National Chocolate Day and Saturday's snow update

I was the feature reporter this morning on Good Day Columbus and it is National Chocolate Day... Win! Win! I tried some VERY interesting chocolate at Le Chocoholique in the Short North.  All very interesting, but a few: spicy!  Try the Nuclear Fire if you like hot foods!

Some light rain showers moving through right now.  Nothing is expected to be severe for Ohio today.  Just some showers and MAYBE a rumble of thunder or two.  Then we dry out for Wednesday and Thursday.  Friday another cold front will bring spotty light rain showers, but Friday night could get a little "white" around here.

The models are still in some disagreement, but it does look like Friday night into early Saturday morning there may be enough moisture around to get some flurries or even some light snow.  Keep in mind... the ground will be VERY warm so it will melt at a rapid rate, but if you are up Saturday morning, you might see a nice appetizer to winter.   I will also note, I believe this models may be exaggerating the amount of snow we will be seeing... just tossing that out there.  Regardless... Saturday will be MUCH colder than what it has felt like all fall.  Saturday night will likely be a killing freeze for many in Central Ohio.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Space balloon, moving day, & snow by next weekend?

Friday morning I was blessed to be part of a space balloon launch with Pack 382 from Centerburg, Ohio.  We launched around 9AM and the entire elementary was there to countdown.  The balloon popped and landed back near Millersport, to the east.  On board, there were three GoPro cameras, a GPS tracker, and a flight commander that recorded weather readings.

Above is a snap-shot as the balloon was released.

And this is a snapshot from the video from space! 

 

The balloon popped at 107,000 feet... Goodbye balloon, hello parachute! I am doing a follow up news story on Monday to show the video from space and the fun story of the scouts' second launch.  They will be editing the video and posting the space flight late tomorrow or Monday.

Today was moving day for my wife and me.  I went over to the house this morning to set up the inflatable Browns linebacker and set up the beer/water fountain.  I got the idea a few years ago.  Basically have three tubs of ice water, LOTS of ice, and a pump to circulate the water up to the top and it overflows down to the lower levels.  Since the water is circulating, the drinks will stay VERY VERY cold... but you have to keep feeding it tons and tons and tons of ice because the running water melts the ice.  Despite having a handful of friends who love beer... after all that lifting the bottled water was what went the fastest.  We managed to fill the Uhaul completely and we still have to go back tomorrow for the grill and other smaller things.  It is nice to have the ability to come and go since the move is only about 13 miles.  Can't wait to sleep at the new house tonight.

The weather could not have been more perfect for the move today.  Sunny and mild most of the day.  Sunday, Monday, and even early Tuesday look FANTASTIC!!! A strong cold front late Tuesday will bring showers and thunderstorms for the afternoon and early evening.  We then dry out for Wednesday and Thursday (Trick or Treat for many) and then another cold front on Friday... and THAT cold front could be a big talker...

Above is the snow accumulation for four different forecast model runs.  There is no consistency, but it does show that a possibility of snow could impact Ohio later this week.  I will keep you posted... but one thing all the models agree on... next weekend will be COLD!  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Snow contest, giant gourds, and home preps

It's about to make a comeback! After a HUGE response on my Facebook and Twitter pages, I am actually putting together a pretty sweet prize pack for this year's contest.  Be sure to check out my pages for the contest.  I will be launching it at the end of the month.  (BUT... keep in mind... you don't have to submit your forecast weeks out... the cutoff deadline is 72 hours before the winning time... so if you are vigilant with the forecast then you can come closer by holding off.)  STAY TUNED!!!

I did a story at the Circleville Pumpkin Show and WOW!!!  Talk about some giant gourds!

I spent my last two days off painting, and painting... and painting.  My parents came up and cleaned the windows to the house and helped paint one day. 

We also cleaned the gutters.  In total... four closets and three bedrooms are painted and almost ready for move-in.   I also ripped out the wall-mounted entertainment center. Took a lot of time to patch up, but you can hardly notice now... even if you ARE looking for it.  Excited to get moved in and relax... for a day...

Chilly morning for the Columbus Marathon with temps in the mid 30's. Plenty of sun, though, for Sunday along with cool temperatures.  Enjoy the sun because more rain returns for Monday and Tuesday.  Just spotty nuisance rain, but still something to plan for.  Highs stay cool for the start of the week in the 50's, but then sunshine returns and we slowly warm back into the 60's by next weekend.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Bought our first house!!!

Tuesday was a huge day for Dawn and me... I signed a new contract at the station... AND... we closed on our first house.  Super excited to have a home to actually call home.  We are stoked!  Doing some small repairs around the house now, but the big move is just a couple weeks away.

We went down to Cincinnati for a wedding yesterday.  So excited for Billy and Molly!

So this is pretty cool.  I always have Scout Sunday and today's group was extra special.  This pack will be launching a weather balloon in two weeks.  They did this a year ago with a GoPro and the balloon reached 109,000 feet!  They got a balloon twice the size this year and I gave them a GoPro to send as well.  I also am going to have this photo in the view of the GoPro so we are going to space!!!  (I will share the video when I get the camera back!)

We are expecting some rain for Monday... Scattered showers or a few storms that are not likely to be severe.  Tuesday though will be a different story.  We could see some storms with VERY strong winds.  The above image is a model forecast of the winds about a thousand feet in the air.  You can see the winds are over 60 mph.  If the storms downdraft pulls that down then we could have some pretty significant damage.   Be sure to stay weather aware on Tuesday and Tuesday night.  A few lingering showers on and off for Wednesday and even fewer Thursday... then we cool off and dry off for the weekend.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Zombies, brother's birthday, and SNOW!!!

Thursday was pretty crazy... these guys tried to eat me... silly zombies at a restaurant.

Friday night my brother turned 21.  So I went out with him to celebrate.  Lots of fun.

And in my last blog entry, I mentioned the chance for some snow showers... and sure enough... we had pockets of snow mixing in with the rain showers today.

Here is a little explainer video of what we saw today.  You will need the coat tonight and early Sunday.  There is a frost advisory for the Southern half of Ohio.  Winds will stay breezy and temperatures will fall into the mid 30's so wind chills will dip into the 20's.  A few breaks in the clouds Sunday, but remaining mostly cloudy and blustery.  A few scattered showers move in Sunday night and will be on and off through Monday and Tuesday.  Our temperatures try to rebound back to near 70 by the end of the week, but another strong cold front will bring rain for the end of the week and cooler weather by next weekend.  Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael