Well I haven't posted in awhile so I figured I would at least talk briefly about the bitter cold heading our way in Starkville. Of course what we will see here is NOTHING compared to what people are experiencing in the Northern Plains and Great Lakes... Some places in northern Minnesota were in the -40F to -50F degree range this morning. That's just insane to me and is something I hope I NEVER experience in my entire life. When I lived in Washington D.C. we got below zero a few times but -40F is just crazy!!!
The polar vortex is making its way towards the US and many people are going to experience some of the coldest air in years. I know for us in Starkville this is some of the coldest air I have seen in at least the last 2 or 3 years. Thursday were looking at a high of near freezing with a low Friday morning near 10 in many places around Starkville. The record low for Mississippi State on Friday morning is 8 degrees which I don't think we will get. Even though this is some fridiged air, there is not enough snow pack to our north. Some of our coldest days occur when you have the polar vortex heading down like it is in this case but with snow pack as close as Memphis... Because of this the air will moderate some as it leaves the snow pack, which is currently located in Cetral Illinios, Indiana, Ohio, etc... Also we still have a decent amount of moisture in the soil so I think that will help keep dew points up a little... I actually think the NWS forecast of 12 degrees is going to be really close... Again it's all relative to where you live but for us in the Deep South this is some COLD COLD air...
On a side note I just wanted to point out that I probably won't be posting near as much this semester. Of course I'll post when there is some interesting weather occuring but I don't think I can post nearly everyday like I did last semester. I have a lot of projects I want to work on this semester so I need to focus more of my attention on that.... My main goal this semester is to work hard on my website, uploading past storm chasing videos and journals. I really need to complete that so I don't forget important details from past expericences. I highly recommend everyone keeping a weather journal when you storm chase. That way it will be much easier to remember things. I have to say that sometimes I kick myself for not keeping better records on my past storm chases. Anyways, I'll do the best I can and hopefully by the end of the semester I'll have most everything up and running! I think many people will really enjoy the storm chase videos... Again, I'll still post a few times a week, I just can't post almost everyday like I did...
