Buresh Blog: Big late winter/early spring tornado outbreak... active jet stream continues

March 6, 2019 — The jet stream remains very active with deep troughs & ridges ("meridional") through at least the spring equinox - not real unusual for this time of year but an indication that general storminess with a wide contrast in temperatures will continue through a good part of March.  The average position of the trough that essentially divides the warm from the cold & dictates the storm track will be over the Western into the Central U.S. with occasional seemingly transitory (short-lived) migration into the Eastern U.S. (like March 5 - 7 when temps. in Jax dipped to the coldest numbers since the end of Jan.).

The moral of the weather story is that bouts of severe winter & spring weather will continue across the 'Lower 48'.

Speaking of which.... an intense outbreak of severe storms & tornadoes hit the Southeast U.S. from the Fl. Panhandle & Alabama through Ga. into the Carolina's Sunday, March 3rd.  The death toll of at least 23 was more than all of 2018's tornadoes... the most in a single tornado outbreak since 2013... & an EF-4 on the ground for about 70 miles(!) from Alabama into Ga. was the first EF-4 & most violent tornado since 2017.  Warnings were good to excellent.... a WATCH was issued before noon... a WARNING for the EF-4 was issued at 1:58pm with the first damage & fatality reported 8-9 minutes later.  But those in the path of the tornado insisted the storm "came out of nowhere"...... "it hit without warning".  Of course, that's quite possible given all the "noise" within our world.  Let's face it - people are not as anchored to their t.v.'s as they once were.  Alerts are driven to smart phones, iPads & computers but users sometimes turn those off.  If people are watching t.v. via satellite or watching a streaming service, there may indeed be no warning at all.  Although I'd say it's up to individuals to always be aware of their surroundings.  My wife & I tell our kids that all the time.  If it looks stormy out, at least briefly check out the weather report(!).  In our "no fault" society, it seems no one wants to take blame for their own actions or for what happens to them.

In any case..... more than 40 tornadoes touched down & storm surveys continue from local National Weather Service offices. Click on the links below to find some of the storm surveys:

* Birminham, AL

* Tallahassee, FL

* Peachtree (Atlanta), GA

* Columbia, SC

* Charleston, SC

A "rite" of spring

- move clocks forward 1 hour Sun., March 10th.  We're gaining at least a couple of minutes of daylight each day this time of year & 55 min. for the entire month.  The First Alert Weather Team has compiled an informative overview of weather as we head toward the Vernal Equinox (1st day of astronomical spring!). *

*

Lastly.... some interesting info. from the U.S. Geological Survey regarding Hawaii's Kilauea volcano which has such a "magnificent" eruption last year. Remarkable before & after images from the National Park Service * here *. The volcano has gone "quiet" again.... for the moment.

Cox Media Group