Tuesday's Snow Recap

As far as the snowfall totals, it appears that Darke and Shelby counties had seen the most snow with some reports between 3-4" of snow. Most of the north saw about 2-3" and the rest of the Miami Valley saw about an inch...unless you lived to the far south where they only saw a dusting. So, my second blog entry yesterday afternoon held true. The snow started falling yesterday afternoon instead of the evening. Temperatures fell a little faster and this allowed the snow to start falling earlier than the evening hours. Hopefully this was a good first test for drivers to remind them of how to drive in snow. I say that, but little to no snow stuck to the road so I still think our next "sticking" snow will be the true driving test.
If anyone was on Twitter or Facebook and had a lot of friends around the Miami Valley, you would know it was snowing... EVERYONE was talking about our first measurable snowfall of the season. I had to get some sleep while it was at it's thickest depth in Dayton, but Dawn's cousin snapped the photo of the snow covered pine tree in Miamisburg last night...very seasonal. I was able to at least see the snow start falling before bed. Buckeye was not a fan of the snow...he loves being hot, not snow-covered. Most of the inch of snow we did see had melted before I left the house on my way to work... just a melting dusting on the lawn.

The snow is pulling out of here, but we may still see a flurry or two this morning. The clouds will give way to sunshine later today, but we will only get into the upper 30's. Tonight we will drop off to a low around 24. With clear skies, light winds, and PLENTY of moisture we may see a little fog Thursday morning. If we do see fog, it will likely be freezing fog so the roadways tomorrow may be worse than today, especially the bridges. They will freeze first because the wind will go under the bridge and cool them off much faster. We will stay dry and cool for the rest of the week. Rain returns Sunday and we could be dealing with a similar snowy situation on Monday. Next week is looking VERY cold after the system moves out Monday. I will keep you posted on the Sunday-Monday system in the coming days. Stay safe out there and have a good one! Also, Happy Birthday to my wife, Dawn.

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Update on snow....upping the totals

I have been keeping a close eye on the temperatures throughout the day and we have cooled off a little more and a little faster than the models were showing. So instead of the rain switching over to snow just before midnight we are already seeing snow here in the Miami Valley. The picture is taken by my brother in Darke County where they started switching over to snow around 3:30PM today. Since we will be cutting the rain short and seeing all snow sooner, here are my updated thoughts for tonight. To the far northwest 2-4" for Wayne, Randolph, Mercer, Darke, Auglaize, Shelby, and Miami Counties. For counties that border these counties, they can expect up to 2" of snow... such as Logan, Champaign, Montgomery, and Preble Counties. The rest of the Miami Valley will likely pick up about an inch of snow, or less to the south. Remember, the ground is still above freezing so it will stick for a short time and last the longest on the grass and mulch. The snow on pavement will melt fairly quickly unless you have a quick heavy snow shower. Parts of the area are under a Winter Weather Advisory meaning this is our first measurable snowfall for the season. While I doubt many of us will really need a snow shovel for this event... might not be a bad idea to find it in the garage if you live far northwest of Dayton. Heading to bed shortly so I can get into the weather center early tomorrow morning. Travel safe and as always, have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Tonight's snowfall forecast

Well it is knocking on the door. The rain is still falling outside and we have seen nearly two inches in the Dayton area over the last couple days. The cold air is already starting to filter in from Indiana. As temperatures fall later we will see the rain start to change to a rain/snow mix this evening after sunset and all snow by Wednesday morning. The models are fairly consistent for the predicted snowfall totals. It appears the Northwestern part of the Miami Valley will see up to about an inch of snow. The further north and west you live the better chance you will see more snow. I think Dayton may see a light dusting if the snow falls quick enough and the far south may only see a few flurries. Keep in mind that the ground is wet and still above freezing. The snow will only stick for a short time before melting. The best chance for snow will be between midnight and daybreak tomorrow so the morning commute could be a little hairy...again, especially north and west. We lucked out because it appears Indiana will be getting the worst punch of this wintry system.

Temps will remain cold for the end of the week with highs in the low 40's and overnight low's near 30. There are two more rounds of winter weather possible, Friday and late Sunday. The Friday system has very little moisture to work with, but still worth watching. Sunday night into Monday morning looks like more of a pesky system with more moisture. The temperature will determine if we are dealing with rain or snow so I will keep a close eye on that. First we have to get through tonight and if I see any changes to the forecast I will update my blog later today. Stay dry and keep the rubber on the road tomorrow. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Nasty Weather

Boy, what a weekend. Horrible for sports and Mother Nature even cried on Sunday...and still crying. I knew that Buckeyes and Browns would likely lose this weekend, but I still kept up my hopes. Buckeyes had several chances to win, but they fell through...just like the Browns. You have to give credit for Bengals and Michigan for pulling through and winning. I spent the weekend in Cleveland with Dawn's family to celebrate Thanksgiving. Dawn has told me several times about how horrible the traffic always is on the Sunday after Thanksgiving and she was VERY set on leaving as soon as the Browns game was over. Sure enough we hit the back-up just south of Mansfield on I-71. The highway goes from three lanes down to two. The narrowing of the road, steady rain, and several accidents meant that it took us about 90 minutes to travel 12 miles. It normally takes about three hours to get from her parents to our house in Dayton...last night it took five hours. That meant I only was able to get about three hours of sleep last night. I think a nap is a must, especially to make it to the Dayton Area Moped Riders' Holiday Feast tonight.

Well the temperatures are a handful of degrees warmer currently than what I was thinking Friday. That means instead of seeing snow, we are just barely too warm and we are seeing rain instead...good thing too because the system has a lot of moisture. The rain showers will stick around the area pretty persistently for today and Tuesday. Tuesday night we will fall below freezing and could see a few snowflakes. When we fall below freezing will determine how much snow and where. Best chance will be the north for any snow. I will break that down tomorrow when a more precise forecast is possible. We will have highs near 40 and lows in the upper 20's for the end of the week and into the weekend. There will also be a couple more rounds of winter weather possible Friday and Sunday. I will be keeping a close eye on those as well, but right now it does not look like a lot of moisture will be with these systems. Stay dry and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Morning Show Black Friday Feast

It has been a tradition that everyone at the station the morning after Thanksgiving bring in a dish for our Feast. That means our engineer, master control, production team, producers, reporters, myself, and the anchors. By Black Friday many people are burnt out on turkey and mashed potatoes so we have a wide array of sausage links, sweet potatoes, cracker and cheese trays, desserts, dips, not to mention good coffee. It is always fun to see what people cook up. Brandi, one of our morning directors, always makes some amazing food. Her dad attends a lot of meat cooking competitions and the sausages she brought in today were AMAZING. The dark ones were really spicy so keep the water handy!

So the forecast in yesterday's blog looks to be holding true. We do have a little morning fog that will burn off in a couple hours. Nice today and Saturday with clouds slowly rolling in and highs in the upper 50's. Rain will arrive late Saturday night into Sunday morning followed by much colder temperatures. Later Sunday we will be cold enough for a little snow to start falling. We could see a few light snow showers Sunday night into Monday. Right now there will be light to no accumulations. The Northern counties will have the best chance for light snow. Cold air will stick around all next week with highs near 40 and lows in the mid-upper 20's. Another system comes through next Thursday with even more cold air behind it. I am off to Cleveland for the weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving with Dawn's family. I will be watching the Buckeyes and Browns game from there. Enjoy your extended weekend and see you all back here Monday. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Big changes in the forecast

At the end of yesterday's entry I made mention that the first couple systems of the year always tend to lift north and warm up. The forecast model must have heard me. This image is of the same time frame as yesterday's model. The low pressure is now forecasted north of Maine, we have warmer temperatures, and instead of seeing a possible rain/snow mix we might be seeing clear skies instead. These winter systems are a little more fickle than many other storms. I will keep an eye on it, but the only way we could have been more different by the middle of next week is if we were dealing with 80 degree temperatures...hey, stranger things have happened in Ohio. I expect a few more changes over the coming days. In years past there may be a renegade model a week out that actually pans out and shows snow and it turns out accurate, despite models closer to the date straying away from what actually will happen.

Quick check of your Thanksgiving Day forecast. Yesterday was a beautiful afternoon with plenty of sunshine and mild temperatures. Today will be much of the same with a little morning fog or cloudiness. We do have a few thin clouds now that will burn off quickly when the sun comes up (writing this at 4:53AM). Mild and mostly sunny for Friday as well with highs over the next few days in the upper 50's, near 60. Rain will roll in late Saturday night into Sunday morning and bring the cold blast of air. We could see a few snowflakes mix in late Sunday and maybe Monday. The moisture looks to pull out quickly, but we will still will be cold next week with highs near 40 and lows in the 20's. Enjoy your Thanksgiving and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Week from now...snow?

The models have been hinting at a trough of cold air swinging through for the start of December. Now that that time frame is within shooting range it seems to be holding consistent from model to model, for the most part. The last couple rounds of models are showing a low pressure system getting lost from the flow of the jet stream and sitting over us early next week. This will allow cool temperatures and extended periods of rain for early next week and when a secondary cold blast of air arrives for the middle of next week...it will pull the colder air into the area a little stronger. Soooo, what does this all mean. The image attached shows three important factors in our snow chances for next week. You may notice the blue and red lines. These are the temperatures just a short way above the surface of the earth. You can see the freezing line of 0 degrees Celsius hugging the plains and the Midwest. The -10 degree line taps into parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the U.P. of that state up north. So the cold air will be in place. On to the black lines: these are the lines of pressure. The low pressure system that will begin lifting north by next Wednesday (according to the timing of today's model) will be a fairly strong system with a pressure of around 995 mb. The last and most important ingredient for us seeing snow...moisture. We are on the the third tier of amount of precipitation for the 12 hour window the model predicts. It appears there is plenty of moisture also higher in the atmosphere with cold air as well.

So here is what we are looking at for the forecast. The rain and clouds are on their way out of here. We will be dry all the way until Sunday. Today we will only get into the low 50's, but still on track to get into the mid 50's for Thanksgiving, tomorrow. Highs near 60 for Friday and Saturday before the big change in weather. The low pressure system will swing in on Sunday and put its brakes on and just sit around the Midwest for Monday. This will bring scattered showers for Sunday and Monday with highs in the upper 40's. The second cold blast of air is what we really need to time out to pinpoint our chance for snow. Right now it appears that the blast of cold air will arrive late Tuesday so we may see a few flakes of snow mixing with rain later Tuesday. If the cold air arrives at the predicted time we could see a switch over to mostly snow heading into Wednesday morning. Timing will be the deciding factor into when and where all of this happens so we still have a week to see what pans out. Remember, forecasting winter storms this far out is a lot like bowling down a lane that is about three times the normal length. It is especially difficult to forecast the first few systems...they typically pull north and we warm up at the last second, but with the Low already sitting over us a few days this is a little different. I will keep an eye on the situation and as always...keep ya posted because I have a feeling there will be changes by next week.

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

What is better than Thanksgiving leftovers?

Thanks to my mother having Thanksgiving dinner the Sunday before the holiday... it allowed Dawn and I to enjoy two thanksgiving dinners before the holiday even arrived. We both love the food that is associated with the holiday. My mother sent us home with a LOT of leftovers. Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays. Everyone gets together, no need for gifts...just enjoy the fellowship of friends and family...and of course good food.

The steady rain is almost here. The wall of rain is moving in from the south and we will see steady rain through most of the late morning and early afternoon, heavy at times. The rain will pull out of here by tomorrow morning. We will get into the upper 50's today but only get into the lower 50's tomorrow. Thanksgiving will be mostly sunny and we will get into the mid 50's. Friday looking great as well with upper 50's and plenty of sunshine. Clouds will roll back into the area for the weekend and with that a chance for rain. Next week the models are hinting at cold air trying to push back into the area and trying to set up camp...so I will keep an eye on it because right now it has a strong trough of cold air over the Pacific for the weekend. Stay dry and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

How firm thy friendship ... OHIO!

Saturday was a bit of a bittersweet letdown. Dawn and I went back up to Ohio State for the Penn State football game. We went with her cousin who recently traded for an older public transport bus which is now converted into a party bus complete with television and lots of seating for a big group of people with still plenty of room to lay out the party spread. It was a lot of fun to return to Ohio State for the first time since Dawn and I got married at Browning Amphitheater in July. Mirror Lake and Browning were not nearly as green as what they were earlier in the year. We also met up with a group of meteorology students we graduated with, who also came up to tailgate. I really miss all of those guys who are just as nerdy as I am. Good friends whether the weather is good or bad.
We watched the first quarter in the party bus and then we went over to High Street to watch the rest of the game. It was a sad game because we had the chance to win the game several times, but sadly we did not win. This brings on Beat Michigan week. I really miss this week on campus because no matter what the record...it is all erased and everyone focuses on one game to set the mood for the season.

Yesterday we visited my parents' farm and we had a lot of fun celebrating Thanksgiving. My three brothers, myself, and our father got into a silly heated debate. We were talking about ceramic drainage tiles that help drain flooded areas of the farm fields. The debate was over how the tiles initially break and cause sink holes over time. My brother Clark made a few statements that easily had a few "cracks" in it and we had fun picking apart those cracks. He claimed the velocity of the higher elevation of the tube would be faster than the lower elevation of the tile. This would be true if you have a blow hole, but we were arguing about a solid tile that had no blow holes...so it would have to be the same velocity...all simple physics. Dawn said she was going insane because when we all get together we are VERY loud and "debate" over the some "boring" topics in her opinion. I had fun, haha.

On to your Thanksgiving week forecast. Today we will have a few light scattered showers, but most of the showers will be hit or miss with mild temperatures. Tuesday will be pretty much a wash-out with showers and storms most of the day and a high in the low 60's, so even warmer. The rain will move out just in time for early holiday travels on Wednesday. We will cool off a bit with highs in the low 50's for Wednesday, mid 50's Thursday and near 60 for Friday. Thanksgiving looks mostly sunny and mild heading into Friday morning with a low of 38 for any Black Friday shoppers. Much warmer than the years I participated. Working the morning shift kinda limits my Black Friday shopping. Back to the forecast...working on a holiday travel forecast graphic across the region. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

My new lucky gloves

These gloves were actually a mistake. Last year during a football Friday I needed gloves to shoot highlights for the freezing cold temps we were experiencing. My former co-worker, Malcom Maddox, swore on the skin tight thin Under Armour gloves. They are very thin and allow you to really feel what you are doing with all the buttons on the video cameras and still keep your hands warmer than bare skin. I was working a double and couldn't stop by Dick's Sporting Goods to pick up a pair. Luckily another co-worker Jon Scott said he was going to get gloves as well. He said he could pick me up a pair of gloves, however he was not there when I was getting the sermon from Malcom about how great these thin gloves were and how they should have already been a necessity for my normal gear when shooting video in the cold. Jon came back from the store and said the gloves were $35. I thought I was getting raked over the coals because online I saw the gloves I wanted for $20. (Still pricey) When he pulled them out of the shopping bag I saw that they were not what I was hoping for. Reluctantly, I paid him the $35 because I was banking on wearing the gloves he picked up for me. The gloves were very warm, but I had a hard time using them with all the small buttons, switches, and controls on the camera. I still managed but eventually got the gloves I originally wanted. Well, I have kept both pairs of gloves and they have really been handy in cold situations...until yesterday.

I checked on my truck in the body shop and they said it was being painted and I would be able to pick it up tomorrow, Friday. I was stuck to commuting on my moped for the day yesterday and with my winter project plans starting next week for the mopeds I wanted to soak in as many miles as possible, despite a high of 41 and winds 20-30 mph. Dawn and her cousin's were getting together at Sammy's El Pueblo Restuarant for lunch in Springboro. I LOVE their burgers...amazing. Anyway, Dawn called and told me they were meeting for lunch and they wanted to know if I wanted to come too. I couldn't say no so I rode the ten chilly miles to the restaurant. I always wear a backpack with essential tools in case I break down so I can attempt to fix my moped on the side of the road. I happened to have my gloves in another pocket. When I got to Sammy's I took off my backpack to get my lock and secure the bike to the tree. I noticed I left a pocket open and sure enough...the gloves were gone. (I used a warmer pair for the chilly ride) I was pretty bummed for lunch. I made sure on my way home I took the exact same route and my eyes were scanning machines. I scanned the roads left and right constantly looking for my gloves. I got about a mile from home and I was losing hope. THEN, I found one of the gloves in someone's driveway so I circled around and picked it up, WOOHOO! I continued my trip home and couldn't find the other glove. I was freezing and took a little break to warm up. After a few minutes of thinking, I wanted to check again. I got back on the moped and took the same route again. I wore the one glove I found for good luck and hoped that the one glove would call out to the other. As I was riding, about a block from where I found the first glove, I noticed something dark in the shade of a house that was close to the road...yup...there it was. I was stoked. I have plenty of gloves and really didn't NEED them, but it was quite a blissful moment when I put the second glove on and they were once again reunited. I knighted them my new favorite lucky gloves.

Well I wore the gloves on my chilly ride into work today. I could have used a second set because the 30+ mph wind from riding was cutting through the fabric on the gloves. I did wear two pairs of socks under my dress shoes so my ankles were toasty. Wind chills, for everyone sane and not riding a moped in the cold weather, are around 15-20 degrees. Plenty of sunshine will warm us up into the upper 40's and still looking at 50's for the weekend. Saturday will be warmer and windy, but dry...not the same for Sunday. Rain will return for Sunday through Tuesday. It will not be a complete wash-out, scattered showers instead. Heading into Thanksgiving we will see temperatures in the 40's but plenty of sunshine. I have been keeping an eye on the long term forecast. It looks like we may have a few cold snaps and a few flurries/light snow showers in the coming weeks. If things remain the same as what the models are showing...no measurable snow for a little while. I will keep an eye on things because that first snow always catches people off-guard on how to drive. You may think I am wrong, but mark my word...that first inch of snow there will be accidents all over the place. We get so used to dry pavement that a little bit of ice or snow seems to be do-able and people over do it. Anyway, enjoy your weekend and if you are heading to Columbus for the Penn State-Ohio State football game, you may see me. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

How Cold Is It?

COLD! As I mentioned in my last few entries, I won't have my truck back until later this week. I did not have rental coverage on my insurance(thought I did), but I did add it for future instances. (Hopefully wont need it.) Anyway, I embraced the idea of riding my moped when I couldn't borrow my wife's car. This morning it was about 34 degrees so I bundled up really warm. The only cold parts of my body was my ankles and wrists. I tucked my scarf up into my helmet and it was foggily warm. This image was a little exaggeration of how foggy my helmet was, but you get the idea. I took the photo once I got to the station and locked up my moped. I will now be wearing taller socks tomorrow and making sure I pull my coat sleeves over my gloves for the ride home. Despite how cold it was, it was still a LOT of fun.

We will slowly warm into the lower 40's today with sunshine returning after a partly cloudy start. It will be rather windy today. Tonight we will drop into the mid 20's for lows and our coolest temperature of the fall so far is 28 degrees, so we could be dealing with the coldest night of the season so far. We will slowly warm into the mid 40's tomorrow, mid 50's Saturday, and then upper 50's on Sunday...just as rain returns. We could see a few showers Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Temperatures heading into Thanksgiving will be cool with highs in the mid 40's. Well back to the news...have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Take the Long Way Home

The title is a little misleading. I am still taking the same way home, but on a moped it seems like the long way home. Not because it only adds about three minutes to my commute, but because I can enjoy the scenic ride a little more. My truck is in the body shop til the end of the week and I will be riding my moped in the freezing cold mornings. I lucked out today because Dawn does not have a school talk til the late morning so I was able to take her car, but the next few mornings I will be riding in below-freezing conditions. Luckily it is only about a six mile ride with plenty of curves and rolling hills...only have to freeze for a couple minutes.

Showers pushing through now and temperatures currently in the lower 50's. Temps will fall into the upper 30's by the late afternoon and hopefully a little clearing. Tonight we could see a little patchy fog and with temps below freezing a little frost on your windshield. Partly cloudy and chilly the next few days and then slowly warming heading into the weekend. Rain will roll in Sunday and Monday...cooling us off once again for Thanksgiving week. Take your jacket for later today and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Storm Chasing Recap

Yesterday's storms were a bit of a letdown, but as a weather geek it was still a lot of fun. I was lucky enough to ride along with SWAT, Severe Weather Alert Team. I met up with the first vehicle in Arcanum. We then headed west to Indy.
Once we got to Indy we took a look at the situation and there was a nearly solid line of cells across Northern Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The most fuel for the thunderstorms was in Southern Ohio/Indiana and the maximum rotation in the atmosphere was in Central/Northern Indiana and Ohio. We were hoping to have a rogue cell pop-up to tap into this area, but all of the storms stayed in the line to the north and it slowly dropped south into the energy.
We geared up and headed north in both vehicles to monitor the approaching line of storms. Since it was a line they were all fighting together for the energy they shared the conditions feeding the storms. No cells popped up ahead of the line and hogged up all the energy and rotation. Another cause for the storms possibly did not develop as hoped was that the upper level winds in the atmosphere were screamingly strong. Had they been slightly weaker we could have had the showers ahead of the line become more developed.
Here are a few images to give you an idea of what happened yesterday. The line of storms was all fighting for the energy.If we could have had one or two decent cells pop out ahead of the line we could have had a much different story, but instead we just dealt with the line of storms. We still saw a few strong storms with hail over an inch in diameter, but no tornadic storms in Indiana or Ohio. There was only one tornado in Illinois, earlier in the day.
No storms today. We will see showers, mainly south of I-70 for today. The showers will pester the Southern part of the Miami Valley through tomorrow and then finally kick out of here. Cooler temps still on tap for later this week...dropping from upper 50's today, to 40's for the next couple days with lows below freezing Thursday and Friday morning. We will warm up a little for the weekend, but more rain by late Sunday and Monday. After only a little over three hours of sleep, I will now let you go. Grab me a coffee and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Chance for Severe Storms Today

We have really seen a lot of changing weather over the last week. We had snow showers last Thursday and we warmed up into the mid 60's for the weekend. We will soon be blasted by cold air again later this week, but first...a strong cold front. We are already seeing strong showers this morning across central Ohio and Indiana. Once we get into the afternoon a little upper level support and daytime heating will help support a slight chance for severe weather. There is a little directional wind shear, which could support a very slight chance for tornadic storms, but it appears we will likely be dealing with strong winds and hail as more of a threat. Best chances will be the western counties because the timing of the storms looks to roll through right before dusk. When the sun does down, 5:22PM, we will slowly lose power for the storms. I will be keeping a close eye on the situation from home just in case I need to come in and I am sure Jeff Booth will be watching closely from the weather center.

Speaking about coming in... I am taking my truck to the body shop today. After a fender-bender it will need to be there for about four days as they replace and paint parts. I could have swore that I had rental coverage with my full coverage, but apparently I do not. (I did add it though) I am resorting to riding my moped this week. I already brought a few suit jackets to work today to prepare for the cold, possibly wet, morning rides on my two wheels. I have been mentally preparing myself for morning rides below freezing...so when you see me later this week on the morning show with rosy cheeks you will know why. Dawn does have a few school talks this week in the late morning, so I may be able to take her car a day or two. Either way, I am embracing the idea of moped commuting in the cold.

As I stated, we have a slight chance for strong to severe storms this afternoon. Showers will push south tonight and the Southern part of the Miami Valley will see the best chance for rain overnight into Tuesday. The entire area will see cooler temperatures slowly arrive as we head into the end of the week. Highs for this week will be mid 60's today, upper 50's tomorrow, and mid 40's for the end of the week with lows in the upper 20's later this week. We will warm up a little next week...so looking good for tailgating at the Ohio State-Penn State game. Stay dry and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

First Snowfall

Well the flurries did not disappoint yesterday. Rain/snow showers started forming in the afternoon and were widely scattered through the evening. Once the temperatures dropped, it switched to all snow and Brandon Redmond, of Darke County, with the Severe Weather Alert Team, SWAT, managed to grab this image of the snow falling on their Severe Weather Emergency Response Vehicle, SWERV. The SWERV is their storm chasing vehicle. You can make out the logo on the hood when the snow started, but after a short amount of time the snow continued to cover the vehicle.
They were lucky enough to be under one isolated snow shower in the evening. Most of the area did not see snowfall that impressive, however many of us did see our first snowflakes of the season. Twitter was all abuzz about the snow in Dayton. I am sure SWAT got a few more photos and feel free to check out their site: SWATChasers.com, special thanks to them for sharing the photos.

On to the forecast. Today will be chilly, again. Right now most of the area is sitting in the upper 20's and wind chills around 20. We will reach a high in the mid 40's today with mostly sunny skies. Tomorrow we will warm into the upper 50's for a sunny Saturday. Lower 60's for Sunday and Monday, with a chance for rain both days. We will dry out later in the week but with chilly weather, much like today. Stay warm, enjoy your weekend, and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Largest School Talk and Cold Forecast

Yesterday I talked to the students from Watts Middle School and according to the teacher it was about 225 students. That would set my record for most students I have talked to at once. Normally when you get that many students in one room they can start misbehaving and not listening, but surprisingly they were awesome and very attentive. The students also had a lot of questions from my schooling, to the green screen, to my favorite parts of the job. I had a lot of fun and hopefully they did too. I am pretty sure they have a few new experiments that they can do at home that would cost less than fifty cents, which everyone loves.

Today will be a little bit of a rude awakening that it is the middle of November. We were spoiled this week with highs of 65 on Monday and 68 on Tuesday. Today we will only warm into the mid 40's. This afternoon and evening we could see a few sprinkles or flurries thanks to a little lake effect moisture. Best chance to see any precipitation will be the Northern Miami Valley. It will only be a slight chance this evening and overnight and tomorrow we will dry out for a couple days. Mid 40's for Friday with breezy conditions and then slowly warming into the upper 50's by the end of the weekend. Rain will return late Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, which will keep our temperatures from warming too much. Taking a look into the future, it appears we will be dealing with similar weather for the next couple of weeks: rounds of rain, not super warm, not super cold...just seasonal. There could be a little snow out there...I will keep ya posted as that may get nearer. Stay warm and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Handle with no handle

Not sure how it happened, but I came in this morning and my station coffee mug had the handle busted off. How am I supposed to handle with care with no handle? Luckily a former coworker had got me a few large wilderness coffee mugs as wedding gifts. I wanted to register for the entire wilderness dish set for wedding gifts but Dawn said everyone would get them for us because they would think it was a good joke. Joke is on her because I LOVE my huge mug and it came in handy this morning as my back-up. Still not sure how it was busted in my filing cabinet drawer, but hopefully I can get a new mug since I am not sure they want me drinking out of the moose mug on-air.

The rain is starting to roll into the area this morning. Temperatures will top out around 60 today with on and off rain showers and then drying out later this afternoon as the temperatures take a nose dive. We will drop to the lower 30's by tomorrow morning. Highs tomorrow will barely get into the mid 40's with partly cloudy skies and there is a slight chance for a sprinkle or flurry later in the day. Friday much of the same...chilly and partly cloudy. Saturday we begin to warm back into the 50's and we will continue to climb into the low 60's for the start of next week. Rain will arrive on and off late Sunday into Monday with more steady rain will arrive on Tuesday. Stay warm and dry...and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Big Change in Temps Coming

Enjoy the weather today. We will be warming up close to 70 degrees with partly cloudy skies, but big changes will be arriving for the coming days. Rain will arrive Wednesday, tomorrow, and that will start a cooling trend. Highs will fall into the mid 40s for the end of the week and lows near or below freezing. The good news is that we would slowly warm heading toward next week, but more rain will arrive for the start of next week.

Hope you can get out there and vote today then enjoy the beautiful day. Since Friday night high school football is winding down, I have been pulled off the schedule to shoot football and now I will be a news photographer a handful of hours a week. I will start doing that today and it will work out perfectly with election day. Election day is always SUPER busy at the station so I am sure that our Assignment Editor will be very happy to know I will be joining the staff today. I caught up on sleep yesterday and I will be able to enjoy the nice afternoon today. Hopefully you can do the same...have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

120 Mile Moped Trip & Workweek Forecast

My bike made it. After taking the time to rebuild the engine last winter, I now know the pleasure of taking the time and doing it right. I think my bike knew that this trip would be it's last trip so it just chugged along before getting a new rebuild this winter. Our group left Cincinnati on Saturday morning and rode about 60 miles south to a state park in Carrollton, KY. The group from Louisville beat us to the park. It was a beautiful trip with rolling hills and occasionally bumping into the Ohio River.
While it was very chilly camping out, it was a lot of fun to meet up with my moped friends for the last group ride of the year. This was also my first time volunteering my truck to be the chase vehicle. So when a bike broke down we would put it in the bed of the truck and one of my dear friends was ever so kind and drove the truck while I rode my moped. We ended up with five mopeds in there by the time we finished the 120 mile trip and made it back to Cincinnati. I did notice that the ONLY bikes that finished the trip were mopeds that were rebuilt with new bearings and seals or completely stock bikes. Note: don't just throw a kit on it...rebuild it first. Lot of fun, but today I will be catching up on sleep.

While the weather was great this weekend, it will not last all week. Today and tomorrow will be mild with highs in the 60's. We will have rain just to our west the next couple days, so the far Northwestern part of the Miami Valley could see a few sprinkles or light shower, but the rain will hold off until Wednesday to push through the entire area. This will bring in much cooler air for the end of the week. By Thursday and Friday our highs will be in the mid 40's and overnight lows below freezing. There is a slight chance for a flurry or two Thursday with a little wrap-around moisture behind the cold front. We will warm back into the 50's by next weekend and maybe another chance for rain late Sunday...but that is still a long way out so I will keep ya posted. Enjoy the nice weather today and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Moped Rally this Weekend

This weekend will be a beautiful weekend and, from what I am told, the warmest weekend ever for Bombourbon Run. This is not a traditional moped rally where everyone meets up at one location. Instead groups meet up in either Cincinnati or Louisville and we ride halfway and meet at a park and camp out Saturday night. It is at least a 130 mile trip, once all is said and done, and I am looking forward to the challenge. My bike has been very reliable all season and I hope this weekend doesn't disappoint. We have four of the Dayton Area Moped Riders going to the ride. This photo was taken, by my friend KZ, from BBR two years ago and if it looks half as beautiful as this photo, we are in for a very scenic ride. I will be sure to take plenty of photos.

As I said, the weekend looks pretty warm, considering it is November. We will see plenty of sunshine starting today and we will be a little cool with highs in the mid 50's. We will warm up a few degrees each day and we could be in the upper 60's by Tuesday next week. Tonight will be chilly though, with lows near freezing, so frost and fog are a possibility. Rain will hold off until Wednesday when a strong cold blast of air arrives for later next week. Enjoy the weekend and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

School Visit, Weekend Outlook

I was invited to talk at Woodland Primary School last night in Greenville. It was not a normal school visit for me. Instead it was a Science Family Fun Night. There were seven stations set up and the kids would move from station to station. It was a lot of fun, but I think I was the only one that did not have something explode or spew. Instead I used hot water and blue ice cubes to make cold fronts, had a few tornado demonstrations and talked about weather safety. Dawn came along with me and I told all of the kids I brought my wife because I needed an assistant. She never gets to see my school talks because she is working and considering I had to do my experiment several times I actually did need some help. We stopped by an old favorite restaurant afterward, CJ's Highmarks. Their cheesy chicken soup is AMAZING.

Well yesterday afternoon turned out awesome, highs around 60 with not a cloud in the sky. Today we could see a few high clouds with highs in the mid 60's. A few late day showers tomorrow will keep us a little cooler, but then we dry out and slowly warm back into the 60's for the end of the week and weekend. We will see mostly sunny skies and it looks like the rain will hold off until the start of next workweek. No complaints here. It looks like the moped rally in Kentucky this weekend will have fantastic weather, score! Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Yuengling? Psst, Christmas Ale is back!

I completely understand the big excitement about Yuengling coming to Ohio, I really do. Dayton started selling their PA beer yesterday, but how about Christmas Ale!?! That, in my opinion, is the really story maker! First off, Christmas Ale would beat Yuengling in a head to head battle, but how about the rarity of Christmas Ale. Sure Yuengling was only sold regionally in Pennsylvania, but you could drive and get it, or have someone passing through pick some up. Christmas Ale is only sold about two and a half months out of the year. It went on sale yesterday and I almost guarantee that it is sold out at many local stores. Half the fun of Christmas Ale is trying to find it. It is a Great Lakes Brewing Company beer so it is much easier to find around the Cleveland area, but here in Dayton it is almost like hide and seek. There is actually a couple that Dawn and I go out to dinner with and we accept the challenge of trying to find a local restaurant that sells it for a dinner date night once a week. Disclaimer: You may have gotten used to lighter beers over the last 9 months... remember, this is potent and may knock your socks off from taste and strength. Also, special thanks to Randi Rico for tweeting me this photo yesterday.

October turned out pretty wet for us, but luckily we are keeping things dry to start off November. Today and tomorrow looks to remain dry and fantastic. We will stay right around 60 for the high for the next week. There is a chance for rain Thursday and late Sunday, but other than that, a great seven day forecast. I am hoping the rain holds out Sunday until later because I am heading to Cincinnati for a Cincinnati-Louisville moped rally. We are riding halfway and meeting up with the Louisville group at a campground in Kentucky on Saturday. It would stink to have a wet 65 mile ride back to Cincy on a moped. Anyway, enjoy the day and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael