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Roots of meteorology

The first meteorologists were mostly medical doctors, whose attention to detail was good for observing and documenting day-to-day weather changes. The need to better coordinate the measurement of wind over the oceans led Navy Lt. Matthew Fontaine Maury to convene the First International Meteorological Conference in Brussels in 1853. The main achievements of the conference were the adoption of a standard for ship's logs, instructions for meteorological observations at sea and a system for the collection...
Wet 2008

So far this year we have seen 25.54 inches of rain here in Wichita. This exceeds the rainfall to date of 1951, which ended up being the wettest year on record in the air capital. In that year we had received 24.93 inches through June 18. And the rain kept on coming, reaching a record 50.48 inches for the year. We have no way of knowing how much more rain we will get this year, but we have certainly gotten off to a fast start toward that record.
Cold fronts

Why does an approaching cold front first bring stormy weather? --Carrie Send your weather questions to "Ask Storm Team 12," KWCH-TV, P.O. Box 12, Wichita, KS 67201, or e-mail to askstormteam12@kwch.com.
Damage estimate at K-State may grow
BY MARA ROSE WILLIAMS, Kansas City Star
More than a week after a tornado tore through Kansas State University, school officials still are assessing the damage to nearly every building on the Manhattan campus.
No widespread flooding despite near-record rains
BY STAN FINGER, The Wichita Eagle
Wichita is seeing its second-wettest spring ever, yet the city and much of eastern Kansas have avoided widespread flooding despite what one state official called "incredible" rainfall totals.
Trees, power poles down in Butler County
BY HURST LAVIANA, The Wichita Eagle
A severe thunderstorm that moved across Butler County on Thursday knocked over 20 power poles and caused significant tree damage in some rural areas west of El Dorado.
County may consider speedier action on siren upgrades
BY STAN FINGER, The Wichita Eagle
Dozens of customers were shopping at the NewMarket Square SuperTarget store in northwest Wichita the evening of June 12 when the tornado sirens began blaring.
Summer solstice

The first day of summer is on June 20 this year --today -- and summer officially begins at 6:59 p.m. local time. This time of year is when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun and there is essentially no real period of darkness at the North Pole. The sun is directly overhead at the Tropic of Cancer, which is about 23 degrees latitude. The Southern Hemisphere is having winter, because they are tilted away from the sun and the South Pole has very little daylight. Now our days will start...
No surprise: Rain in weekend forecast
BY STAN FINGER, The Wichita Eagle
Wichita's soggy spring continues, looming in the forecast through the weekend. "You go to bed and it's nice and calm and the stars are out -- and then it rains," said Leon Wasinger, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wichita.
Sporting-good-size hail

Many of us enjoy softball, but when we're talking about hail and not the sport, run for cover. When softball-size hail falls out of the sky, it is reasonable to expect it will hit the earth at speeds greater than 100 mph. On May 5, 1995, softball-size hail blasted Fort Worth, injuring nearly 100 people. Above and beyond the injuries, a record $2 billion in damage was reported around the metro area from the devastating storm.
Weather promises uncertain outcomes for wheat harvest
BY PHYLLIS JACOBS GRIEKSPOOR AND STAN FINGER, The Wichita Eagle
You don't count the bushels until they are in the bin. That's the adage Kansas wheat farmers live by, and this is a good year to remember it.
River towns tremble
BY KARI LYDERSEN AND WILLIAM BRANIGIN, Washington Post
flood spreads down mississippi Floodwaters that wreaked havoc along the Illinois and Iowa rivers have poured into the Mississippi, creating a torrent of water that threatens to spread the misery to historic riverside towns on the way to St. Louis and beyond.
Tornado tales

Tornadoes usually travel along at about 35 mph, but some can race along at 70 mph -- another reason to never try to outrun a tornado. A 1931 twister in Minnesota lifted an 83-ton rail car with 117 passengers and carried it 80 feet. A 1975 Mississippi cyclone carried a home freezer more than a mile. Oklahoma City has been struck by tornadoes nearly 40 times in the last 90 years. Codell, Kan., north of Hays, has perhaps the strangest twister history of all. The little town was hit by a tornado in 1916...
Cooking up storms

The atmosphere cooks up nasty thunderstorms by combining four essential ingredients. First, heat, then humidity. The hot, humid air rises to a point where it begins to cool to its dew-point temperature, where clouds form. Next, cool, dry air high in the sky moves in overhead and begins to sink rapidly earthward. The rising warm air and sinking cool air begin to form the thunderstorm's up and down drafts, which give it life and lightning. Finally, if the winds from the ground up to the top of the...
'08 Kansas tornadoes triple average
BY STAN FINGER, The Wichita Eagle
Preliminary statistics from the National Weather Service show that 172 tornadoes have been reported in Kansas this year -- the most in the nation.
What makes thunder?

The short answer is lightning, but there is more to the story. Claps and rumbles of thunder occur because some of the tremendous amount of energy generated by lightning flashes is turned into sound waves. Lightning super-heats the air, almost instantaneously, to more than 43,000 degrees, making the air around the bolt expand. The expanding air cools and almost as quickly, it contracts. The quick expansion and contraction of the air around the lightning bolt causes air molecules to move back and forth...
Omaha Scouts honor boy killed by tornado in Iowa
Associated Press
Dozens of Boy Scouts turned out Saturday to remember one of their peers killed when a tornado swept through their camp in western Iowa.
Hail

Each year nearly 5,000 hailstorms strike the United States. On average, Cheyenne, Wyo., sees the most hailstorms. Cheyenne typically records 10 hail days a year. In the United States, the most frequent area for hailstorms can be found in eastern Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming. This area is known as Hail Alley. Hail is least frequent along the Western United States shoreline with the Pacific Ocean. Remember that when a thunderstorm threatens with hail, the technology of Live Storm Team 12...
Victims in Wednesday's tornadoes ID'd
Associated Press
The victims of this week's deadly tornadoes have been identified as a 21-year-old woman from Chapman and a 62-year-old Jackson County farmer who was thrown from his mobile home after a twister picked it up.
Lightning hurts two; 3 tornadoes hit state
BY STAN FINGER, The Wichita Eagle
Three tornadoes touched down Thursday night in south-central Kansas, causing minor damage, and two people were reported struck by lightning as a line of thunderstorms crossed the state.