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Here in Bonner Springs we got a nice steady rain for about 30, at the very most 45 minutes with a little thunder and lightening, but nothing major. My yard is jealous of your 2" of rain, but is happy with what it got. Keep up the good work Gary and crew......if you didn't know, one of your competitors said no rain at all for the metro. I am finally realizing why my mother loves watching your forecasts.

KERI,

THANKS FOR THE KIND COMMENTS. I DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW WHO WENT FOR NO RAIN.

GARY

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Boo! Hiss! The KC Metro Weather Dome wins again...sigh..how depressing. I don't blame the Storm Dog Factor, as you never shoot the messenger...

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I love the fact that you get excited about your job and you love the weather. But, for us weather geeks, please quit hyping us up and telling us you are disapointed with the outcome. Nothing has "really" come together over KC in the last 6 months, yet we read your comments about how the "Big One" is coming. But, I still love the weather, and I love the way you love the weather so I don't blame you for getting to hyped. Maybe we will have a FUN May.

SCOTT,

I UNDERSTAND YOUR FRUSTRATION. THERE WERE AREAS THAT DID GET OVER 2 INCHES OF RAIN AND I NEVER SAID THIS WAS GOING TO BE THE "BIG ONE". ANYWAY, I NEVER HYPE UP THE WEATHER. I ONLY TELL YOU WHAT I THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN. SOMETIMES I END UP BEING WRONG, BUT MANY TIMES I GET IT RIGHT.

GARY

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Yes, the Storm Dog is jinxed. I was happy to get 1.5" last night in OP. It at least has been exciting and will be nice and refreshing to have one last round of cold air.

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Just caught your forecast at 10:00. The footage you showed of the tornado in Oklahoma was, I think, the same footage that I happened to see on TWC. I believe that tornado had anticyclonic rotation. You had said it was the first you had seen of the footage. I couldn't tell for sure but thought you might want to take a closer look and share with us if that's the case. I know those things are pretty rare. Hoping for a little more rain here in Greenwood!

ROD,

I NEED TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE VIDEO. IT SHOULD BE ON OUR WEBSITE BY LATER THIS MORNING WHEN OUR INTERNET PRODUCER PUTS LAST NIGHTS WEATHERCAST ONLINE.

GARY

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I was watching the video of the tornado in Oklahoma on the weathercast tonight. Was it my imagination or was that thing rotating clockwise instead of counterclockwise? That's pretty rare isn't it, maybe one every 3 or 4 years?

KAY,

IT ACTUALLY HAPPENS MUCH MORE OFTEN THAN ONCE EVERY 3 OR 4 YEARS. IT USUALLY HAPPENS WHEN A SUPERCELL SPLITS AND ON THE LEFT MOVING SUPERCELL WE CAN GET THE CLOCKWISE ROTATION.

GARY

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When they come in, can you post the rainfall totals for the day? I'm curious to see how much rain we got here in Lenexa. I'm thinking about 1/2 inch, but maybe I'm just being pessimistic.

LENEXA HAD AROUND 0.65" AS A FIRST ESTIMATE. SOUTH LENEXA MAY HAVE HAD OVER ONE INCH OF RAIN AS THERE WAS A BAND OF 1.5" TO 2" AMOUNTS FROM OLATHE TO OVERLAND PARK.

GARY

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It looks like another round of rain ahead of the main cold front which is blasting through Kansas.
I was wondering if you were going to blog about this unbelievable stretch of above normal temperatures. We have not had a below average month for temperatures in a long time. How does your weather pattern theory explain these very warm temperatures??

DEVIN,

REMEMBER, ACCORDING TO MY THEORY, WE ARE JUST CYCLING THROUGH THE SAME PATTERN THAT SET UP IN OCTOBER AND EARLY NOVEMBER. WE ARE NOW IN THE COLDER PART OF THE CYCLE. BUT OVERALL IT IS A WARM WEATHER PATTERN AND IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT WE ARE HAVING WARMER THAN AVERAGE TEMPERATURES EVERY MONTH. WE GET A NEW WEATHER PATTERN NEXT FALL.

GARY

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Well, it lookes like the Northland missed it AGAIN. Up here in Excelsior Springs it has hardly rained at all. We are jealous of all the people down in south KC getting all that rain. SEND SOME UP HERE PLEASE!!!!

MATT,

UNFORTUNATELY A FEW AREAS MISSED MOST OF THE RAIN. IT IS TOO BAD AS OUR CHANCES OF RAIN HAVE NOT COME TO OFTEN. MID MAY TO MID JUNE IS THE WETTEST MONTH ON AVERAGE, AND I EXPECT AT LEAST AVERAGE DURING THAT STRETCH.

GARY

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Its frustrating when you see others in your area receive rainfall, and yet, you get none. I do not blame you for getting the forecast wrong. You do the best job of anyone in town by far. This storm just was not meant to be for us. How does Friday's storm look at this point. Everyone could sure use a good 1-2 inch soaking right now.
Keep up the good work
Kinley

KINLEY,

THE FORECAST WAS NOT THAT OFF. WE HAD THREE NIGHTS IN A ROW WITH THUNDERSTORMS. THEY WEREN'T QUITE AS WIDESPREAD AS WE HAD HOPED AND WE NEED MORE, BUT THE FORECAST WAS A GOOD ONE. UNFORTUNATELY IT HAS LEFT A FEW OF US AS FRUSTRATED AS EVER.

GARY

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Of course I got my e-spotter number from the NWS today and nothing really to chase! LOL.

Oh well, we still have the real weather season coming in the next couple of months.

JEFF,

THERE SHOULD BE A FEW GOOD DAYS FOR SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTING AS WE GO THROUGH MAY.

GARY

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Looks like in LS, we got another .28. Yah. I will start planting my yuccas and cactuses now. I will name one Storm, and the other Dog. LOL!

SCOTT,

HOPEFULLY THE CACTUS WILL GET WASHED AWAY IN MAY.

GARY

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Gary,

Thanks for your great work, your the best!

I sadly agree about this storm dog factor. As I kept hoping for a good rain in Grain Valley, and never got any, other than a few spotty showers. As big as the KC metro is landwise, its not unusual for some parts of the metro area to get lots of rain and others get hardly anything. With 3 nights of thunderstorms around, you would have thought, Grain Valley would at least get his once. Sadly I will still need to conitune to water my lawn. I keep hoping...maybe next time.

One thing that bugs the heck out of me over the years is how some other forcasts make it sound like it rained everywhere, so they don't want to forcast any rain, while some of us are begging for some moisture.

Keep up the good work!

Jeff

JEFF,

I JUST THINK MOST FORECASTERS DON'T REALIZE THAT RAIN IS A GOOD THING. THEY ALWAYS THINK THAT IT IS JUST RUINING SOMEONES PLANS, AND SOMETIMES IT DOES, BUT FOR US WE KNOW BETTER.

GARY

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Hi Scott - I would recommend the Prickly Pear as these are indigenous to Missouri, or to those of us who like a good rain at their place and haven't really been getting much, "MISERY"??? If I was rich, I am serious about relocating to the desert - great monsoonal lightning shows, often in the distant, no expectation of rain whatsoever, hence no frustration. Plus no yard mowing - it's really tempting, I can tell you - plus I could grow palm trees, which I love. IF I WERE RICH!!!!

Here's my forecast for the future: "Increasing confusion amoung the models, with a chance of stormy forecasts that verify, but elsewhere, and an excellent prospect of our yards turning brown." Tornadic seasons, from my 25 years of chasing and watching storms, don't really produce much rain - what there is is spotty and not general, so this year is reflecting that, and I personally don't think it will change. I agree with Gary that we should have at least a few more chances in May, but rainfall will still be spotty. We need a front to stall east-west about 50-100 miles south, with deep moisture streaming up from the gulf with intense warm-air-advection along a screaming low-level jet. Along with that we need a flow that contains disturbance after disturbance - they needn't be large, and temperatures in the 80s - 90s south of the front. Dew-points should be at least 65 or higher as well. That would insure multiple rounds of convection forming north of the front for some days - that would break the drought.

If the above scenario were to happen, I would think the first 3 weeks of June is when it will happen. If we stay dry through that period, well, you know what follows.

Take Care
of your new plants (ps Holly is also drought resistent)

StormDog