Severe Weather Night Recap

We already had to stick around longer on a Sunday night thanks to the Oscars going until about 11:45 PM-ish, but my night was just beginning.  I was in the weather center for about 16 hours, well into the morning, and was on part of the morning show with Mike Terwilleger tracking the storms. I had been talking about the chances for flooding and chances for severe weather for Sunday night and it didn't disappoint if you are a severe weather junkie.  I will say, that for February, it was an impressive set-up as far as the atmospheric conditions, but I still was slightly skeptical that it would have turned out as active as it did.

We had the Flood Watch through Monday evening and strong storms were rolling in from Indiana as the cold front approached.  We had a handful of Tornado Warnings throughout the overnight hours that I cut into programming to update the viewers.  All of the tornadic cells were only radar indicated, meaning no one had spotted any funnel or rotation (at night its next-to-impossible unless lightning helps out), but the radar can detect winds and there was very tight winds going in opposite directions which indicates rotation and that's why the warnings were issued.  No confirmed tornadoes here in the area, but there was one confirmed tornado just to the east of Columbus.  The storms were moving about 70 to 75 miles per hour at times, so very strong winds were on the leading edge...I noticed a few of my neighbors yards are in disarray thanks to the strong winds.  Despite the threat of winds and tornadoes... it turns out that the worst part of last nights storms was the flooding...

We had already seen three inches of rain within the last week putting our rainfall close to two inches above normal for February....well last night some locations tacked on an additional 2.5 inches... that is insane!  Needless to say there was a flood warning for almost all of the Miami Valley all morning and it remains in effect for much of the area.  The rain came down so fast that a Flash Flood Warning was issued for Darke, Shelby, Miami, and Logan counties where they saw about two inches of rain in an hour.  Flash flooding is extremely dangerous because the water can rise much more rapidly than you can anticipate and often claims the lives of those who do not respect the warning...if not their lives, their property.  I had heard of several people who tried driving across a flooded road this morning only to find out the water was about three feet deep.  Not smart, at all.

Good news: Mild weather for the middle of the week with plenty of sunshine.  Hopefully we can dry out a little before the next rain moves in later Friday into Saturday.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Eating my words

Two nights ago I turned over to Dawn and said, "We have been lucky and haven't really gotten too sick this winter."  She doesn't look at me at first, she turns over and knocks on the end table...then she turns at me and scolds me, "Why. Wh- Why? Why would you say such a thing?"  I smile and knock on a dresser on the way to the restroom.  Well low and behold midday Friday I start feeling sick.  I spent 13 hours in bed last night and all I want to do is go back to bed now.  I have had my hot tea with me last night and this morning and already taken my share of vitamins, Airborne, and cold medicine... Now I sit here with the biggest coffee mug I could find, drinking my hot tea remedy, and blogging.  Dawn is not feeling as bad as what I am, but she just left for Cleveland for a bridal shower for her next door neighbor... It's just Buckeye and myself...I could mention something about his health, but I wouldn't want to jinx him...

I did accomplish something awesome earlier today.  There are less than a handful of moped parts dealers, and I normally get mine through Treatland...their shipping is freakishly fast and their prices are very competitive, and will even price match competitors prices.  As you may recall, I had to buy a decent amount of parts a short time ago to rebuild my e50 engine.  Treats has this awesome new addition called Club Taco.  You buy parts and for every dollar you spend, you get a taco.  You can later turn in twenty tacos for a free dollar towards a future purchase....pretty simple.  Remember how I busted my speedometer cable a week ago...well I was able to order a new one with shipping and pay for it with tacos.... Awesome!  The owner or Treatland, Benji, may be a bit quirky and mentally stuck in the late 70's or early 80's, but he is an awesome business man...rumors even have surfaced that he will run to the post office in his bathrobe to ship out your parts.


On to the weather:  The forecast held pretty solid with the last system of rain and snow.  Here at home we have seen over three inches of rain in the last week alone, and another couple of inches are expected Monday.  It is likely to start late Sunday night and pick up in intensity off and on through the day on Monday.  Some of the forecast models are showing close to 3 inches possible in some spots and the ground is already very saturated.  Localized flooding will likely be a problem for Monday into early Tuesday, not to mention a few strong, possibly severe, storms with embedded lightning and thunder.  A light snow may form on the back side of this rain for early Tuesday, so we, again, could see slick roads.  Here is the good news, cause I always love to end on good news....temperatures will get above freezing every afternoon for the next week, so the snow should not stick around for long....slow and steady melting, just watch out for refreezing at night.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Update on coming storm

 

I first have to start this off and tell you how horrible I feel.  Last night Buckeye was whimpering to go outside in the middle of the night while it was raining, so I let him out.  He normally is outside for three or four minutes when it is dry and only a minute tops when it is raining.  Well I waited around until he barked for me to let him come back in and after five minutes or so I decided I would wait to hear him bark from the bedroom since it is against the back of the house.  Well I fell asleep and he was outside for about twenty minutes and I felt horrible because even though temperatures didn't fall below freezing last night, Buckeye was very cold.  I feel horrible.  It is a good thing our roof hangs out three feet, otherwise he would have been really soaked....regardless though, I feel really bad and plan on spoiling him today since it is my day off and I got a lot of chores to do around the house.

Now on to the next system.  The lower two thirds of the area will start out as rain, and the Northern part of the area may see it start out as sleet/freezing rain and quickly change over to snow.  Yesterday I was calling for 4-6" for the Northern fringe of the Miami Valley, but that may be a little closer to 5-7"+.  The further south you live the less you will see, but we will see a brief transition from rain to freezing rain back to snow.  The roadways will be pretty bad Friday morning.  Much of the north may see 3-5", with again, the far north seeing the 5-7"+, such as Mercer and Auglaize Counties.  The central and Southern portions of the area will see 1-3", and the far south may be lucky to get a dusting.  The switch over will start around midnight for the north and slowly make its way south throughout the overnight hours and nearly everyone should see the transition over to snow by daybreak.  The snowfall will continue through the morning hours and start tapering off midday tomorrow.  This is a lot like what we saw Monday-Tuesday, but more moisture and slightly colder temperatures.  Be careful out there and have a good one.

Best,

Andrew Buck Michael

Get ready for a 1, 2, 3 Punch

Well I guess that title is a little misleading, we already saw our first punch of rain two days ago on Monday.  The Dayton International Airport broke the record of rainfall for that day receiving 1.38 inches or rain.  Tomorrow into Friday will be our second punch.  The forecast models are showing around another inch of rain for the central and Southern portions of the Miami Valley.  The Northern part of the area will likely see a decent snowfall because the rain/snow cut off will be pretty sharp and if it remains mostly snow for them Thursday night, they could likely see 4-6" of snow....again, the far north fringe could see that much.  We will transition back to freezing rain over to light snow, but again, it will be light for the areas seeing a lot of rain.

While the first two systems have the potential to be historic, the third punch will be a doozy, for lack of better words.  Right now temperatures look to remain warmer for Sunday-Monday, but we will see a lot more moisture.  This system looks to drop at least an inch or rain.  The rivers are already pretty high around the area.  The road I use to get into work rides along side the Great Miami River and it only needs less than 10 more feet to get onto the road.  While that may seem like a lot, think about all the surface area of the Northern Miami Valley and it all runs into the GMR until it hits the Ohio River.  YOUR rain may cause me to find a different route into work, or at least equip my moped with floaties, haha.  Either way, we are in for some really dicey weather over the next few days.  Watch out for the icing and especially for localized flooding.  With overnight freezing of the surface, much of the rain will become runoff.

To end on a good note....today is my Friday, I am off the next 70 hours and plan to enjoy it as much as possible.  I got some loose plans that involve meeting some people for lunch the next few days, laundry, and cleaning up around the house.... but I am excited.  I finished off my Friday as a photographer and shot a few breaking news stories...bank robbery, gas prices, house fire, etc.....and a cool school story with Pete Scalia today.  I don't want to bore you with any details so I will let you go and I will go work on my moped...haha.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Weather Graph = Thousand Words

Don't worry, I wont ramble on for a thousand words.  I just thought I would share this with you because you may find it just as interesting.

I added the blue vertical blue line on top of the data.  This is my station at home and in the last entry I talked about how the rain had switched to the freezing rain.  You can see in the top diagram that around 7 Monday evening the temperatures fell below freezing.  Since then we have stayed below freezing (barely) the entire day so far today and already starting to drop again, so no melting until Wednesday.

It is pretty easy to see that the Barometric pressure dropped when it was raining as well.

Here is the cool part, despite what the reading shows, we have not been perfectly calm since 7PM yesterday.  The freezing rain has frozen the anemometer stiff, so until we finally see the melting, no wind readings.  It also froze the weather vane so the direction is stuck on Northwest.

Anyway, I found it pretty cool....yes, I am a weather geek.

I was just outside of Arcanum today reporting on the icing that parts of Darke County had seen last night.  The parking lot was a solid sheet of ice with the exception of tire marks where someone last evening drove through the slush and it froze in the shape of their tire.  Only a few flurries up there this morning, but it looks like more winter weather could be on the way.

On the horizon: Thursday we will see more rain and that will continue into Friday.  Isolated flooding may once again be a concern with around an inch or more of rain expected on our already saturated soil.  Temperatures will fall below freezing Thursday night and more snow can be expected, especially the Northern part of the Miami Valley again.  Almost a repeat, but the rain to snow switch over will be slightly later in the evening.  Another difference is that there does not look like as much freezing rain as what we had seen last evening.  The positive news is that the next days will get above freezing for part of the day so we will see a little melting, just watch out for refreeze.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Internet/Cable Out...Thanks Ice

Thank technology for allowing me to post via my phone.

The weather station here at home topped out at 51.4 degrees just after 6AM. The rain has been pretty constant throughout the day. Before the weather station went offline, thanks to the freezing rain, we had 1.60 inches of rain the last 24 hours...again obviously before the freezing rain.  The Northern part of the area has seen much cooler temps through the day leading to earlier and more ice.  That has switched over to snow as well with some locations seeing a few inches of snow. Here in Dayton we are still seeing the freezing rain and the moisture is almost out of here.  We may see a dusting or up to an inch of snow, but the best chances for the snow will be further north through the night.

Roadways will be horrible in the morning so be careful.  Obviously that means one thing...I will be out reporting on the conditions, so I gotta get going.  It looks like an almost identical situation Thursday with falling temps early Friday morning.  I will update this tomorrow when I can get my hands on some high speed internet, until then travel safe and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Rain Now, Ice Later, Snow Tonight

The front is currently sitting just between Dayton and Cincinnati.  Cincinnati is currently in the lower 60's and Dayton International Airport is still in the lower 40's so there is a pretty big temperature difference.  At this point we may see it break through the Dayton area, but I am becoming more and more skeptical. The rain showers will continue through the rest of the day. Watch out for isolated flooding with the ground still VERY saturated across the entire Miami Valley.  It may not look saturated, but if you saw any of the rivers or steams late last week you would have noticed them very swollen from the melting ice and snow still.  Cooler air will settle in across the north, they stand to see a light icing with freezing rain and sleet causing problems.  I believe the freezing rain will be more of a problem and obviously the refreezing of the rain that has already fallen.  A light snow will move in this evening as well and that will add to the problems.  The far north may see around an inch or slightly more, but much of the Miami Valley seeing up to 1", maybe only a dusting in spots.  Working on Where You Live stories today, but will be monitoring the weather situation.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

The Little Things In Life

 

Sometimes it doesn't take much to get excited.  Earlier this week I had two microphone cables go out on me while out shooting my Where You Live stories.  Luckily I caught it before anything bad could have happened to the video I was shooting.  Anyway, I took the mic cables to engineering and the gave me them back today fixed.  The long 20 foot wire is now cut to 12 feet because there was a kink in it about 8 feet in.  Regardless, I have practically new and ready to go mic cables...which makes me smile.

I also had a lot of fun this afternoon with Dawn.  We started our gift registry today for the wedding.  While it was a very weird at first, I quickly found the scanner my pal...just like John Wayne and his six shooter.  We are going back out tomorrow morning for our next store.  While it is fun, there is still a TON of wedding planning left to do and it was a nice break.   The wedding is just over five months out and it will be here before we know it!  YIKES! 

Light rain showers over the next few days.  We could start out with a light wintry mix for the onset of the system tomorrow midday, but temps will continue rising through Sunday night into Monday morning, so any ice will quickly melt.  A strong cold front will roll through Monday night and we could see more....snow.  That's right!  Right now it looks like the Northern Miami Valley could see a couple of inches, and the Southern part of the area may only see a dusting.  I will keep you posted and try to nail down specific numbers for you tomorrow so that way I don't throw anything out that might not be accurate enough.  Have a good one!

Best,

Andrew Buck Michael

Wrenchin Kinda Day

Since I had to stick around the house today so the cable/internet guys could work...(still wont be til next week til it's installed, so kinda wondering if this was a good choice)...I decided to work on my moped.  I bought a mag dash, Dashboard for a Puch Magnum, a while back in hopes of mounting it on my Maxi.  Well with nothing to do around the house today except watch Planet Earth, I decided to tackle this task.  It really was not a super difficult task, but took a while due to the modifications.  The threaded bolt holes in the frame were about half an inch further apart compared to the dash.  I had to Dremel the bolt holes on the dash out a little bit (without making the dash look like crap), toss four washers under the metal frame of the dash so the bolts held, grind down the old handlebar clamp to account for the newly added space of the dash/washers, and then bolt it back on.  The wires ran through holes in the dash, so I had to take them all off and reconnect them, I can see my friend KZ cringing to the thought of that since he fears messing with cables and wires.  When I put the headlight back on, I noticed something I should have worried about a little more.

 

The speedo wire was at a slight angle.  Had it been an electrical wire no problem, but since it is a rapidly spinning wire to let you know how fast you are going....it busted about two blocks into the test drive.  So I will need to move the headlight out a little bit and replace the speedo wire.  I will just have to eyeball my speed or rely on GPS for the time being.  I honestly could probably go and replace all the wires to be honest, they are 31 years old....hahaha.  Speaking of which, I want to get new chains as well.  Anyway, got the new dash mounted and now have to fix more stuff...silly mopeds.  I also thought about installing a kill switch in the opening on the dash as well, and debating on how else to pimp out the dash.  I like the stock look of the bars/seat and liked the idea of adding the dash to the kitted bike.  I'm out, have a good one.

Best,

Andrew Buck Michael

Switching Cable/Internet...wait, not yet?!?!

After having numerous problems and tired of paying so much for less than great service, Dawn and I are switching cable and internet providers.  A company that Dawn and I were wanting to get finally installed service in our neighborhood, so it was time to switch.  I sat around waiting for them to arrive today and then once he tried hooking up the outside connection, it turns out there is a bad wire somewhere.  So now I have to wait until someone else fixes the wire outside either tonight before sunset or early in the morning... I am betting on the morning.  Luckily we haven't disconnected our service yet, so I was able to jump on here real quick before dinner.  Anyway, the guy today was climbing in the trees outside to try and see what he could do, but unfortunately he couldn't get anything and had to call in someone else with more equipment.  I am not too worried, Rome wasn't built in a day.

It was nice outside, but with the strong winds it was kinda nippy.  Yesterday was a little better and obviously sunnier.  Regardless, I still got out and put another 20 miles on the moped...still running strong and hopefully I can get back out there tomorrow once the rain stops and before the temperatures plummet once again.  Winter isn't over yet.  We may see more rain for early next week, but could also see snow on the back side of the system.  Still a long ways out to call just yet, but you can bet your dollar that I will be monitoring it to see what is in the works.  The good news is that it doesn't look like the frigid weather we have seen the last month.  It looks like we will be above freezing almost every afternoon, so at least if it does snow, it wont stick around too long this time.  Anyway, gotta run, have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Whew, time for a break

So the sun was shinning and this may have read a LITTLE warmer than the actual air temperature, but still, its was BEAUTIFUL outside today...

The last few days seem to blur together......just go, go, go.  I have a few stories that are in the works.  We are in Moraine for It's Where You Live this week and next week is Where You Work.  I think that my story that is airing for Where You Work week will be one of the better stories I have ever put together.  We are highlighting professions where people have worked in the same job for a long time, and what better profession for that than the job that makes up about 75% of the land area in the Miami Valley....farming.  I talked to a few local farmers and it should be pretty good....funny in parts.  The week after that we are doing Englewood, so I got some fun stories lined up...and of course some food.

I will be wrapping up my week of work here in less than an hour and I will be "off" the next few days, but AT&T is coming Thursday afternoon and Buckeye goes to the groomer on Friday.  It looks like the showers tomorrow will be widely scattered and it will be dry most of the day....so I will be out breaking in my new engine on the moped as much as I can, it needs about 300 miles of very careful driving, and so far, I have only rode it about 20 miles, so 280 left.  Friday will be warm as well, but it looks to be slightly wetter.  Either way, you can't complain about the weather today and for the next two days.  I know the little time I was outside working today, I was like, "Man, this is the weather I love!"  I know Dawn and I are making homemade pizza today for dinner, maybe I can talk her into eating outside or playing a little game of corn hole afterward in the front yard.  Hope you can get out there and enjoy some of the great weather as well...have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Beautiful Day...More On The Way.

 

Well with temperatures in the upper 40's today and only thin upper level clouds through the afternoon before clearing skies this evening.....you would almost have thought today was April.  Maybe even June after the last few frigid weeks we have seen.  We will cool down a little tomorrow, but at least remain mild in the lower 40's.  Another weak system will scoot by just to our north so the Northern counties might see a quick passing isolated rain shower tomorrow morning, but almost all of us will remain dry for the start of the workweek.  Speaking of rain showers and staying mild...tonight we may have our first above freezing night since mid January, two thumbs up!  Much warmer air will arrive for later in the week, but light scattered rain showers will be around for later Wednesday through Thursday and becoming a little more numerous on Friday.  However with temperatures getting at least into the mid 50's...I will take it for my days off this week.

It might be hard to try and think of things to do with the chances for it raining, but I am hoping to find a few dry spells for a few extended moped rides...only problem is that my days are booked.  Working Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday...then Thursday we are switching cable and internet providers, and Friday Buckeye has to go to the groomer.  Come to think of it, last time he went to the groomer it rained....weather dog?!?!  Not only that, but I want to get my taxes done sometime this week.  I already did a rough calculation on scratch paper just to make sure it all looked right, but I still need to do it for real.  The good news is that I should get a little back because I always have them take out more than they should, but the funny thing is that I could have had that $$$ in my pocket (or put towards the wedding) a month ago if I was on the ball... Oh well, the one thing I procrastinate in I guess, but at least not as bad as some people I know.  Anyway, busy week for me ahead, but I will jump on here from time to time.  Enjoy the warm week ahead and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

My friend wrote a book

While I know a lot of my friends have skills that would surprise me, one of my friends absolutely floored me.  I will not release any names or any specific details for their privacy, but I am going to try to explain how reading the story has changed me.  I also must add that he has no plans of publishing the book, but was only written for close friends and family to help them understand what he has went through and then he said he is going to "bury it and be done."

He had went through a very tough break up with someone who he loved more than I have ever seen anyone love.  Imagine the love in The Notebook, yea I know you have seen it, but multiply that love by ten.  Now imagine a break up in the worst possible scenario.  That is basically what he went through and over the last few years he has poured his thoughts, memories, and emotions into this story.  I received a copy of it today and I literally could not put it down.  The memories where short just like memories are.  The love was true like love was meant to be.  There were times when he was remembering the good times and I actually laughed out loud during several of the memories, which made the heartbreak so much worse.  The heartbreak was so real you felt that lump in your throat start to grow.  While it has been extremely hard for him to get over the situation and we as friends have tried to help; this book does justice into explaining the thoughts he had felt and why he feels the way he does.

I stopped reading it at one point to call Dawn several times until she finally answered (her and her mom were bridesmaids' dress shopping).  I called until she finally answered, but she sounded busy and she asked if she could call right back, I told her no worries, I only called to tell her how much I loved her.  That is how much of a great book this is.  While I may hold Dawn a little closer while watching The Notebook or other "chick flicks" nothing has ever compelled me to show my love for her like his book.

He goes through ways that he could have done more to show his love and possibly still be with her.  He talks about feeling the end coming.  While never releasing any real details that would be mean or below the belt, you felt like you were there with him through the situation.  He uses analogies to help get out what words may have a hard time doing justice.  It was superbly written and had it not have been his heart poured out and vulnerable, I would highly recommend publishing it, but fully understand his reservation.

So I hope you tell your friends and family you love them the next time you see them.  You never know when may be the last time you get to see them and spend time with them; so make every moment count and soak it in.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Frost Quake explanation and could we get into the 50's?!?!

Right now it appears we may give the 50's a run for their money next Thursday and Friday, (conveniently my days off next week)  This weekend we should get above freezing and stay around 40 for the high for the start of next workweek, but then the real surge of warm air will arrive at the end of the week.  There is a down side though, (there always is), we will see the chance for light rain showers for Thursday and Friday.... so at this point it is still a toss up whether I will be riding my moped or not.. still a long ways out to know if it will be scattered or a washout.  I sure hope it is not a washout.

Anyone in the west central Miami Valley or east central Indiana might have been woken up yesterday morning to shaking and a loud boom.  The ice storm we received last week left the ground soaked or covered in about a inch or two of frozen water.  Over the weekend we rose above freezing briefly which allowed the ice to melt a little, but refreeze even harder and become more solid than before, both on the surface and the top layers of the soil.  Well Wednesday night much of the area dropped to -5 and -10 degrees.  These frigid temperatures allowed for what is known as a Cryoseism, or a frost quake.  When water freezes it expands because of its molecular make-up, H₂O.  Think of ice in your freezer at home... if you put in an ice cube tray, the ice cubes get larger than the original water.  Or toss in a full, sealed bottle of soda... just make sure you are prepared to clean up a mess... it will explode.  Same will happen to any kind of bottled liquid: pop, water, beer, etc.  Some liquors will not freeze because their alcohol content is so high, so that is not a good example, but back to the frost quake.  Basically we had so much ice on the ground and frozen into the surface of the soil around Randolph, Darke, and Miami Counties that it caused the ground to "explode."  The pressure of the ice, expanding under the surface, had to give and that caused very localized "earthquakes" where the ground had to buckle and thus causing a boom and tremor. There were places as far away as Clinton County (40 miles away) that felt it and more than likely what happened is the initial tremors in Randolph, Darke, and Miami Counties cause aftershocks.  This likely happened because once the ground started to shake, other areas also buckled thanks to the added energy of the initial shake. It is extremely rare, especially for Ohio, but after doing some research over the last 24 hours it seems more than likely that a cryoseism what happened.  Our temperatures reached the second coldest they have all year and the ice storm last week along with the brief thaw several days ago all lead up to the event.  Very interesting and more than likely a once in a lifetime experience.  Just goes to show you that the weather affects your day to day life more than you expect and also shows you how mind-boggling something as simple water freezing actually is, ehh?

Well anyway good news is that we are slowly warming so no frost quakes anytime soon, but we could see a light dusting tomorrow morning of snow.  Break out your spring clothes for later next week, (along with your umbrella) and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Down on the farm

Today I went back to Darke County to work on an upcoming story.  In past blogs I talked about how bad the icing was there about a week ago, and the roads are still solid sheets of ice.  There were a few spots where pavement would show its face, but almost all of back roads were ice-packed.  To make matters worse, the open terrain has allowed what little additional snow they have seen, blow right across the road and make it even worse...snow on top of ice...not cool.  Tonight with clearing skies we should easily be able to drop to -5 to -10 BEFORE factoring in the wind, so just stay inside.  However, as I have mentioned in the past few entries, the 40's are likely for highs next week, and possibly get into the upper 40's by the end of the week.  Did someone say moped ride?

I also finished off my "workweek" today and start my "weekend."  It is kind of weird having my Saturday and Sunday on weekdays, but hey, at least the BMV is open my entire weekend...haha.  Not sure what I got on tap for the next few days other than cleaning around the house a little bit and spending time with Buckeye.

I have thought of a new idea to motivate me to work out a little more.  As you may know, I am a HUGE fan of the television series "LOST."  Well Dawn and I have have all six seasons on DVD now, so I figured I could watch the entire series, 122.5 hours, while on the treadmill...a "weight LOST" plan if you will.  I have been really wanting to watch the series again from the start and this will be the best of both worlds...LOST, and making sure I fit in my tux come wedding time, haha.  It are the little things in life that make me laugh and smile.  Keep warm out there and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Yuck!

The snow and ice the last few weeks has not only caused slick spots on the roads...they also have caused millions of potholes...AND, if you hit them juuuuuuust right, you might be able to pop off a hubcap or two...  Luckily I can't with my truck since I have rims, but others haven't turned out so lucky.  To be quite honest, I may look silly driving down the road swerving to miss every hole that I can.  Potholes along with dirty snow and mud along the side of the roads has left everyone's car less than shinny.

The bad news is that temperatures may reach the coldest they have all year the next few days...but there is light at the end of the tunnel.  For the rest of the week our lows will be near or possibly below zero.  Highs will only be in the teens and low twenties.  Late the weekend temperatures will slowly start to rise and we still could be on tap for 40's for part of next week.  The good news to go along with the cold is that there will be a HUGE arctic high pressure system through the end of the week, so at least no accumulating snow for a while.  Bundle up the next few days and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Snow won't stick

There has been a light snow through much of the day here where I live, but with temperatures remaining just above freezing all day long, nothing will stick on the road or grass.  The weather station at home only dropped to 33.6°F  There was a brief period this morning where it started to stick, but that was because it was falling too fast for the snow to melt....but with time it finally did melt. Basically it has been a pretty dreary day.  Light snow falling....watery, slushy roads, but at least the winds have been fairly calm.  Still looking at very cold temperatures moving in starting tonight, so watch out for refreezing roadways.  The very cold air will last through the rest of the week, and when I say very cold, I am talking about with chills below zero....BUT I do have good news on the way.... The forecast models have all been pretty consistently showing us getting into the 40's for early next week.

Grab the extra comforter and the pair of long johns and stay warm later this week...until we meet again, have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Super Bowl Sunday

 

I may not be eating for a few days.  Everyone on the weekend staff brought in some sort of tailgating staple and I am currently stuffed!  I personally brought in some cheesy salsa dip, but there are pies, pizza rolls, candy, sausage, crackers, chips, and dips....and the list goes on...  I feel bad not trying someone's special dip, and it is so hard not to love them all....  It is currently halftime and it's a decent game so far, but Packers have been owning the green.

We are still looking at a chance for snow tonight and tomorrow, but only thinking about 1-2" now because there is not a lot of moisture and by the time the southern system and the north system collide, it will be a little off to the east.... so the western counties may only see a dusting up to 1".  Regardless it will be enough to coat the ground and cause slick spots...along with the refreezing roads.  A lot of the back county roads are ice packed from last weeks storm.  We did get above freezing today, so there should have been a little watery layer form between the pavement and the ice... so if you got a shovel or blade underneath of it, you might have been able to scrape some of it off.  However, when the temps fall overnight the new ice will adhere to the surface and be just as hard to get off as before, if not worse.   So best of luck getting the ice off.  Make sure to travel safe out there, and have a good one!

Best,

Andrew Buck Michael

Happy Weatherperson's Day!

It is very flattering getting a basket of cookies;  especially if one of them looks like me.  Cookies By Design got the weather team a basket of cookies for National Happy Weatherperson's Day.  I have not broken into them yet because since today is the holiday, I have to save the basket to show it on-air and thank them... so if you missed the newscast, Cookies by Design, thanks!!!  (Apparently they forgot I was trying to trim back a little for the wedding in less than six months....yikes!)  I can also tell that they were hoping for spring because my cookie figure does not have a sweater vest on....meaning it had to be at least 50 degrees or warmer.  Good thinking!

After a pretty average snowfall for January, 10.2 inches compared to 9.8 average, February is starting off to be quite a snowy one.  We saw a few inches around the area today, the heaviest to the north.  That makes our second system of the month so far, and we have another one on the way for Monday.  The system on Monday will bring a slight chance for a wintry mix for the southern Miami Valley and a couple of inches for the rest of the area.  The far north could see 1-3"; the central part of the area along I-70  or near it could see around 2-4"; and the far south may only see 1-3" with the wintry mix cutting back on their snowfall totals.  The latest models show that we may be a little more on the lower end of those ranges.  The higher end of the ranges may be possible, just not as likely.  I will check back in tomorrow and give you an update.  After that, temperatures will fall into the single digits for lows the rest of the week and highs in the teens or lower twenties..... yuck.  I know I am not alone in this one, but I want spring!  Keep warm and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Superbowl Football & Forecast

If anyone was able to watch the news this morning, Jon Scott, our morning producer did a story on the Ada, OH Wilson football factory.  Jon was the sports director at my last station in Lima and he had done the story in the past and he called up there again and lined up the story once again.  I was lucky enough that he asked me if I wanted to go along and shoot the video for him.  It was amazing that all of the balls are made by hand and not machines.  Each ball is inspected several times and it is quite a sight to see these 60 people making footballs for the Superbowl in such a fast pace.  Of course they make thousands of other footballs, but each football is stamped with the teams playing in the big game as well as the current Lombardi logo of the Superbowl.  It was quite the experience and they were nice enough to give each of us Superbowl footballs to take home.

Well on to the weather.  Saturday morning we will see more snow move in from the southwest and we are still looking at a few inches...  Yesterday I was calling for 1-2", but I think we can bump that up to 2-3" of new snow by the time we reach Saturday night.  Sunday will be cold and dry, but Monday morning another system will move in.  We will be very near the freezing mark, so we could see the chance for more icing... we will have to wait until the time gets closer to give you a better idea, but if it stays all snow it could be another few inches.  Once that system moves out, VERY cold air will swing in for Tuesday and the rest of the week.  Low temperatures could likely be below zero with highs in the lower single digits.  One additional note, late next week, Thursday-Friday, another strong system will develop.  The last 12 hours of forecast models has this system sneaking by our south and dropping a lot of snow over the east coast.  If this system happens to swing north instead we will be in for quite a lot of snow....but right now it looks to avoid our area.  I will keep ya posted, but for the meantime only two systems for the next week or so.  Enjoy the sunshine and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Great Day for a Moped Ride

Well after working 4 hours on my day off, no better way to enjoy the precious time in the late afternoon than a cool moped ride around the neighborhood.  It was my first time "testing" out the motor since I did the rebuild.  I need to ride it carefully for a while because the new cylinder needs to be broken in properly...ya just can't get on there and go full blast, otherwise you will blow it up.  I didn't get a chance to really open it up and run full throttle for a long time, but the short time I did, I could really feel the difference in power compared to the old motor.  I am really excited to get it out and ride more often.  As for the temperatures being in the mid 20's, well it wasn't honestly that cold.  My hands were the worst part, but that was cause I got them snowy trying to take the picture.  Well, I take that back, that was bad, but my helmet fogging up was a real pain in the rear.  I either had to open it up to see clearly to let the fog go away, or drive with it foggy... I mixed it up, but with it open...my face would freeze on a long ride.

More snow likely on Friday night into Saturday, but that is only looking like 1-2" for the most part, so not a lot.  The system, Sunday night into Monday, will be interesting because temperatures will be near freezing again and it will have a decent amount of moisture.  Not nearly as much as our last system, but it will have enough to cause problems possibly, so it will need to be watched closely.  Well time to start dinner.  I hope you all are keeping warm, have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Groundhog's Day

What a cold, windy day!  I woke up at 2AM for work and we were at 37°F so the inch of ice that was on the trees and power lines had started to melt and fall off.  There were trees down everywhere on my way to work and despite trying to get around a few on the road, I had to say on the pavement and take a couple grazing the side of the truck.  I will say that West Carrollton Police are awesome.  They traveled the back roads and laid out flares so drives would know they were coming up to a hazard... Awesome job!  I got to work and limbs and ice were falling there as well.  As a matter of fact HUGE chunks of ice were falling from the transmission tower so I had to park all the way out by the road on the frozen tundra to try to avoid getting my windshield bombed.  I did live shots all morning in Kettering where the power had been off for the entire night and was not on by the time we left at 10AM. The winds were at least 30 mph at times and it was absolutely frigid facing the wind for over five hours doing live shots.

We were lucky in West Carrollton, our power was not knocked off, just the cable and internet.  They are obviously back on now, but others on the street could not care less.  The other side of the street is without power and has been since I woke up at 2AM.  I would offer some hospitality to the neighbors across the street that we occasionally talk to, but they must be out of town because no one has been around all day.  Anyway it has been a nice day.  Since the weather was bad Dawn took care of scheduling at work to get a lot of the work done early yesterday and they took the day off today with the exception of doing a few odd tasks.  So I got to spend the day with her and it has been a lot of fun just staying inside and making the best of this winter storm.  It looks like we got more snow on the way for Friday night and Saturday.  Right now it looks like a few inches, hope to have a definite number for you tomorrow.  Keep warm and have a good one!

Best,

Andrew Buck Michael

More Ice Tonight, Snow and Wind Tomorrow

After a much needed nap, it has already started freezing rain again. I dropped Dawn off at work this morning and just got back from picking her up...her car is too light for the ice and my truck so far, knock on wood, has been awesome. On the way home the sky light up bright blue from a transformer blowing, supposedly in the Kettering area. I have been fairly close to two transformers blowing in the past, (one an ice storm, the other from lightning) and seeing one blow is epic. If you can actually see it, it is the brightest thing you will probably every witness. Super bright blue light and you feel like you are in the middle of a war. Hopefully those people prepared for their power to be off for a while. Ice not letting up for tonight though. We could see another half an inch at least tonight and parts of the south may actually get above freezing for a little rain. Temperatures will plummet around daybreak tomorrow for all of us with the chance for about 1-2 inches of snow, maybe more farther off to the north, through the day tomorrow.

Winds still look to be 20-30 mph tomorrow morning and gusts around 40 mph. With the inch of ice across parts of the area, power outages will be more than likely. Of course I will be back out in the thick of things in the morning... See ya then and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Icy morning

Well I have been doing live hits from 75 and 725 by the Dayton Mall all morning and boy is it icy!! The freezing rain has tapered off for now but it is a sheet of ice everywhere, especially sidewalks, parking lots, and secondary roadways. We will see the freezing rain taper off for the mid morning a little, but more will arrive later today and tonight. So far we have a quarter of an inch here in Dayton, but areas to the north already have half an inch on limbs and power lines. Tomorrow winds will pick up to around 20-30 mph tomorrow so power outages will be a continuing problem with the additional icing. So far, about 1200 people are without power here in the Miami Valley. Be careful if you have to head out, or better yet break out the board games. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael