this system, the ground isn't cold enough yet, and there isn't enough moisture with this system.  The cold air will not arrive until late in the day on Thanksgiving.  Until then, we could see a light rain shower Tuesday night, and then again Wednesday night and into Thanksgiving.  These will be pretty light showers.  Then things will get cold through the day Thanksgiving, so the warmest temperature will be early in the morning, and continue getting colder as the day progresses.  Once we hit the late afternoon and early evening places like Mercer County could see the first of the flurries.  It may not be until early Friday morning before places to the south, like Clinton County, see any flurries.  These will be light flurries and at most, although we could see a light dusting on cars, grass, and mulch.  Friday a few rain drops and flurries can be expected, switching back to all flurries on Friday night and maybe lingering a little into early Saturday morning.

Be back on tomorrow with another update, until then, have a good one!! 32 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Browns can't catch a break!!

So it was just another unfortunate day for the Browns.  They did actually look like a real team today, and scored several touchdowns, but then again, they were playing the Lions.  The Browns defense seemed a little lax today and did not seem to play as tight as normal.  We did finally get the ball moving on offense, so hopefully they will learn how to do that the rest of the season.

So an update on the winter storm coming this week.  Still looking like we could see a flurry or two early Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, but the best chance will be later that night and into Friday.  Here is how the week looks to shape up...  We will see a slight chance for a stray shower for Monday, but that wont cool us down too much.  Our first punch of cool air will come Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.  This will be bringing a chance for rain showers, but we should dry things out for Wednesday afternoon.  The second punch of cold air will come then on Thursday.  The rain should start late Wednesday night and, like I said, maybe a flurry or two mixed in with the rain that morning, turning to on and off rain showers for Thanksgiving.  The rain looks to be pretty light, and then that evening we could see it switch to a light wintery mix and then to almost all snow flurries on Friday morning.  Friday during the afternoon we could see a few rain drops mix in before finishing things off Friday as flurries.

With the ground still very warm, no snow will be sticking to the pavement, and at best, we would see just a dusting on the grass or mulch in our yards.  Regardless, it should definitely kick up the holiday spirit, especially for those going shopping on Black Friday.  Unfortunately I will be working and doing the morning show.  Well, I guess its not that unfortunate, I love doing the morning show with Kylie and Pete.  I normally am laughing the entire four hours we are doing the news because its a good time.  However, I think we will have to spice things up that morning so we can get the feeling of all the craziness that will be going on with all the shoppers.  I haven't been out shopping on Black Friday for a few years.  Hmmmm....

I will be back tomorrow with an update on the approaching snow. Anyways, 33 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Go Buckeyes!!

So I will say this about today's game, if Tate Forcier played as well as he normally did, today's game might not end up the same way.  It was the worst I have seen him play all season long.  As to not gloat and hurt Michigan's fans' feelings anymore, all I will say is GO BUCKS!!

So, on the horizon it looks like we will be getting our first "taste" of winter weather on Thanksgiving.  I hope you all have your ice scrapers, especially those of you heading out to the sales on Black Friday.  Things, right now, to be a wintry mix later this week, switching over from rain to the mix sometime Thanksgiving and maybe even a mix still lingering into Friday.  With these winter systems it always is very touchy to predict what kind of precipitation will be falling because the freezing temperature is 32.  If you happen to be just slightly above or below that, it will mean the difference between rain and snow, respectfully.  I will keep an eye on the situation all week and be back for updates.  Have a good one!!

34 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

I have been upstaged....

So as I was heading into work today, my neighbor was out putting up his final decorations for Christmas...  I know I mentioned him before, but his lights have been left off as he slowly has been putting them up the last few weeks, and today he really brought out all he could... Dawn called me and said she could see a glow in the sky when she got off the highway in Sidney.... There is little I could do to match his decorations.  There were years and years of constant collecting of decorations.  I think I counted about 5 or more Santas, about 6 or more Frostys, and a lot of reindeer.  I think the only thing I could do to match it is to actually have real life reindeer in my yard.  Don't know how Dawn would feel about that.  But regardless, I am glad I have neighbors who are completely in love with the holiday spirit. 

On a separate and completely unrelated note, I am going to Althea Harper's family's home tonight to be there to see if she won Project Runway.  The viewing party should be a lot of fun, too bad I didn't know sooner I was going, I would have tried to be a little more fashionable, than just a shirt, tie, and sweater vest. Best of luck Althea!!

Sweater vests---I am a huge fan of them.  I have been told I look like Mr. Rogers because of it, but I still like them.  They add a little class when wore properly and also add a little suave to someone's appearance.  I think Althea should come out with a line of sweater vests and call them Buck Vests. I am literally laughing out loud here in the newsroom.  But I think that it will be huge hit!!!  That is one thing that will be on my Christmas list.

Anyways, got to get ready to head out the door.  36 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Thanksgiving is right around the corner...

So, Thanksgiving Day is less than 7 days away!!  Man does time fly!!  I love Thanksgiving because it normally involves going to my grandmother's house in Arcanum and enjoying her feast she prepares only three times a year.  It is a lot of fun and pretty quiet because there are only about twelve to fifteen of us all together.

This year, I may be a little late due to the Feast of Giving at the Convention Center that morning... I am sure my grandmother will keep it warm, or at least make me a few plates of food.  Grandmothers never let their grand-children go hungry... EVER!!  But I am excited about the Feast of Giving because it sounds like a lot of fun.

So I need to talk about the Browns.... normally a team coming off a bye week will do pretty well.... I cant tell if the Browns did well or not.  Lebron James said he could play for them... wouldn't that be a sight to see.  I really am getting depressed as a Browns fan because they just cant seem to do ANYTHING on the field offensively.   I guess we will have to wait to see how the rest of the season goes, and then see how management reacts to our poor season.

37 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Not for the sqeamish....

So if you do not like the sight of blood or anything of the such, you may want to skip to another entry.... I happened to do a little damage to my right pointer finger.

This actually happened last night.  It was a normal night, getting ready to go on-air, and putting on my makeup.  I was reaching in my bag to get my foundation.  For those of you who didn't know, yes, we have to wear makeup because if we didn't the lighting would make us look like a ghost, and a glistening ghost, at that.  So I was reaching into my back and I couldn't get this small glass bottle of foundation in the bottom because my finger was being blocked my something... So I pushed harder and put more weight behind it.  It turns out I was pushing against my razor, and the razor's plastic blade cover had fallen off.  Needless to say, I had a lot of "red stuff" coming from my finger.  So much, in fact, that I couldn't even see the actual cut.  So I cleaned it up, and then bandaged it up as well as I could. 

Then I got home and my finger was still throbbing at 1 AM, so I took off the bandage.  Luckily the pressure from the bandage cut off the bleeding, but apparently I didn't only cut my skin, but I had pushed so much, it sliced my finger nail.... not just grazed it, but cut clear through it and sliced the right third of my finger nail.   Needless to say, it hurts, A LOT!!  No pills or pain medicine, not really a big fan of medications.  There really isn't anything to sew up, so I just make sure I keep it clean and got to wait and see if the nail will heal itself or just have to wait until it grows all the way out....   Oh, and yes, I took the razor out of the bag...

On a lighter note, great weather today!!  Most of us seeing nice dry, all be it, cloudy weather.  But at least it was still in the low 60's.  We will only be topping out in the mid 50's at best next week, with rain as well, so I hope you got out and enjoyed it while you could!!

Have a good one!! 40 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Men like flowers too...

Especially if they are roses and you are in any way associated with the Ohio State Buckeyes.  We knew we didn't have a shot at making it into the National Championship after losing to USC and Purdue, so next best thing..... Rose Bowl.  I didn't get to watch much of the game, only a little bit of the end when I got into the weather center, but good game from what I saw.

It looks like we will be seeing a big change in weather coming up... It has been unseasonably warm the last few weeks and sunny for the most part.  It looks like there will be a system to our west for the next week.  We will be seeing a lot of clouds the upcoming week.  The system looks to be brushing up against our western counties as of right now, but the models keep trending it farther eastward...  If it keeps with that trend we could see a better chance of rain, but as of right now, only about a 20% chance, at best, for the next few days straight.  Western counties should be seeing the best chances of rain.

Time to get ready for the ABC News at 11, or as soon as the ND/PITT football game is over...

Have a good one! 41 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Chirp, Chirp, Chirp....

Good early morning!! I am all alone this morning, Buckeye is at the groomer this morning.  He was a little nervous but the kind groomer gave him a little better treatment since he can't see anything.  That gave me a free morning to go for a good run.  Dawn called and said that fog was super thick north of Sidney on her way to Lima, but here in Sidney it was sunny, and very frosty.  It took me about fifteen minutes to get all the frost of the windows when I was taking Buckeye downtown.  I cant remember ever seeing frost that thick, ever.
Anyways, she said she even saw a few flurries getting squeezed out on her frosty, foggy commute.

Anyone catch me at the Sugarcreek Bird Farm?  The birds did not like the camera.  Paula, the owner said they saw it as some sort of danger and boy did the birds start getting loud when I entered the room with the camera!  They would act very sly and slowly move as far away from the camera as their cages allowed, and then started getting pretty loud.  It was pretty fun though, and the birds were actually a lot friendlier than what I thought going in because by the time I was leaving they were walking up to me on the ground to check out my shoes.

Anyways, I just got done with my morning run and now cooling off and getting ready to jump in the shower, but thought I would jump on here and check in.  Well I hope you have a great day!!

43 day left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Ever went spelunking?

So it seems like its been a while since I have been on here.  I haven't been around a computer in a long time, or so it feels.   I was pretty busy last week doing some extra work and such.  Friday was a fun day with it being the first week of high school playoff football.  I went to the Trotwood game and watched Trotwood really lay it on.  Then Saturday,I watched some NCAA football before heading down to do the weather.  We have had such GREAT weather the last few days it was hard to stay inside.  So then Sunday, I was assigned to get highlights of the Bengals game and also get post game with the players.  It was a very unique experience to be right there with all of these world class athletes, Rey Maualuga even came up and gave me a high five.

So then Monday finally came, which is my Saturday.  Dawn and I normally don't have the same day off, but luckily we did this week, so we went to Ohio Caverns and went spelunking through the caves which was a fun little 2 hour excursion. Then we came back and ate lunch at The Spot.  The onion rings and Big Buy are a perfect combo!! Then we went and played basketball at the park right across the street from where we live.  We were horrible,especially with the wind. We tied in two games of HORSE.  Then we went back and watched V for Vendetta.  If you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend it.  We finished off the night by going to Wal-Mart because it is the cheapest place to get Buckeyes food.  We also got a timer for the Christmas lights, and two snow shovels for what I hope is a snow-free winter, haha.  No, I'm kidding, I love snow!

Today, I didn't do a whole lot because I forgot to tell you, I threw my back out sometime  I think it might be the Bengals game because we had to carry about 75 pounds of gear about a mile to and from the stadium.  Anyways, today I got out of bed and could hardly walk.  Every time I would put one foot in front of the other it would shoot a shot of pain up my back.  So I took a few Motrin to try to help it and decided that exercise would help.  Having that said, Buckeye and I just got back in from going to the park.  I let him off the leash and ran around after him for about fifteen minutes.  Then I punted the ball up into the air for about thirty minutes.  Jon Scott, my old friend would make fun of me for that.  He always said he didn't understand how I would play tennis against a wall by myself of practice on my soccer skills alone, but trust me, if you can catch a horrible punt that goes about sixty feet into air wobbling every which way, it will help you down the line.  Haha, anyways, time to clean up a little bit and get ready for work tomorrow. Have a good one!!

Oh yea, real fast, Luke Marshall, my friend went with the Colts.  I figured this would happen because his wife is a Colts fan.  He tried to throw me off by putting on a Browns coat at first, then his wife stormed off, and he came back a few minutes later wearing all Colts apparel.  Mocking my team was not appreciated, LUKE!!

45 days away!!!

Best,

Andrew Buck Michael

Playoffs are here...

And so the playoffs begin, at least for high school football.  I will be going to the Trotwood game tonight and am very excited that the weather will be decent,with warmer temperatures and the best part: DRY!!  It has rained the majority of the seasons games, and thankfully, that wont be the case tonight.  Also covering playoff girls soccer tomorrow afternoon with Wayne playing against Centerville.  I covered the games on Wednesday night, and I really think it will be a close came.  It seemed like Centerville was more of a persistent team with many shots on the goal more often.  Wayne however was very high paced, and when they broke free and started heading towards the goal then it was light speed ahead and hard for the defense to keep up.  With all of that said, I will be shooting highlights the whole game and am very excited to see who wins, and who moves on to state.

So I mentioned my friend, Luke, is deciding who his new favorite team will be today.  I along with some friends think we know who he is going to choose.  He has narrowed it down to three teams: Bengals, Colts, and Browns.  He used to be a Bengals fan, and then stopped a few years ago.  Now he is married and his wife is a big Colts fan.  The reason he said he needs to decide is because right now he doesn't have an official favorite team and he needs to settle on a team put his full heart behind for the rest of his life.I will be sure to update you on his choice and his reasons.  While I wouldn't be surprised with any of his decisions, I am interested in seeing who his long-term choice will be.

It is crunch time for my fantasy team.  This week I am playing Nathan Baker's team and he has been on a roll.  My team last week was barely beat out, thanks to Aaron Rogers putting up a few last minute touchdowns against my team.  The majority of the league is all tied in the middle with records, so we all are fighting to make it to the playoffs in the coming weeks.  The toughest choice I have had the last few weeks is starting either Favre or Romo. It seems that when Romo should do good, he doesn't and the same with Favre.  Luckily I got a solid ground game, but my WRs are pretty weak with the exception to Reggie Wayne.  Anyways, good game this week, I will keep you updated on that as well.

I hope you got to see the story I did on Paranormal Activity.  The movie has been given so much hype lately for being made for such a low price.  A lot of people are saying that it is the scariest movie they have ever seen, however a few disagreed.  I guess it depends on your scare trigger.  Anyways, if you missed the story on-air last night, check it out.  Hope you enjoy it.

OH!!!  By the way,so my neighbor here in Sidney started putting up his Christmas lights and as much as I like Christmas, he completely out did me so far.  He even put up the decorations for his neighbors place at his duplex.   I talked to Dawn, and this was her idea of what we should do instead.  While I thought it was funny, I didn't laugh  So I got to try to plan out what to do, I mean I still have extra lights in the garage, and I cant be outdone.. Dawn would disagree and tell me to just do her idea, but I love Christmas too much to mock someone during the most spirited season of the year.
49 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

All systems are go!

So as I mentioned in my last blog, I had to mow the grass on Monday, in November.  Not a problem, just kind of a letdown that it isn't cold enough yet for the grass to stop growing.  But it wasn't a big deal and actually it was kinda fun because I raked all the leaves to the back yard, and then proceeded to shred them to pieces in the mower so that way it would help fertilized the grass for next season.  Now when you look at the back yard, you can't even tell that ALL of the leaves from the tree are still there They filled all the cracks in between the grass and such, and hopefully they appreciated the gesture for next seasons growth Who are we kidding?  Its grass!

Then Monday afternoon, I made a video about the Browns and their history in Cleveland.  My friend, Luke, is deciding on what team he is going to go with as his new favorite team for the rest of his life.  I knew many of my other friends would take a very persuasive path and try to pressure him.  By being pressured into a certain decision, is that really the best way?  Told him the Browns aren't your normal team and they are hard to just jump on-board with.  They have a very rich and painful history.  While they were the first undefeated and untied team in professional football history, only matched by the '72 Dolphins, they also have had a lot of heartache.   So anyways, I made the video for him, and others, to learn a little about the Browns.

Tuesday morning was met with a lot of laundry and cleaning.  For some strange reason Buckeye HATES the vacuum.  Even when I take it out of the hallway closet, he can hear the sound of the plastic wheels and me taking the cord off of the side. He just starts running around in circles barking until he loses his voice.

Needless to say, I try to vacuum as fast as possible to end the pain and torture, for both of us.  It is so funny though, because as you know,he cant see anything, but he can smell the dust on the vacuum that it tossed up last sweeping, and he knows when it is time to start howling away for ten minutes.  Maybe it has something to do with the vacuum being loud for him or whatever, I dunno, but he gets through it.

Then Tuesday afternoon was filled with lots of planning and construction.  As I mentioned, Dawn bought me a weather station and we have been debating on the best way to actually mount it to get accurate readings. So we decided to try to mount the appropriate sensors, above the peak of the roof to not let any of the nearby obstacles to interfere with the rain and wind readings.  The temperature and humidity sensor was then mounted lower, under the shelter of the building during peak heating hours.  The entire setup is about thirty feet high or so and took a little handiness to assemble because it came with no directions because every weather station is built and designed for that environment.  So I went to Lowe's to get all the proper parts and such. Only to realize one of the PVC elbows was actually threaded, so I had to return to exchange it.  Silly customers don't put the pieces back in the right boxes, but then again, I guess I should have made sure it was the right piece as well.  Anyways, I spent the afternoon cutting, gluing, and assembling. I had to wait until Dawn got home from work to mount it, so I had someone else to hold the tower while I screwed it up.  It was a cold night up on the roof trying to do that, but finally it was collecting data!! I could have tried mounting it just to the roof, but decided to run the PVC to the ground to take the weight off the house, and only use the house as a stabilizer.  I am very pleased with it, and should be streaming data online soon.

Have a good one! 51 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Time to bundle up....

So we have had our cool spells the last few weeks, but they have been short-lived.  It looks like we will be having our first official long spell of cool, fall air this week.  All week long we look to remain below 60, with lows around 40 or cooler.  Now I have to admit, the one HUGE plus with the cooler temps is the new addition of more blankets to the bed.  For some reason, adding that extra weight to the covers makes sleeping so much better.... Maybe it is just the subconscious part of me that is like, "I am too weak to try to get out of here."  Then again, it is always so chilly jumping out of the covers, so that may have something to do with it as well.  Regardless of why, it is so nice under the covers, it is always gratifying to throw that extra blanket on the bed and knowing you are going to sleep that much better.

From good news to something to complain about..... I know we were supposed to have a "hard freeze", and as a matter of fact, we dropped to 24 in Sidney the night it got super cold a few weeks ago.  Normally a cold freeze is 4 hours at 28 or lower.  Even though we technically had a hard freeze, it didnt stick.....  The flowers in my flower garden are still on full bloom, and the worst part, the grass is still growing!!  I dont mind mowing the grass, but in November?!?!  Come on, that should have been frozen over and done for the season, but despite what it think, I will be out there on one of my coming days off, Monday or Tuesday, mowing my lawn in November.... Maybe its global warming, hehe, just a joke, just a joke....

I am very jealous of my good friend and former co-worker from my last station, Jon Scott.  Him and I have a fond friendship.  He and I worked out together and he did sports at my last job in Lima, and is currently in Cleveland.  We also competed at half court shots, which I might add; I shot better than 25 feet or less.  But anyways, he was up at the Great Lakes Brewery yesterday and Christmas Ale is currently being sold there.  Him and I both LOVE their Christmas Ale.  I am very sad because as of right now, I do not know of anywhere in the area where I can find it.  Anyways he told me the brewery started selling it yesterday and he was there waiting on it, and also let me know that it wont be distributed until sometime next week, even if I could find a place in Dayton area that sold it, very jealous of him.

Speaking of Christmas, 55 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

The personal conflicts....

So last night was time for all the children of Sidney to dress up and ask for candy.... And I made one goal with myself..... eat less candy than what I gave out.  It is hard because Dawn bought good candy: Snickers, Butterfingers, Crunch, Twix, and Hershey bars.  It was hard not to eat a piece of candy every time a kid came to the door.... but I managed somehow.   We still have like 5 pieces left, and luckily they aren't the kind I like, and Dawn doesn't like to eat sugary foods, so more than likely they will sit in the candy bowl for a few months.  It occurred to me now, why people give out bad candy.... that way the person passing it out doesn't have the desire to eat it.  Now I will admit I ate my fair share of candy, but had we been giving out those nasty Halloween taffy candies, I wouldn't have ate any of them.... I guess you run the risk of either being the good candy people who eat half of the candy, or the mean yucky candy people who are fit and in shape.... such a predicament..

Here is another good topic, jelly or jam?  Personally, I am a huge jam fan.  You can put the knife in the Smuckers jar and stir up the jam until it is a nice gooey paste, but if you try to do that will jelly, its like you are taking jello and just cutting the pieces smaller and you don't get a good creamy sandwich or piece of toast.... send me comments on your thoughts...

Here are two more tough choices.... salad dressing and hot dog condiments.  With salad dressings its always nice to throw something new into the mix and actually get a new flavor, but what one can you throw into the mix and still enjoy a good salad?  And hot dog condiments... there are so many variations that you can throw on a hot dog, mustard, ketchup, relish, cheese, chili, horseradish, onions, tomatoes, and the list could go on and on.... again, send me a comment, I am interested in what is the best combination.  For salads, I like light ranch or Italian dressing for the most part, and if and when I eat hot dogs, I normally stick with mustard, ketchup and cheese...  Well anyways, Buckeye wants to go outside, and I got to get ready for work.... Going to Trotwood and Valley View games tonight.  Rain looks to be arriving by the final whistle or very shortly after, and heavy rain at that, take as much rain gear as you can carry!!

56 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Slumber Party?

So who is up for a slumber party?  I worked Saturday and Sunday nights and you might have woke up early enough Monday to see me back on the morning show.  Now keep in mind, I have to build new graphics and make sure I a new show is ready for the mornings.  So overnight, instead of driving home and wasting 45 minutes each way on the commute, I just took a sleeping bag and slept in the weather center for 2.5 hours, then woke up at 2:40 AM and got ready for work.  Surprisingly I was very interjected for work and the morning FLEW by! Now I would have loved to have went home and taken a nap afterwards, but instead I went to Marion Local, after a quick stop home to let Buckeye out and play with him, and talked to the fourth graders, who had been learning about weather for the last eight or nine weeks. They were hands down the smartest group of students I have ever talked with during my school visits.  They knew that when a cold front comes through, the air pushes under a warm front and lifts the warm air.  They also knew the difference between all the cloud types and what types of weather is associated with them.  They also had very intellectual questions about the weather and I hope they all ace their weather test coming up this week.  After that I went home had dinner, and needless to say slept like a baby last night.

So today is a special day for me. It is my anniversary with my girl friend, Dawn.  It has been a great experience being with her and wouldn't change it for the world.  We met at Ohio State and were both meteorology students.  We didn't actually meet and start being friends until we were seniors, but we quickly hit it off.  While we both love the Browns, we have WAY more differences than similarities.  I love the Reds, she likes the Indians for some reason.  I like fish, she hates it.  I like rock, she likes hip-hop.  I love the country, she doesn't. I love to run, she doesn't. I love the outdoors, and camping, she would NEVER be found in a tent.  While this is only the bare tip, I mean like molecule of the iceberg of our differences, we do have a few similarities, such as our mutual dislike for fake banana flavor.  Anything that even tastes like banana is thrown away unless it contains 100% real bananas  We also both like the weather, other than that hmmm, well I would have to think about other similarities.  But I still love her and wouldn't trade anything for her.

So today is our anniversary, and I got her a few dozen roses and a card and a massage.  She got me a weather station.  Now I know some of you are thinking WHAT?!?! Well I had mentioned getting one, but never got around to it just because I haven't had the money to get it, but she really blew me out of the water and surprised me with the greatest gift I have ever gotten.  I have been planning on how and where I am going to mount it in the coming days. Very excited.
59 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Ohio's Weather Never Gets Old.....

So earlier this week it was warm, beautiful, sunny and down-right perfect.  So only about 3 days later, it is sprinkling, cloudy, dreary, cold, and down-right RAW.  It is one of those days it is so cold and windy you feel your face getting wind-burnt with the temps in the 40's and winds about 15 miles per hour.  And needless to say, I was out in the cold shooting highlights for Wittenberg University football.  Luckily I took gloves because after about a quarter of the game, my hands were about ready to call it a day, but I wasn't able to do the same, haha.  The game was really good, and Witt really laid it on them by winning 28-7.

Not only has the weather made a bitter cold return, but we even had a tornado confirmed yesterday in Clinton County.  The tornado was the weakest possible on the Fujita Scale with only winds of 65 mph.  It knocked over a few small trees and limbs and broke two windows in a barn, but so far no pictures of the tornado itself have came out, and as a matter of fact, the NWS didn't even have a warning for the storm while it was on-going.  It is not common for tornadoes to form in the Fall like this, but in the Miami Valley tornadoes can happen at any time of the year.  I know this personally because I remember the Nov. 22, 1992 F3 tornado that went through Arcanum, my hometown.  I was actually in New Madison when it hit and was at church, where the electric went out as well.  I will recap that on its anniversary, here on the blog, so make sure to read up on that.  But just as a reminder, never let your guard down here in the Miami Valley.

Despite the bad news in the weather currently, we do have good news on the outlook.  Temperatures will be warmer in the coming days and sunshine returning as well.  Now dont get me wrong, I love winter and all the fun it brings, but I would take temps in the 70's over icy conditions anytime.  Ever since I can remember it always seems like Miami Valley citizens love snow when it first falls, but about 6 hours later, they are ready for spring...  Gotta love it!!

62 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Early Morning Check-In....

Well top o' the mornin to ya!!

It is currently a few minutes before 5 AM, and I am awake, yup, filling in for Mike.... Haven't drank any coffee yet, but I just finished pouring it.... I have no problem drinking coffee on a normal basis, but if its between 4:30 AM and 7 AM my body hates me, come 8 AM.  I get stomach pains and its not the best way to start a day.  But if I would drink it any other time, no problem at all, kinda weird....

I hope you enjoyed the beautiful weather yesterday, unfortunately today will be a little cloudier, and also slightly cooler, although still mild.  It was such a great day yesterday with temperatures near 70 all across the Miami Valley.  Personally, I took Buckeye outside on a few extra walks and he definitely enjoyed that!!  He was actually hilarious yesterday... Now for those of you who didn't know, he is a miniature schnauzer, and has had bad cataracts basically since he was born.  He can see shapes and lights of things, but basically he is blind when you boil it all down...  But anyways when we were out walking around the park in Sidney, he thought he found a mouse in the grass. He started pouncing around at the ground.  Like I said, he cant see anything, so unless he was hearing something, I really don't think there was anything there.  However, for his exercise and enjoyment, I flattered him and let him pounce around for about 10 minutes, and burying his nose in the grass and sniff around...  He enjoyed himself and thought he was hot on the trail of something...  Anyways it was so nice all day long, I even broke out the corn hole boards yesterday evening for a two quick games, but the sun went down pretty fast and had to come back inside.

Today looks to be slightly cooler and cloudier, but dry for the most part.  Tomorrow will be a pretty soggy day, especially in the morning, so take some extra time for you Friday morning commute. The afternoon looks like the showers wont be as widespread and start scattering up a bit, but still soggy for Friday Night Football.  Saturday could start out with a few showers, but for anyone heading to Columbus for the Ohio State game at noon, it looks like the last of the showers will be leaving the area, so a spotty shower possible to start the game, but drying out later.  Sunday looks to be partly cloudy and cool.  Browns and Bengals are home this week and the games look to be cool and dry.  Have a good one!!

64 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Dental Visit......

Let me start off by saying that I had to retype ALL of this entry because I accidently hit the backspace button and it web back a web page instead of a letter and I lost it ALL!! So I am typing this in Word and copy and pasting it over to the web window.. silly computers.

So I have been having a little problem with my back two upper chompers on my right side.  I keep getting food stuck there, and when I floss, I keep slicing the floss, so I decided it was time to head to the dentist and get it checked out, and honestly I hadnt been to the dentist since I moved to the area, so I had to find a new one, so after looking online and such, I decided Shelby Family Dental Care looked like my best option in the Sidney area.

And let me first start by saying that I take EXCELLENT care of my teeth.  I brush at least twice a day and I floss more than the average American.  I mean, seriously, how often does the average American floss?  Only when they accidentally have it fall out of the medicine cabinet and they feel guilty for not flossing, so they do it that once instance, ending up being about once every 6 months.  But anyways, back to the dental visit.

So I hurried up getting ready in the morning, taking Buckeye outside and such, and got to the dental office right on time.  I filled out all the necessary paperwork for the first time patients.  And then they called me back into the room from the 21st century.  Now the last time I went to the dentist, to be honest, was when I was at Ohio State, and I figured they had all the top of the line equipment, etc, but not even close.  So back in Sidney, I sit in the chair, and had to make sure I watched my head walking into the room because of the TV that was mounted from the ceiling in the middle of the room.  It turns out I got 18 x-rays, and it was all digital.  So as soon the x-rays are taken, they are digitally displayed on the monitor, no more developing and all the unnecessary waiting around.

So anyways, Dr. Patel came in and examined my teeth and confirmed I had a cavity in the one tooth I was wondering about, and let me explain this pesky tooth.  When I was in high school my mother had a friend going to University of Cincinnati and in order to graduate from dental school, she had to put sealants on I think 5 peoples teeth.  Since I had 3 other brothers, my mother volunteered us to get all our teeth sealed. Well a few years later when I was at Ohio State, they said that one of my seals had broke free and a cavity was starting to form underneath of the seal.  So they had to break the seal free and put in a white filling SOOOO now, that white filling has now broken free and the old cavity is back at work.  The dang tooth just wants a cavity, and is determined to borrow its way to pain.

So I went through the rest of the cleaning and such, and had a pleasant time, but I have to go back in Wednesday to get rip out the old filling and a new one to replace it.  Most people will be hesitant about it, but I have no problem going to the dentist.  The only thing I am terrified of is needles.  I DO NOT LIKE needles at all!!  I don't know what I would do if I was diagnosed with diabetes.  I work out and exercise to ensure I don't have to mess with needles.  Having that said, I know I will probably have to encounter a needle or two on Wednesday to get the whole tooth ordeal to be finished. (sigh..)

Have a good one!!  67 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Back after much needed sleep

So we talked the other day about how I was working two doubles back to back on Thursday and Friday..... man did I sleep like a baby last night!!!  I was super super exhausted and could hardly even think properly.... just completely drained.... for some reason, as tired as my body was, it was still kinda hard to tell my body to go to sleep, it wanted to keep up... very weird feeling.  I have pulled all-nighters in college, and such, but after that was through, I would sleep the next few days away.  This was soooo different.  When I got home last night and was talking with Dawn, I just lost my train of thought in the middle of my sentences... it was a new weird feeling running on no gas.  I am sure it wasn't any help to my immune system at all.

But after all that sleep, I came in early today to shoot a story on a new scooter shop that just moved into the area.  It is in Lytle, OH and is called Scooter Source.  The story will air Monday morning and will be on the web as well, once it is on the web, I will link it from here.  I have mentioned it on here that I am into mopeds, which are often confused with scooters.  Mopeds have petals that you can actually pedal like a bicycle to get around and start.  Scooters contain no such thing, they are kick started.  It is always interesting to go on craigslist and see how many people often confuse the two.  But anyways, there was a moped there today, which really made my day!!  It was a Honda Hobbit, which are all the new rage in the mopeding world.  A lot of people are getting Hobbits and restoring them and building them into racers.  Now keep in mind, a stock moped only goes about 25-30 mph, 35 if you are lucky... Racing mopeds normally go around 60 mph, and if you really know what you are doing, like some of my friends in Elkhart, Grand Rapids, and Kalamazoo, you may be able to get a little faster than that.  And to get back to mopeds vs scooters, the reason I enjoy mopeds more (I used to own a scooter) boils down to three reasons: 1. No motorcycle license is needed for mopeds, but is required for scooters 2. Repairs. 3. Pedals.  Scooters are much more advanced in electronics and motors, etc.  Mopeds are as basic as it gets, and as long as you got spark, compression, and fuel you should get your bike running.  Now I know a lot of the same things apply to scooters, but there is more panels and etc that you have to get into and work around..... Where as the old mopeds I own (1970-1980's), have no side panels, and electronics, well I have 3 wires, one to the headlight, taillight, and spark plug.  Plus if I am riding and it breaks down, I always have two pedals to get me there, although not preferred.

Anyways, I do enjoy two wheeled vehicles and love the feeling of just gliding along and the feeling of freedom.  The shop has a lot of scooters and the new ones offer a lot of options and are quite impressive.  Another impressive part about the shop is all the awards they have won for restorations.  They have a shelf jam-packed with trophies.  Now you know if they can restore a bike from the 70's you can trust them with just about any problems with the bike, so if I was still into scooters, I would definitely talk to these guys... Anyways, the NASCAR race is almost over so I have to spin around and give you the forecast.... Jimmy Johnson just won for you NASCAR fans.

69 days left!!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

GOOOOOOD MORNING!!!

I have battled my lack of sleep and currently FULL of energy, now I did have 2 cups of coffee, but didn't really need it.  I have found out if I listen to upbeat dance music, it breaks thru the 4 hours of sleep and keeps you bouncing around and dancing while getting the forecast together.... Luckily I got here before the production crew, so there were no cameras on yet to record any of it, whew!!

Anyways, got a jam-packed next 48 hours.... Basically working 2 double shifts.  As soon as the morning show is finished on FOX 45, I am heading to my hometown of Arcanum to talk to 4th graders about weather and doing a few pretty cool experiments.  Then after that, I am working all afternoon on a sweeps story that will air, that EVERYONE can really "afford" to watch.  I am pretty excited about the story and its impact it can have on you and your wallet.  Tomorrow, Friday, morning I will be back in, to fill in for Mike, and it looks like we will be having quite a chilly morning tomorrow, although not as cool as Saturday and Sunday morning.  After the morning show, I will head home tomorrow grab a quick nap, then as always coming back into the station to shoot high school football highlights. So basically I will be working non-stop for the next 48 hours with the exception of sleeping, although no complaining here.

This weekend will be a tough weekend for the Browns, taking on the Steelers, who always give us a tough time.  It always seems like we lose to them by 3 points, hopefully we will beat them by that much, not to mention hopefully we score a touchdown, haha.  Well time to head outside for the school bus forecast!!  Have a good one!!

71 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael