Here Comes December

The cold front came through around dinner time and the temps fell fast!  At my weather station at home we fell about 5 degrees in five minutes, and about twenty degrees in the last 2 hours.  Right now, 9:18PM, most of the area is between 32 and 35.  I actually just got back inside from shooting a little video of light snow that was falling outside the station.  With the ground so warm, it will take several hours before anything starts to stick.  Of course watch out for the bridges and overpasses first and then the roadways.  With the 1.5 inches of rain the last 24 hours, we have plenty of liquid to freeze as well.  A few light snow showers will be scattered over the next 24 hours with temps falling below freezing.  Little to no accumulations can be expected, however, if the surface is cold enough and a snow shower seems to linger a little longer than the rest you could pick up a light dusting or so, but not expecting any decent accumulations.

Temps are going to remain cold the rest of the week with highs in the 30's and lows in the mid 20's.  More snow showers are possible this weekend, but accumulations look to be slightly higher than what we will get Wednesday. I will keep the blog updated over the next few days on predicted snowfall totals. Don't worry, I have been watching the long term models and there are a couple of systems brewing out there.... I think we have a much better shot of having a White Christmas than in the last few years.  The models have been staying rather cold for the upcoming weeks, so only time will tell.

One final shout out for my fiance, Dawn.  Today is her birthday and since I had to work this evening, I took her to lunch.  However, she hasn't felt well all day.... maybe she will have to call off work tomorrow, meaning I will now have an occupied "Saturday" (or Wednesday for all of you normal scheduled people), and I will spend my day off taking care of her.  Regardless, Happy Birthday.  To her and everyone else (meaning YOU), have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Cyber Monday anyone?

So last Friday I worked in the morning doing weather and then at night shooting high school football highlights, and then resting in between.  So that left me no time to even think about trying to get Black Friday deals.  The only one thing Dawn and I wanted to get was a new LCD television because we are down one, well.... not yet but almost.  The television in the bedroom is on its last leg.  I have had it since college and it is lucky that it still runs honestly.  The corners of the screen are blue and the built-in DVD player has passed on.  So Dawn and I decided that we were going to get a new television for the family room because that one was more fitting for a bedroom than a family room.  Now I will say this, it sounds like we watch a lot of TV, but it is NOT the only thing we do.  She has the DVR filled with about 60% of her Lifetime movies....pass.  On top of that, she has to fall asleep to her normal I.D. shows.... its like ritual that I have become accustomed.

ANYWAY.... the deal we wanted to snag on Friday would mean we would have to camp out for hours in the cold, and rather than run the risk of getting sick, we decided to wait and find another good deal.  Well I searched the interwebs awhile last night for Cyber Monday sales and found a great deal on a Vizio.  After consulting with her, we made the purchase...  So we are done Christmas shopping for each other because that is the gift to each other, apart from a few very small gifts. I just have our families left, which will be the hardest.  Oh well, good luck with your shopping, and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

NERD ALERT!!!

Some days it is the small things that can get you excited, for me today, it is the addition of about 23 new Miami Valley weather stations to our weather system.  The new data will be streaming in at real time and will be really cool to use in the coming days.  For example, you know how temperatures cool down when a line of storms enter the area??? Well now we can pull up this data and overlay it on top of the radar, so you can see it get cool as the rain arrives.... or how the winds kick up right before the rain arrives.... the possibilities are endless... yes, I am a nerd, a weather nerd. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Buckeyes do it again!

Well no matter what the records are heading into the game, we all know that the big rival at the end of the year between Ohio State and that team from up north is all that matters.  It also doesn't matter how great or horrible the teams are, they put their entire hearts onto the line for that game, so the outcome can be the least expected.  Anyway it was a great game.  The refs made bad calls on both sides of the ball, but they are refs, ya can't love em, ya can't hate em.

We are getting into the pre-winter pattern.  A few mild days, Sunday Monday Tuesday, then rain, Tuesday, turning to flurries, Wednesday, along with a few cold days, Wednesday Thursday Friday.  So there is your forecast in one sentence, albeit not super detailed, but warm then cold, rain then flurries.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Christmas Season

Well all the precip has left and when I left the house at 2:30AM this morning I did have a light coating of snow in the bed of the truck.  A few others here at work also said they had a little ice and snow on their vehicles too, but anything that didn't cool off fast enough melted the snow quickly. Plenty of sunshine today, but remaining cold.

Since I am here at work, I missed out on all the Black Friday deals, but life will go on.  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.  My mother sent me home with plenty of food, and I felt compelled to give some to Buckeye when I returned home.  My mother wouldn't have approved, but I felt bad for leaving him at home all day, but my parents are not inside pet kinda people.

This paragraph will be short.  Go Bucks.

Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you and yours' have a great day today and are thankful for a lot.  I just returned from the Feast of Giving, which was a HUGE success and was excited to see how many people came out, it seemed like there were more people than last year that came out, which is GREAT!  You might have seen me on there a time or two, of course sporting my scarlet and gray.  That will continue through the rest of the week with the big game on Saturday against that team up north....

Update on the forecast. The cold temps will roll in fast and right now looking like falling below freezing right around 11PM-2AM.  The precip will quickly tapper off around the same time or shortly after that time.  We could see a few show showers, but right now expecting a dusting or about half an inch of snow possibly.  If temps fall fast enough some locations could see slightly more, but if the surface is wet, it will quickly melt.  So if you want to see snow, you might have to wake up early, which some of you may with the shopping.  Also remember that wet roads may freeze up on bridges so slick spots are a real possibility.   Now get off the internet and spend time with your loved ones, I am getting ready to head to my parents in Darke Co myself.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

LOT of rain, little snow

Well this system is knocking on our doorstep...  The precip will move in very shortly, but temps right now are barely above freezing, so we could see a little mixed precip to start off this system.  The rain will be heavy at times through Thursday night and we could see close to 2, maybe 3 inches, of just rain across the Miami Valley, so flooding is a big concern.  There is actually a Flood Watch for the entire area from tonight until Thursday night.  There looks to be a brief break in the rain during the late morning and early afternoon on Thanksgiving, but we will also need to keep an eye on the chances for severe weather.  Right now there isn't a huge threat, but with these systems bringing in such a drastic change of weather, and with the warm front lifting through tomorrow, we could see a little wind shear(differences in direction and speed of winds with height in the atmosphere).  The temps will plummet heading into Friday morning and right now the temps look to fall below freezing around 3-6 AM on Friday.  This will cause two problems: the first is the chance for snow, the second will be the chance for freezing bridges and overpasses.  Well there is a third, some drivers acting crazy to get the Black Friday deals and being oblivious to the conditions. 

The ground is still very warm and it is not likely that much of the snow will stick to the surfaces of pavement.  If it comes down quick enough it may stay a short time, but if we see the accumulation stick to anything, it would be the bridges, grass, mulch, or cold cars.  Basically anything that can cool off the fastest.  With the rain coming first, it will make the first bit of snow melt, and I would have to say, right now, I would not expect much more than half an inch.  So it will be light, but hopefully people do not take it lightly.  It doesn't take much for drivers to get into an accident during the first snowfall.  Regardless, I will keep an eye on the situation and will keep this updated with the latest forecast models.  Have a good one.

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Accumulating Snow?

After a cloudy, windy, warm day on Monday, today is the opposite. Well I guess it is still breezy, but we had rain this morning, sunshine now, and cold temps.  Changes are not over just yet either.  We will stay rather cool today as well as for Wednesday.  Showers will arrive in the afternoon for Wednesday and last through the day and evening on Thanksgiving, with occasional breaks.  We should easily be able to pick up about 1 or 1.5 inches of rain.  Warm air will surge into the area on Thursday, followed quickly by cold air.  There is no question that we will see the rain, but the thing we need to watch out for is the rain showers changing to snow showers early Friday.

Temps on Friday morning will quickly drop below freezing and will likely cause slick spots on bridges as ice starts to form.  Right now the forecast models are in general agreement that we will see a LIGHT accumulation of snow.  However, the surface will be warm and wet so the first part of the snow showers will melt.  It is still a ways out to try and give an exact number, especially with the ground being so warm.  I am going to go with the 48 hour rule for this winter, if we are expecting snow, I will try to have numbers out 48 hours in advance of the snow.  I want to inform you, the readers, as early as possible, but I don't want to stick my neck out there, and then the forecast change dramatically. So I will update my blog early Wednesday morning with my latest forecast thoughts along with how much snow I expect to accumulate. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Thanksgiving Forecast Update

Some important changes for the week ahead because the second system is slowing down and pushing back our rain a day.  Monday will be warm, upper 60's, and windy with a few showers later in the day, mainly north and west of Dayton.  A line of heavy rain will roll through overnight into Tuesday morning.  Tuesday we will still be in the mid 50's, but staying in the 40's for Wednesday. The second system has slowed down a bit and will bring warmer temps along with the rain.  As we head through Wednesday night a few of the model runs have hinted at the precip starting off as snow then switching back over to rain as the temps climb into the 50's for the daytime hours(so warmer than Wednesday), then quickly cooling off behind the cold front on Thursday night.  If the temps fall fast enough we could see the system ending in flurries or snow Thursday night.  Friday we will be hard pressed to just get above freezing, so be prepared if you are doing any shopping. Still remaining cold, but dry, for next weekend as well, which will help the holiday season feel like it actually arrived.  I will be updating the forecast on here daily.... If it stays the same, we can start talking about amount of precip/snow in a day or two.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Seriously, get your coat!

Well the week ahead has some ups and downs.  The next few days will be nice with mild temps, but a little breezy for Sunday and Monday.  Rain will move in late Monday and linger into Tuesday.  A few showers will roll through on Wednesday as well and then MUCH colder temperatures behind that.  Thanksgiving we could see a few flurries, but Friday looks to be the coldest day since March 3rd.  If you plan on waiting in line for any of the deals, plan on taking a few blankets or at least the warmest coat you have. 

I am now scheduled to work Friday morning which is interesting because I was planning on doing some shopping that morning myself.  I have tried running an idea by the boss to see if a camera could follow me into the store and see if I can get the great deal I was trying to get.... we will see.....

So I have to admit, I have read all the Harry Potter books.  I even waited in line for the seventh and final book to come out when my family was on vacation.  I went to Walmart at midnight to snag a copy.  I was not a huge fan of the movies when the first came out because so much was left out of the movies.  However, the latest movie of the seventh book, or the first part of it anyway, has been getting great reviews.  Everyone has said that it did not leave a lot of detail out and rightfully so, this movie needs to contain as much of the detail as possible because it is the final and most descriptive of the books so far.  I also have heard of a few people who have watched it at the new IMAX theater at The Greene and they said it was amazing.....  Maybe I will have to check it out, and bring back the kid inside of me.  Well have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Wet, Cold Weather

How many of you wish last week was still lingering into this week?  That sunshine and 65-70 degree temps makes you almost want to move to San Diego....BUT not, once you realize Ohio is where the cool kids live.  Haha. 

I was laying in bed on Sunday night and realized that my face was getting much cooler than the rest of my body.  The head of the bed is under a huge window, so I decided that in order to keep healthy, I better move it before the really cold air arrives.  It is always interesting how when you rearrange a room, how you never saw its potential before.  The new set-up is much better. The heat vents are completely in the open and the room should be much more bearable in the winter.  Buckeye was not a fan of the move though.  As many of you may know, he has cataracts so bad that he can only see shadows.  So everything was in its new spot and he cant quite figure out where it all is just yet, but I bet within a day or two he will be as good as new.

Well rain is on the way and cooler temps as well.  I am going to be honest, if it is going to get cold, I would rather it get COLD and then we could actually have snow.  This half-cold stuff is getting old.  I know some people would disagree with me, but everything is SOOOO brown with the drought. 

Today I ran to the barber, and now am heading to the garage to work on cleaning that out so Dawn can park in the garage for the winter.  We have two dryers, a washer, and a few other things that belong to others and it all needs to go.  I will have my work cut out for me, but at least it will be a good workout right?  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Soaking it all in.

I know I have said it a few times, but man this weather is beautiful.  Have you ever felt sick and realized you didn't take advantage of the time when you were feeling healthy?  Well that is why I have been so active the last week.  Playing tennis three days, riding my moped every chance I get, wearing a t-shirt, and taking evening walks with Dawn and Buckeye.  Well today was much of the same.  Since we have NCAA football on, there is no 6PM news.  So after taking care of my morning weather duties, Dawn and I got ready to head up to Columbus.

Her family has a tradition to tailgate for at least one Buckeye football game.  Well the last few dates fell through and today almost did too, but we had a large group that came today.  So since I would have to leave early to get back to Dayton and since traffic was going to be horrible, I decided to out-smart the system.  Also, I have never rode my moped around Columbus.....sooooo.....I strapped the moped into the bed of my truck, dropped Dawn off with her family to drive into the tailgate and I went to my brothers' apartment a little over a mile away from campus.  I have always wanted to moped around Columbus.  It is just a very moped friendly town, wide lanes, and if you time the lights right then you hardly ever have to stop.  (Luckily I found this out early when I was going to college)

I stopped by their place and hung out with my two younger brothers for a few minutes.  They both sold their tickets so they were just going to stay at home, even after I invited them.  So then I decided to head down to meet the group.  The moped ride was awesome. No one heckled me the entire way down.  I stopped the engine and pedaled into the tailgate because they didn't charge for bikes to ride into the tailgate.  Two thumbs up.  Then when I got to the site, Dawn's 6 year old cousin, Jake, asked why I was wearing a purse.  Dawn works for her cousin John and Jake is his son, and Dawn and Jake call each other "Weirdos" as jokes, so I took no offense to the 6 year old.  I did however ask him how many people he knew that had this many tools in their "purse."  I then had to explain to him that the moped was older than I am and that I had to bring tools in case it breaks down and I had to fix it, he smiled and ran along with the rest of the kids.

We had a great time soaking in the rays in our little island of vehicles and lawn chairs.  A few rowdy Penn State fans across the isle had the long arm of the law come down on them, and its lucky they have that "long arm" because one of the Penn State fans ended up drinking so much she got sick all over herself.  As a matter of fact, they had to call an ambulance and fire truck to come out and attend to her, C'Mon Man!  I understand trying to have a good time and what not, but this female did not know her limits, very sad, but luckily she was cared for.

With the clock ticking I knew I had to run back and get my truck.  Dawn was going to stay and watch the game with everyone else and come back to Dayton with her cousin John.  I was going to bring his wife, Adah, and their harassing son, Jake, back to Dayton.  So I left plenty of time for me to run back to the truck and swing by and pick them up.  Since I've never been in Columbus on my moped, I decided to take a little joy ride around downtown.  It was awesome.  Riding a moped in the country while soaking in all the sights, that you would miss going 60 miles per hour, is fun.....but riding a moped around a city with sky-touching buildings, ever-changing smells, and restless people is nothing short of bliss.  Many people turn and watch as they hear what sounds like a chain-saw zipping down the street.  I wish they could see the smile behind my helmet. Hope you took advantage of the day as well.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Looking silly on the tennis court

So Tuesday I played tennis with a few people from work, we played doubles and I was on a team with Jon Scott, who hates to lose.  We lost three matches.  Surprisingly he didn't seem to upset, but myself on the other hand was not doing so well...  I was a bit dehydrated and the park water fountains were already shut off for the season.  I pushed on and played the rest of the two hours and continued to get sloppier on the court until finally we stopped so Jon could go and hit the hay since he wakes up for work at 10PM. 

I went back Thursday and played against Molly, one of the morning producers at work.  She was hands down the most experienced player on Tuesday and we live fairly close.  She still beat me in the two matches, 6-0 each match. BUT I will say I did play much better.  Almost every time we were ready to score we were tied or close to it.  My serving was bad and if I could have just finished stronger a time or two I coulda held on longer.  So I went back today and worked on my serve and also played against the wall they made in the courts.  I worked on my aim a lot because if I wouldn't have overshot the back of the court a few times as well, I coulda done much better.  Either way, it was such a beautiful week.  I hope you all enjoyed it as well.  Time to get ready to shoot highlights for week two of high school football playoffs.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Beautiful Weather, Bengals Wooos

Well how about this weather!?!?  I might have gotten a little sunburn yesterday.  I played a few hours of tennis with a few people from work and it was gorgeous, especially considering that Thanksgiving is only two weeks away.  The nice weather will last through Friday before it turns a little damp and cooler for the weekend, but everything remaining rain through the weekend.

Well my two days off were full of fun, as I said, I played a lot of tennis yesterday and of course moped riding.  Monday night Dawn and I went down to Cincinnati along with her cousin John.  He has a friend who has a HUGE house boat and we took that down the river to the grab some food and watch the Bengals game from the river.  It was pretty chilly, but was a lot of fun sitting on the upper deck watching the play live on the jumbo-tron, hearing the crowd, then turn and watch the game on the televisions on the boat.  It was hands down nicer than where I live currently...no way I could afford that, until we win the lottery here at work, but even then I may be pushing it.  If only the Bengals could have won.

Well I will keep this entry short, so you can save that extra time to get out there and take advantage of the day.  OH!  Make sure to catch my interview with Anna Torv and Josh Jackson, two of the actors from Fringe.  It will be airing tomorrow, Thursday, morning.  Well, have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Ballin Browns and Two Days Off

Well if you missed the Browns, you missed a great game.  They were making plays that were out of this world and to be honest, I don't know if I have ever seen them click better.  McCoy was throwing the ball while running and threading it through defenders like a bullet.  And what about Hillis?!  That guy is a beast.  His first carry of the game will tell you his style.  He got the ball and ran straight through the D-line and then just hurdling the safety as if it was a run through the park and hopping a downed tree on the path.  The team really seems to finally mesh well.  I knew we would eventually, but I figured it would be next year.  We still could use another wide receiver and maybe a linebacker or two, but by no means am I disappointed with how the team looked today. Next week we play the Jets, which will be another meaningful game since that was the last place Mangini coached at.

Well for the a while I have been working 6 day work weeks, but the next two days I get my two "weekend."  I am very excited for the two days off!  Dawn and I were invited to head to Cincy and watch the Bengals-Steelers game on a house boat out in the river just outside of the stadium.  It's a good thing we will be back in the 60's otherwise I mighta had to pass on the principle of staying healthy.  Even though I do not like either team, it should be a fun time regardless.  Then the rest of my time off, I gotta tend to all the leaves, and clean up around the house since Buckeye has been tracking them in the last few weeks(sweeping them up is endless).  Enjoy the warm temps the next few days, I will be back Wednesday morning to anchor with Pete and Mike.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

No Snow for a while.

Some may be disappointed by that, but I am guessing the 60's will be greeted with open arms.  I know I will be enjoying it.  Riding a moped with temperatures near or below freezing isn't a lot of fun.  I also need to get more of the leaves out of the yard because Buckeye keeps tracking in more every single day, I MAY have more leaves inside than outside....

Today just wasn't the same with the Buckeyes with a buy week, but I did enjoy the Michigan game...not that they won, but it was a fun game to watch.  There were a ton of turnovers, but it was almost like arena league with a combined score well over 100.  The Browns will be coming back from a HUGE win over the Saints two weeks ago, and hopefully the buy week helped them as well.  I am not a fan of the Bengals or Steelers, but someone invited Dawn and I to go down Monday night and watch the game on a house boat on the river.... sounds like a great time to me, especially if they tied, haha.  Well enjoy the warm temps because winter will return soon enough, have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

First Snow of the Season!!!

Well if you missed our news this morning, you missed the only video of the first snowfall, just kidding, I posted a link below....  When I woke up, around 2AM, there wasn't a lot of action on the radar.  There were a few light showers north of Logan County moving south, but the temperature was still around 40 or 41.  Well, as you probably know, Logan County is the highest place in Ohio and with that increased elevation, the snow has less of a distance to travel to the ground compared to other locations(less time to melt).  I packed up my gear and hit the road.  The temperature outside of the shower was 40 so I was still leery of the chances for snow and did not want to get my hopes up too high.  However, there is something called evaporative cooling.  Basically when you get rain to fall, it evaporates on its way down and it actually cools the air near it.  Once I got into the shower the temperature dropped to 37 and as I entered the heaviest cell, the rain fell harder, and eventually turned to snow melting on its way down.  The snow shower was fairly small and moving about 30 miles per hour with the shower, so I had to stop and get video, then move with it, then stop again to do my report, which is posted on the web, here.

I made it to the rain/snow shower just in time because it quickly died out after that report and the rest of the morning all I could track down was a few flurries.  The good news is that it was 37 degrees and it was melting as it was falling.  As soon as it came in contact with the road, grass, my coat, etc it melted instantly, which is good because everyone forgets how bad snowy and icy roads really are.  Well I am off to take a nap before I head back to work later shoot highlights for Trotwood-Madison's playoff football game.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Quick update on our chance for s,s,s,s,s,snow

It is really hard to say that four letter word, snow.... So here is the update.  The cold front will swing through early Thursday which will leave us pretty chilly.  There will not be a lot of moisture with this, but hopefully a little Gulf moisture will push up and meet it.  Right now it still looks chilly, but mild enough on Thursday for rain showers, but later that evening we could pick up a snowflake or two.  The chances for flurries will linger into Friday morning as well.  Guess who has 24 hours off starting Thursday mid-morning?!?!  ME!  I guess I might camp out in Mercer or Auglaize county and go on "Flake Patrol."  Either way, it will not be a lot of snow....actually I should head towards Bellefontaine, since they have the highest elevation, meaning the coolest temps.  But the snow will be light, and actually just flurries for the most part.  I will keep you updated on any changes.

Well today was my day "off."  I wake up late because of doing the late news on Sunday, and it is 9:59PM and I gotta be up at 2AM to head into work to anchor the morning news. (yes, I know I wont have a lot of sleep, but my "young" body is getting used to it)  Anyway, during my partial day off, I did a lot of household chores and also put up our weather station.  I have it running and uploading data to the internet several time a minute.  It is really cool to take a smart phone and look at live data on the weather station.... Imagine doing that 10 years ago, there would be soooo much lag time.  Well I better head to bed.  See ya in the mornin with my Tim Hortons coffee cup, hahaha!  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael