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goodmorning weather team,I would like to know why is it that tornados form in an open field rather than a populated area?keep up the good work.ralph

HI, RALPH:
Great question! It may seem like tornadoes always form in an open field... but they do hit major cities, too! Tornadoes have hit Nashville, TN... Fort Worth, TX... Oklahoma City, OK... and there was damage in Miami, FL from a waterspout that moved onshore. We have even had tornadoes hit bigger cities around here... Lawrence, Liberty, etc.

We always hear about tornadoes in rural areas because there ARE more rural areas. For example, the state of Kansas has a LOT of open fields, and they take up much more space than the big cities. Does that make sense?
Jamie

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thanks for the tornado education!!!ralph

You bet!!
Jamie

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To the above tornado formation question..is it possible that the structures [houses/buildings etc.] within cities would disrupt inflow/outflow patterns, reducing the ability for storms to remain at peak strength? It also seems as storms move into cities, they seem to weaken, and regain strength as they hit open area again..just a thought.

SCOTT:
I do not think buildings would affect a storm at all. If anything, cities can actually give storms strength... as they retain more heat. Have you heard of the "urban heat island"? People sometimes think tornadoes can't happen in the mountains because of the same reason... and although they are rare... they can happen.
Jamie

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Well, what an amazing turn of events it's been.. we couldn't buy any rain or snow in feb, and now we've had nearly 4" of rain this month.. we went from being just bout an inch behind normal for the year to date, to just over an inch above normal year to date.

just fyi, we've now had 3.86" of rain this month.. and baring any showers today we will finish 1.17" above normal for the month.

GLEN:
Thanks for keeping us updated, and consider yourself lucky! KCI is at 2.93" for the year... about 2" below average. We will have chances to catch up this weekend and again next week.
Jamie

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Jamie...where you had given me the sounding addy for Topeka at unisys..I just found this..and I swear this wasn't there just yesterday..[maybe I am blind?]

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/exper/soundings/06033100_OBS/

This is TOO COOL!

SCOTT:
Yes, that's also a good site! There are quite a few of them out there...
Jamie

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Hi - Taking a look at the GFS from tomorrow thru the 16th, it would appear,if this model at all verifies, that while tomorrows system could have some interest for us, what happens towards April 7th, and again on the 14th-16th could potentially produce two historic bouts of severe weather, possibly close to us. These two systems wrap up into massive cyclones (988 MB on one I think?) with the waves/systems becoming very negatively tilted as they move into the plains, virtually bullseyeing eastern KS/western MO. With the moisture that should be abundant, as southwest flow predominates the scene thru 384 hours, and the hint of numerous smaller-scale disturbances embedded in the flow, this could spell day after day of severe weather, followed by the coup de gras (the major systems). Of course, the second system is too far out to really be sure of, but the day-7 one is worth paying attention to, especially as we are in April, and more heating will be available, given the look of the corresponding surface charts for this period.

Personally, I don't like the looks of it, and someone, somewhere in the Missouri Valley, is going to bear the brunt of this, if the GFS is correct. I sure HOPE NOT. While it will be exciting in one way, this looks like dynamite, and may pose an extended sleepless period for you poor meteorologists at KSHB. You all may need a nice long vacation after this season is done. What a turn-around in the pattern from Jan-Feb!

A Concerned StormDog (and ex-chaser of 20 years)

STORM DOGGY,

WE HAD MANY STRONG SURFACE LOWS IN JANUARY AND I WAS CONCERNED THAT WHEN WE MOVE INTO MAY WATCH OUT. I JUST DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THERE WOULD BE ENOUGH MOISTURE AVAILABLE FOR THESE MARCH SYSTEMS. REMEMBER THAT THIS SAME PATTERN IS CONTINUING SO MAY COULD BE WORSE.

WE WILL NEED A VACATION BY JUNE.

GARY

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Actually Gary - you are right - you mentioned to a skeptical dog (me) that Spring could really be active, to which, yawning I thought, oh yeah, sure... Jan and Feb were so totally boring, I could not see what you said happening. However, YOU TOLD ME, AND THEREFORE FORECAST, this historically active Spring 60 days or more in advance. I think you should replace the GFS with yourself, perhaps you should be dubbed "Sir GFS", except you did better than the GFS!!!

A Humbled StormDog

DOG:
Gotta love that weather pattern theory!! :)
Jamie