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It was very dissapointing to hear tornado sirens going off Sunday morning and no one from KSHB breaking in. I had to turn to far inferior weather sources for information at a scary time. Does the "Today" show not let you break in? Also, it seemed silly to see pre-recorded weather statements during the local weather segment on "Today" when all the other local stations were live. I love the KSHB weather team. You are who I turn to for the most accurate, well presented, and descriptive weather information. I just hope the next time severe weather breaks out you will break in so I don't have to watch other channels. Come on, show off that ESP radar!

Derek,

I am sorry that we let you down. It will not happen again. I promise. We feel like our afternoon and evening coverage went smoothly. Weekend mornings leave us with a disadvantage, but this doesn't give me an excuse because I could have had our station ready.

Gary

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Wow, yesterday WAS wild! My relatives live outside of Hardeman, Missouri. (Basically in the middle of nowhere.) They saw tornadoes on the ground through the lightning flashes in the late evening. Today, they witnessed the damage, with debris everywhere. The NWS weather spotters apparently reported the tornado as hitting near Arrow Rock, MO, but it really hit Hardeman. (AA Highway and 41 Highway intersect in Hardeman, not Arrow Rock)

Also, my brother owns a house in Sedalia. He lives just north of 50 Highway, and east of 65 (approximately 5 miles from the tornado touchdown). When he went to check his damage, his road and the next street over were covered in splinters of wood, yet there's no building damage there. The Sedalia tornado must have been strong to be able to send little splinters about 5 miles away!

Beth,

Thank you for sharing. I have seen a lightning strike illuminate a tornado, years ago in Oklahoma. It is very scary because you know one is out there but you can only see it when lightning lights it up.

Gary

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Thanks for your hard work Gary. Based on the severe weather not only here but all around region, does this indicate that we'll be facing more of this as spring marches on? (no pun intended :) )

Dave,

I will blog about this today. We continue to be in a 60 to 62 day cycle which means the pattern that helped produce Sunday's tornado outbreak will likely repeat in May. There are other set ups that should produce severe thunderstorms as well.

Gary

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Gary and all:

I must say your weather coverage is absolutely the very best -- and it certainly qualifies for "reality" TV.

Usually when a TV camera is introduced into any situation, that situation becomes UNreal but the one exception to that seems to be nature. Congratulations on your great coverage. It certainly covers a broad spectrum of features: news, entertainment, excitement, science and education all in one show.

SUNNYE,
THANK YOU for your wonderful comments... we really appreciate you taking the time to blog! We all love what we do very much, and it's nice when people notice our hard work!
Jamie

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Gary- We saw your special on the weather for this spring. We actually were one of the many people that lost everything May 4,2003 and you are thinking this MAy will be an active pattern as well.
What are the statistics on a tonado hitting the same area twice? Does it happen?

Micci,

The chance of you being hit even once is .0001%. That is 3 zeros before the 1. So, you should pay attention, but most likely you won't get hit ever again.

Gary

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Gary,
Here in Albany, Missouri (the center of
Gentry County, we are getting blizzard like
weather. Low visability with fine snow
blowing with high winds.

Time: 5:08 pm Monday, March 20th.

Kathleen Conner

Kathleen,

Thank you for the update.

Gary

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I have a weather question for you. Do we get more moisture when it rains than when it snows? For some reason, I have it in my mind that raindrops are heavier in moisture than snow, thus giving us more actual moisture than snow.

Thanks.

Brenda,

You really get the same amount. If you melt down the snow it will have a water equivalent. Usually it is 10 inches of snow to one inch of rain. If a storm is approaching and it is cold enough to snow and it snows 10 inches, it would be like being just south of that area where it was just too warm and it rained and they got about 1 inch of rain. It would be about the same. At warmer temperatures the air can hold more water so this is why you can get 6 inches of rain, but you likely would not see 60 inches of snow. The 6 inches of rain occurred in an atmoshphere that was not even close to producing snow.

Gary