Hello Friends: (Just to clarify: when I say "my" records: This just means how long I've been keeping track of Mena's temperatures and rainfall. I started keeping track in January 1984--I use Radio Station KENA [the official weather station for Mena] for the Temperatures. The daily rainfall (1984-1993) was recorded at a location in town; from 1994, the daily raintotals are from my rainguage on my patio. The Daily Average/Daily Record High & Low Temperatures for Mena are courtesy of weather.com).
Here's some weathernumbers for Mena, Arkansas in June 2009: Climatologically for June in Mena: Avg. Max. of 85F/29.4C with Avg. Min. of 64F/17.7C All-time June Max.: 105F/40.5C--June 22, 1936 All-time June Min.: 44F/6.6C--June 1, 1983; June 2, 1983 & June 3, 1970
Daily Rec. Max. Broken/Tied in June: 97F/36.1C--June 22 (Tied rec. max. for June 22, set in 1954) 98F/36.6C--June 24 (Broke rec. max. for June 24 of 97F/36.1C, set in 1953) 97F/36.1C--June 25 (Tied rec. max. for June 25, set in 1953)
4 Raindays & 5 Thunderdays in June Rain for June: 0.80"/20.3mm (-3.70"/-93.9mm) Rain for Year: 38.25"/971.5mm (+10.65"/+270.5mm) This was only the 16th month--since Jan. 1984--that I've recorded less than an inch/25mm rain in a month; this was my 13th driest month (Quite a contrast to the very wet May we had), we just missed good T-shower cells (over 1"/25mm rain each) last Tuesday and last Saturday which passed just to the south of town. Area lawns are looking very brown in spots and grass is getting crunchy underfoot. Hope this isn't a sign of an upcoming very dry summer. Summer officially arrived on the 21st and we've also had Heat Indexes of 95F-105F/35-40C since that time.
Wishing ALL a Safe, Blessed, Happy & Prosperous Month of July~~~David Powell
David, how are you going with severe thunderstorms in your area so far this season? I've mainly been keeping an eye on the northeast this year with only the odd glance at anything further west when it's explosive, so I'm just curious if you're getting more or less than usual.
Ken.
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 00:55:25 -0700
From: dajapo2...@yahoo.com
Subject: [austpacwx] June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Hello Friends:
(Just to clarify: when I say "my" records: This just means how long I've been keeping track of Mena's temperatures and rainfall. I started keeping track in January 1984--I use Radio Station KENA [the official weather station for Mena] for the Temperatures. The daily rainfall (1984-1993) was recorded at a location in town; from 1994, the daily raintotals are from my rainguage on my patio. The Daily Average/Daily Record High & Low Temperatures for Mena are courtesy of weather.com).
Here's some weathernumbers for Mena, Arkansas in June 2009:
Climatologically for June in Mena: Avg. Max. of 85F/29.4C with Avg. Min. of 64F/17.7C
All-time June Max.: 105F/40.5C--June 22, 1936
All-time June Min.: 44F/6.6C--June 1, 1983; June 2, 1983 & June 3, 1970
Daily Rec. Max. Broken/Tied in June:
97F/36.1C--June 22 (Tied rec. max. for June 22, set in 1954)
98F/36.6C--June 24 (Broke rec. max. for June 24 of 97F/36.1C, set in 1953)
97F/36.1C--June 25 (Tied rec. max. for June 25, set in 1953)
4 Raindays & 5 Thunderdays in June
Rain for June: 0.80"/20.3mm (-3.70"/-93.9mm)
Rain for Year: 38.25"/971.5mm (+10.65"/+270.5mm)
This was only the 16th month--since Jan. 1984--that I've recorded less than an inch/25mm rain in a month; this was my 13th driest month (Quite a contrast to the very wet May we had), we just missed good T-shower cells (over 1"/25mm rain each) last Tuesday and last Saturday which passed just to the south of town. Area lawns are looking very brown in spots and grass is getting crunchy underfoot. Hope this isn't a sign of an upcoming very dry summer. Summer officially arrived on the 21st and we've also had Heat Indexes of 95F-105F/35-40C since that time.
Wishing ALL a Safe, Blessed, Happy & Prosperous Month of July~~~David Powell</table
Hello Ken:
Well, I'd have to say it's a fairly typical year for severe thunderstorms in my area so far this year. My area--for whatever reason--really doesn't experience that many severe events in a year. But--with that said--Mena did cop a direct hit from an EF-3 Tornado late evening on April 9th. This was one of only a few twisters that I know of that has hit Mena over the years. I copped marble+ sized hail--but little rain--before the twister hit. I really don't cop much hail in a year and that size was pretty large for here. Although my area--Mena & Polk County--do get put under Severe Thunderstorm Watches/Warnings from time-to-time; the really nasty stuff seems to miss my area (and of that I'm very thankful). I think the flatter areas of Arkansas (the Eastern parts) seem to cop more severe weather than my mountainous area does.
Kind Wishes & Take Care~~~David Powell
P.S. The April 9th twister caused 3 deaths, around 40 injuries and did in excess of $10million (and Clyve Herbert said the damage bill could approach $30million) in damages. As of mid-June, over 7,000 truckloads of debris have been removed from town and it was estimated that Mena lost over 10,000 trees from the storm.
--- On Wed, 7/1/09, Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com>
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: "Austpacwx" <austpacwx@googlegroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 6:52 AM
#yiv344437124 .hmmessage P
{
margin:0px;padding:0px;}
#yiv344437124 {
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David, how are you going with severe thunderstorms in your area so far this season? I've mainly been keeping an eye on the northeast this year with only the odd glance at anything further west when it's explosive, so I'm just curious if you're getting more or less than usual.
Ken.
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 00:55:25 -0700
From: dajapo2...@yahoo.com
Subject: [austpacwx] June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Hello Friends:
(Just to clarify: when I say "my" records: This just means how long I've been keeping track of Mena's temperatures and rainfall. I started keeping track in January 1984--I use Radio Station KENA [the official weather station for Mena] for the Temperatures. The daily rainfall (1984-1993) was recorded at a location in town; from 1994, the daily raintotals are from my rainguage on my patio. The Daily Average/Daily Record High & Low Temperatures for Mena are courtesy of weather.com).
Here's some weathernumbers for Mena, Arkansas in June 2009:
Climatologically for June in Mena: Avg. Max. of 85F/29.4C with Avg. Min. of 64F/17.7C
All-time June Max.: 105F/40.5C--June 22, 1936
All-time June Min.: 44F/6.6C--June 1, 1983; June 2, 1983 & June 3, 1970
Daily Rec. Max. Broken/Tied in June:
97F/36.1C--June 22 (Tied rec. max. for June 22, set in 1954)
98F/36.6C--June 24 (Broke rec. max. for June 24 of 97F/36.1C, set in 1953)
97F/36.1C--June 25 (Tied rec. max. for June 25, set in 1953)
4 Raindays & 5 Thunderdays in June
Rain for June: 0.80"/20.3mm (-3.70"/-93.9mm)
Rain for Year: 38.25"/971.5mm (+10.65"/+270.5mm)
This was only the 16th month--since Jan. 1984--that I've recorded less than an inch/25mm rain in a month; this was my 13th driest month (Quite a contrast to the very wet May we had), we just missed good T-shower cells (over 1"/25mm rain each) last Tuesday and last Saturday which passed just to the south of town. Area lawns are looking very brown in spots and grass is getting crunchy underfoot. Hope this isn't a sign of an upcoming very dry summer. Summer officially arrived on the 21st and we've also had Heat Indexes of 95F-105F/35-40C since that time.
Wishing ALL a Safe, Blessed, Happy & Prosperous Month of July~~~David Powell</table
Thanks for the insight David. I heard talk of this year's season starting off quieter than last year but things seemed to pick up not long ago so it got me curious.
Ken.
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 10:17:13 -0700
From: dajapo2...@yahoo.com
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Hello Ken:
Well, I'd have to say it's a fairly typical year for severe thunderstorms in my area so far this year. My area--for whatever reason--really doesn't experience that many severe events in a year. But--with that said--Mena did cop a direct hit from an EF-3 Tornado late evening on April 9th. This was one of only a few twisters that I know of that has hit Mena over the years. I copped marble+ sized hail--but little rain--before the twister hit. I really don't cop much hail in a year and that size was pretty large for here. Although my area--Mena & Polk County--do get put under Severe Thunderstorm Watches/Warnings from time-to-time; the really nasty stuff seems to miss my area (and of that I'm very thankful). I think the flatter areas of Arkansas (the Eastern parts) seem to cop more severe weather than my mountainous area does.
Kind Wishes & Take Care~~~David Powell
P.S. The April 9th twister caused 3 deaths, around 40 injuries and did in excess of $10million (and Clyve Herbert said the damage bill could approach $30million) in damages. As of mid-June, over 7,000 truckloads of debris have been removed from town and it was estimated that Mena lost over 10,000 trees from the storm.
--- On Wed, 7/1/09, Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com>
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: "Austpacwx" <austpacwx@googlegroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 6:52 AM
David, how are you going with severe thunderstorms in your area so far this season? I've mainly been keeping an eye on the northeast this year with only the odd glance at anything further west when it's explosive, so I'm just curious if you're getting more or less than usual.
Ken.
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 00:55:25 -0700
From: dajapo2...@yahoo.com
Subject: [austpacwx] June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Hello Friends:
(Just to clarify: when I say "my" records: This just means how long I've been keeping track of Mena's temperatures and rainfall. I started keeping track in January 1984--I use Radio Station KENA [the official weather station for Mena] for the Temperatures. The daily rainfall (1984-1993) was recorded at a location in town; from 1994, the daily raintotals are from my rainguage on my patio. The Daily Average/Daily Record High & Low Temperatures for Mena are courtesy of weather.com).
Here's some weathernumbers for Mena, Arkansas in June 2009:
Climatologically for June in Mena: Avg. Max. of 85F/29.4C with Avg. Min. of 64F/17.7C
All-time June Max.: 105F/40.5C--June 22, 1936
All-time June Min.: 44F/6.6C--June 1, 1983; June 2, 1983 & June 3, 1970
Daily Rec. Max. Broken/Tied in June:
97F/36.1C--June 22 (Tied rec. max. for June 22, set in 1954)
98F/36.6C--June 24 (Broke rec. max. for June 24 of 97F/36.1C, set in 1953)
97F/36.1C--June 25 (Tied rec. max. for June 25, set in 1953)
4 Raindays & 5 Thunderdays in June
Rain for June: 0.80"/20.3mm (-3.70"/-93.9mm)
Rain for Year: 38.25"/971.5mm (+10.65"/+270.5mm)
This was only the 16th month--since Jan. 1984--that I've recorded less than an inch/25mm rain in a month; this was my 13th driest month (Quite a contrast to the very wet May we had), we just missed good T-shower cells (over 1"/25mm rain each) last Tuesday and last Saturday which passed just to the south of town. Area lawns are looking very brown in spots and grass is getting crunchy underfoot. Hope this isn't a sign of an upcoming very dry summer. Summer officially arrived on the 21st and we've also had Heat Indexes of 95F-105F/35-40C since that time.
Wishing ALL a Safe, Blessed, Happy & Prosperous Month of July~~~David Powell</table
Hello Again Ken (& All):
One thing that has really slowed the T-shower activity (severe or otherwise) in my area lately is that a large High pressure has been sitting over a good bit of the S US (inc Arkansas) as of late. Hence the "Ring of Fire"--T-shower activity--has been moving around the periphery of the High (meaning the widespread T-shower activity is well to the NW/N & NE of Arkansas). Also, we're in the time of year (late Spring through Summer) when only the strongest of cold fronts make it this far south. A good deal of our rain in Summertime comes from Heating/Instability (aka "popcorn-type") showers, which don't tend to be that severe--so if you happen to be in the right spot you'll get wet, while closeby it is dry.
I'm glad Mena is really on the edge of "Tornado Alley" and we here don't get repeatedly raked by severe weather/twisters such as locations on the Great Plains cop each year. Perhaps (some say it's a myth) the surrounding mountains play a factor in possibly keeping much of the severe weather away from my area.
What do ya'll think? Could mountains keep severe weather away from an area? There are fairly high (up to almost 2,700FT ASL) mountains to the NW/N/NE and SE of Mena--the April 9 twister came from the SW, where the hills aren't as high.
Cheers~~~David Powell
--- On Thu, 7/2/09, Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com>
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: "Austpacwx" <austpacwx@googlegroups.com>
Date: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 3:35 AM
#yiv1261504935 .hmmessage P
{
margin:0px;padding:0px;}
#yiv1261504935 {
font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana;}
Thanks for the insight David. I heard talk of this year's season starting off quieter than last year but things seemed to pick up not long ago so it got me curious.
Ken.
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 10:17:13 -0700
From: dajapo2...@yahoo.com
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Hello Ken:
Well, I'd have to say it's a fairly typical year for severe thunderstorms in my area so far this year. My area--for whatever reason--really doesn't experience that many severe events in a year. But--with that said--Mena did cop a direct hit from an EF-3 Tornado late evening on April 9th. This was one of only a few twisters that I know of that has hit Mena over the years. I copped marble+ sized hail--but little rain--before the twister hit. I really don't cop much hail in a year and that size was pretty large for here. Although my area--Mena & Polk County--do get put under Severe Thunderstorm Watches/Warnings from time-to-time; the really nasty stuff seems to miss my area (and of that I'm very thankful). I think the flatter areas of Arkansas (the Eastern parts) seem to cop more severe weather than my mountainous area does.
Kind Wishes & Take Care~~~David Powell
P.S. The April 9th twister caused 3 deaths, around 40 injuries and did in excess of $10million (and Clyve Herbert said the damage bill could approach $30million) in damages. As of mid-June, over 7,000 truckloads of debris have been removed from town and it was estimated that Mena lost over 10,000 trees from the storm.
--- On Wed, 7/1/09, Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com>
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: "Austpacwx" <austpacwx@googlegroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 6:52 AM
#yiv1261504935 .ExternalClass #EC_yiv344437124 .EC_hmmessage P
{padding:0px;}
#yiv1261504935 .ExternalClass #EC_yiv344437124
{font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana;}
David, how are you going with severe thunderstorms in your area so far this season? I've mainly been keeping an eye on the northeast this year with only the odd glance at anything further west when it's explosive, so I'm just curious if you're getting more or less than usual.
Ken.
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 00:55:25 -0700
From: dajapo2...@yahoo.com
Subject: [austpacwx] June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Hello Friends:
(Just to clarify: when I say "my" records: This just means how long I've been keeping track of Mena's temperatures and rainfall. I started keeping track in January 1984--I use Radio Station KENA [the official weather station for Mena] for the Temperatures. The daily rainfall (1984-1993) was recorded at a location in town; from 1994, the daily raintotals are from my rainguage on my patio. The Daily Average/Daily Record High & Low Temperatures for Mena are courtesy of weather.com).
Here's some weathernumbers for Mena, Arkansas in June 2009:
Climatologically for June in Mena: Avg. Max. of 85F/29.4C with Avg. Min. of 64F/17.7C
All-time June Max.: 105F/40.5C--June 22, 1936
All-time June Min.: 44F/6.6C--June 1, 1983; June 2, 1983 & June 3, 1970
Daily Rec. Max. Broken/Tied in June:
97F/36.1C--June 22 (Tied rec. max. for June 22, set in 1954)
98F/36.6C--June 24 (Broke rec. max. for June 24 of 97F/36.1C, set in 1953)
97F/36.1C--June 25 (Tied rec. max. for June 25, set in 1953)
4 Raindays & 5 Thunderdays in June
Rain for June: 0.80"/20.3mm (-3.70"/-93.9mm)
Rain for Year: 38.25"/971.5mm (+10.65"/+270.5mm)
This was only the 16th month--since Jan. 1984--that I've recorded less than an inch/25mm rain in a month; this was my 13th driest month (Quite a contrast to the very wet May we had), we just missed good T-shower cells (over 1"/25mm rain each) last Tuesday and last Saturday which passed just to the south of town. Area lawns are looking very brown in spots and grass is getting crunchy underfoot. Hope this isn't a sign of an upcoming very dry summer. Summer officially arrived on the 21st and we've also had Heat Indexes of 95F-105F/35-40C since that time.
Wishing ALL a Safe, Blessed, Happy & Prosperous Month of July~~~David Powell</table
There might be a lot of truth to that, David. I live on the top of a not very high hill (apparently it's one of the Seven Hills that were visible to the earliest settlers and from which the suburb got its name) which overlooks what I suppose you could call a valley in geographical parlance and along which the severest storms here always seem to travel. This was where a tornado some 17 years or so ago caused some problems on and near a major tollway. I would have seen it except that I was coming home in the train from work and only got to see debris blowing around a short distance away. Often storms with severe winds cause the most damage to that part of the district. I hardly ever see hail larger than marbles here, or winds stronger than 90-100km/hr but lower down, golf-ball size hail and destructive winds are somewhat more common.
I don't know much about storms and severe weather dynamics, I'll leave that for the experts, but I'd say it's somethng to do with the trapping of cold downdraft air that can't escape and starts interacting with itself just like 'willy-willies' do on a 'mini' scale in city streets on a sunny windy day. Plus the likely effect of nearby topography in general...presumably its height, and alignment compared to the directional movement of storm cells.
There have in my memory only been two exceptions here; February 1992 when we had hail the size of grapefruit, and more recently with a severe storm southeast of here whose winds were so strong that the 40 metre trees over the road were bending at >45° in it (didn't have the wind recorder at the time). So there are exceptions, but I doubt it's a myth.
-- Original Message ----- From: David Powell To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 6:57 PM
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
Hello Again Ken (& All):
One thing that has really slowed the T-shower activity (severe or otherwise) in my area lately is that a large High pressure has been sitting over a good bit of the S US (inc Arkansas) as of late. Hence the "Ring of Fire"--T-shower activity--has been moving around the periphery of the High (meaning the widespread T-shower activity is well to the NW/N & NE of Arkansas). Also, we're in the time of year (late Spring through Summer) when only the strongest of cold fronts make it this far south. A good deal of our rain in Summertime comes from Heating/Instability (aka "popcorn-type") showers, which don't tend to be that severe--so if you happen to be in the right spot you'll get wet, while closeby it is dry.
I'm glad Mena is really on the edge of "Tornado Alley" and we here don't get repeatedly raked by severe weather/twisters such as locations on the Great Plains cop each year. Perhaps (some say it's a myth) the surrounding mountains play a factor in possibly keeping much of the severe weather away from my area.
What do ya'll think? Could mountains keep severe weather away from an area? There are fairly high (up to almost 2,700FT ASL) mountains to the NW/N/NE and SE of Mena--the April 9 twister came from the SW, where the hills aren't as high.
Cheers~~~David Powell
--- On Thu, 7/2/09, Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com>
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: "Austpacwx" <austpacwx@googlegroups.com>
Date: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 3:35 AM
Thanks for the insight David. I heard talk of this year's season starting off quieter than last year but things seemed to pick up not long ago so it got me curious.
Ken.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 10:17:13 -0700
From: dajapo2...@yahoo.com
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Hello Ken:
Well, I'd have to say it's a fairly typical year for severe thunderstorms in my area so far this year. My area--for whatever reason--really doesn't experience that many severe events in a year. But--with that said--Mena did cop a direct hit from an EF-3 Tornado late evening on April 9th. This was one of only a few twisters that I know of that has hit Mena over the years. I copped marble+ sized hail--but little rain--before the twister hit. I really don't cop much hail in a year and that size was pretty large for here. Although my area--Mena & Polk County--do get put under Severe Thunderstorm Watches/Warnings from time-to-time; the really nasty stuff seems to miss my area (and of that I'm very thankful). I think the flatter areas of Arkansas (the Eastern parts) seem to cop more severe weather than my mountainous area does.
Kind Wishes & Take Care~~~David Powell
P.S. The April 9th twister caused 3 deaths, around 40 injuries and did in excess of $10million (and Clyve Herbert said the damage bill could approach $30million) in damages. As of mid-June, over 7,000 truckloads of debris have been removed from town and it was estimated that Mena lost over 10,000 trees from the storm.
--- On Wed, 7/1/09, Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com>
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: "Austpacwx" <austpacwx@googlegroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 6:52 AM
David, how are you going with severe thunderstorms in your area so far this season? I've mainly been keeping an eye on the northeast this year with only the odd glance at anything further west when it's explosive, so I'm just curious if you're getting more or less than usual.
Ken.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 00:55:25 -0700
From: dajapo2...@yahoo.com
Subject: [austpacwx] June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Hello Friends:
(Just to clarify: when I say "my" records: This just means how long I've been keeping track of Mena's temperatures and rainfall. I started keeping track in January 1984--I use Radio Station KENA [the official weather station for Mena] for the Temperatures. The daily rainfall (1984-1993) was recorded at a location in town; from 1994, the daily raintotals are from my rainguage on my patio. The Daily Average/Daily Record High & Low Temperatures for Mena are courtesy of weather.com).
Here's some weathernumbers for Mena, Arkansas in June 2009:
Climatologically for June in Mena: Avg. Max. of 85F/29.4C with Avg. Min. of 64F/17.7C
All-time June Max.: 105F/40.5C--June 22, 1936
All-time June Min.: 44F/6.6C--June 1, 1983; June 2, 1983 & June 3, 1970
Daily Rec. Max. Broken/Tied in June:
97F/36.1C--June 22 (Tied rec. max. for June 22, set in 1954)
98F/36.6C--June 24 (Broke rec. max. for June 24 of 97F/36.1C, set in 1953)
97F/36.1C--June 25 (Tied rec. max. for June 25, set in 1953)
4 Raindays & 5 Thunderdays in June
Rain for June: 0.80"/20.3mm (-3.70"/-93.9mm)
Rain for Year: 38.25"/971.5mm (+10.65"/+270.5mm)
This was only the 16th month--since Jan. 1984--that I've recorded less than an inch/25mm rain in a month; this was my 13th driest month (Quite a contrast to the very wet May we had), we just missed good T-shower cells (over 1"/25mm rain each) last Tuesday and last Saturday which passed just to the south of town. Area lawns are looking very brown in spots and grass is getting crunchy underfoot. Hope this isn't a sign of an upcoming very dry summer. Summer officially arrived on the 21st and we've also had Heat Indexes of 95F-105F/35-40C since that time.
Wishing ALL a Safe, Blessed, Happy & Prosperous Month of July~~~David Powell </table
Interesting line of thought.For a long time it was thought tormadoes didn't hit Hilly areas and valleys in mountainous areas, sadly it is a myth as they certainly can except of course major ranges like the Rockies and similar areas which are so high that they impact on middle and upper level air flows.
Gavin
From: r81n-...@bigpond.net.au
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 20:25:20 +1000
There might be a lot of truth to that, David. I live on the top of a not very high hill (apparently it's one of the Seven Hills that were visible to the earliest settlers and from which the suburb got its name) which overlooks what I suppose you could call a valley in geographical parlance and along which the severest storms here always seem to travel. This was where a tornado some 17 years or so ago caused some problems on and near a major tollway. I would have seen it except that I was coming home in the train from work and only got to see debris blowing around a short distance away. Often storms with severe winds cause the most damage to that part of the district. I hardly ever see hail larger than marbles here, or winds stronger than 90-100km/hr but lower down, golf-ball size hail and destructive winds are somewhat more common.
I don't know much about storms and severe weather dynamics, I'll leave that for the experts, but I'd say it's somethng to do with the trapping of cold downdraft air that can't escape and starts interacting with itself just like 'willy-willies' do on a 'mini' scale in city streets on a sunny windy day. Plus the likely effect of nearby topography in general...presumably its height, and alignment compared to the directional movement of storm cells.
There have in my memory only been two exceptions here; February 1992 when we had hail the size of grapefruit, and more recently with a severe storm southeast of here whose winds were so strong that the 40 metre trees over the road were bending at >45° in it (didn't have the wind recorder at the time). So there are exceptions, but I doubt it's a myth.
From: David Powell To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 6:57 PM
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
Hello Again Ken (& All):
One thing that has really slowed the T-shower activity (severe or otherwise) in my area lately is that a large High pressure has been sitting over a good bit of the S US (inc Arkansas) as of late. Hence the "Ring of Fire"--T-shower activity--has been moving around the periphery of the High (meaning the widespread T-shower activity is well to the NW/N & NE of Arkansas). Also, we're in the time of year (late Spring through Summer) when only the strongest of cold fronts make it this far south. A good deal of our rain in Summertime comes from Heating/Instability (aka "popcorn-type") showers, which don't tend to be that severe--so if you happen to be in the right spot you'll get wet, while closeby it is dry.
I'm glad Mena is really on the edge of "Tornado Alley" and we here don't get repeatedly raked by severe weather/twisters such as locations on the Great Plains cop each year. Perhaps (some say it's a myth) the surrounding mountains play a factor in possibly keeping much of the severe weather away from my area.
What do ya'll think? Could mountains keep severe weather away from an area? There are fairly high (up to almost 2,700FT ASL) mountains to the NW/N/NE and SE of Mena--the April 9 twister came from the SW, where the hills aren't as high.
Cheers~~~David Powell
--- On Thu, 7/2/09, Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com>
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: "Austpacwx" <austpacwx@googlegroups.com>
Date: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 3:35 AM
Thanks for the insight David. I heard talk of this year's season starting off quieter than last year but things seemed to pick up not long ago so it got me curious.
Ken.
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 10:17:13 -0700
From: dajapo2...@yahoo.com
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Hello Ken:
Well, I'd have to say it's a fairly typical year for severe thunderstorms in my area so far this year. My area--for whatever reason--really doesn't experience that many severe events in a year. But--with that said--Mena did cop a direct hit from an EF-3 Tornado late evening on April 9th. This was one of only a few twisters that I know of that has hit Mena over the years. I copped marble+ sized hail--but little rain--before the twister hit. I really don't cop much hail in a year and that size was pretty large for here. Although my area--Mena & Polk County--do get put under Severe Thunderstorm Watches/Warnings from time-to-time; the really nasty stuff seems to miss my area (and of that I'm very thankful). I think the flatter areas of Arkansas (the Eastern parts) seem to cop more severe weather than my mountainous area does.
Kind Wishes & Take Care~~~David Powell
P.S. The April 9th twister caused 3 deaths, around 40 injuries and did in excess of $10million (and Clyve Herbert said the damage bill could approach $30million) in damages. As of mid-June, over 7,000 truckloads of debris have been removed from town and it was estimated that Mena lost over 10,000 trees from the storm.
--- On Wed, 7/1/09, Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com>
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: "Austpacwx" <austpacwx@googlegroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 6:52 AM
David, how are you going with severe thunderstorms in your area so far this season? I've mainly been keeping an eye on the northeast this year with only the odd glance at anything further west when it's explosive, so I'm just curious if you're getting more or less than usual.
Ken.
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 00:55:25 -0700
From: dajapo2...@yahoo.com
Subject: [austpacwx] June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Hello Friends:
(Just to clarify: when I say "my" records: This just means how long I've been keeping track of Mena's temperatures and rainfall. I started keeping track in January 1984--I use Radio Station KENA [the official weather station for Mena] for the Temperatures. The daily rainfall (1984-1993) was recorded at a location in town; from 1994, the daily raintotals are from my rainguage on my patio. The Daily Average/Daily Record High & Low Temperatures for Mena are courtesy of weather.com).
Here's some weathernumbers for Mena, Arkansas in June 2009:
Climatologically for June in Mena: Avg. Max. of 85F/29.4C with Avg. Min. of 64F/17.7C
All-time June Max.: 105F/40.5C--June 22, 1936
All-time June Min.: 44F/6.6C--June 1, 1983; June 2, 1983 & June 3, 1970
Daily Rec. Max. Broken/Tied in June:
97F/36.1C--June 22 (Tied rec. max. for June 22, set in 1954)
98F/36.6C--June 24 (Broke rec. max. for June 24 of 97F/36.1C, set in 1953)
97F/36.1C--June 25 (Tied rec. max. for June 25, set in 1953)
4 Raindays & 5 Thunderdays in June
Rain for June: 0.80"/20.3mm (-3.70"/-93.9mm)
Rain for Year: 38.25"/971.5mm (+10.65"/+270.5mm)
This was only the 16th month--since Jan. 1984--that
Interesting David. I do know thunderstorms generally like forming over mountainous terrain but I'm not familiar with the peculiarities of your area. I had a quick look at google maps for AR and noticed most of the ranges near you are oriented east-west. So if most strong storms form to your NW, N and NE, perhaps its because of that severe storm setup that area of the US often gets with a S/SW low-level jet (or a moist unstable S/SW flow in the lower levels). The flow or jet hits the southern faces of those ranges, starts throwing up storms which then move further N or NE as they keep growing? It's the only thing I can think of since those low level jets can be up to 50 knots and possibly be low enough to interact with the mountains.
Ken.
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 01:57:03 -0700
From: dajapo2...@yahoo.com
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Hello Again Ken (& All):
One thing that has really slowed the T-shower activity (severe or otherwise) in my area lately is that a large High pressure has been sitting over a good bit of the S US (inc Arkansas) as of late. Hence the "Ring of Fire"--T-shower activity--has been moving around the periphery of the High (meaning the widespread T-shower activity is well to the NW/N & NE of Arkansas). Also, we're in the time of year (late Spring through Summer) when only the strongest of cold fronts make it this far south. A good deal of our rain in Summertime comes from Heating/Instability (aka "popcorn-type") showers, which don't tend to be that severe--so if you happen to be in the right spot you'll get wet, while closeby it is dry.
I'm glad Mena is really on the edge of "Tornado Alley" and we here don't get repeatedly raked by severe weather/twisters such as locations on the Great Plains cop each year. Perhaps (some say it's a myth) the surrounding mountains play a factor in possibly keeping much of the severe weather away from my area.
What do ya'll think? Could mountains keep severe weather away from an area? There are fairly high (up to almost 2,700FT ASL) mountains to the NW/N/NE and SE of Mena--the April 9 twister came from the SW, where the hills aren't as high.
Cheers~~~David Powell
--- On Thu, 7/2/09, Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com>
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: "Austpacwx" <austpacwx@googlegroups.com>
Date: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 3:35 AM
Thanks for the insight David. I heard talk of this year's season starting off quieter than last year but things seemed to pick up not long ago so it got me curious.
Ken.
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 10:17:13 -0700
From: dajapo2...@yahoo.com
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Hello Ken:
Well, I'd have to say it's a fairly typical year for severe thunderstorms in my area so far this year. My area--for whatever reason--really doesn't experience that many severe events in a year. But--with that said--Mena did cop a direct hit from an EF-3 Tornado late evening on April 9th. This was one of only a few twisters that I know of that has hit Mena over the years. I copped marble+ sized hail--but little rain--before the twister hit. I really don't cop much hail in a year and that size was pretty large for here. Although my area--Mena & Polk County--do get put under Severe Thunderstorm Watches/Warnings from time-to-time; the really nasty stuff seems to miss my area (and of that I'm very thankful). I think the flatter areas of Arkansas (the Eastern parts) seem to cop more severe weather than my mountainous area does.
Kind Wishes & Take Care~~~David Powell
P.S. The April 9th twister caused 3 deaths, around 40 injuries and did in excess of $10million (and Clyve Herbert said the damage bill could approach $30million) in damages. As of mid-June, over 7,000 truckloads of debris have been removed from town and it was estimated that Mena lost over 10,000 trees from the storm.
--- On Wed, 7/1/09, Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com>
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: "Austpacwx" <austpacwx@googlegroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 6:52 AM
David, how are you going with severe thunderstorms in your area so far this season? I've mainly been keeping an eye on the northeast this year with only the odd glance at anything further west when it's explosive, so I'm just curious if you're getting more or less than usual.
Ken.
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 00:55:25 -0700
From: dajapo2...@yahoo.com
Subject: [austpacwx] June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Hello Friends:
(Just to clarify: when I say "my" records: This just means how long I've been keeping track of Mena's temperatures and rainfall. I started keeping track in January 1984--I use Radio Station KENA [the official weather station for Mena] for the Temperatures. The daily rainfall (1984-1993) was recorded at a location in town; from 1994, the daily raintotals are from my rainguage on my patio. The Daily Average/Daily Record High & Low Temperatures for Mena are courtesy of weather.com).
Here's some weathernumbers for Mena, Arkansas in June 2009:
Climatologically for June in Mena: Avg. Max. of 85F/29.4C with Avg. Min. of 64F/17.7C
All-time June Max.: 105F/40.5C--June 22, 1936
All-time June Min.: 44F/6.6C--June 1, 1983; June 2, 1983 & June 3, 1970
Daily Rec. Max. Broken/Tied in June:
97F/36.1C--June 22 (Tied rec. max. for June 22, set in 1954)
98F/36.6C--June 24 (Broke rec. max. for June 24 of 97F/36.1C, set in 1953)
97F/36.1C--June 25 (Tied rec. max. for June 25, set in 1953)
4 Raindays & 5 Thunderdays in June
Rain for June: 0.80"/20.3mm (-3.70"/-93.9mm)
Rain for Year: 38.25"/971.5mm (+10.65"/+270.5mm)
This was only the 16th month--since Jan. 1984--that I've recorded less than an inch/25mm rain in a month; this was my 13th driest month (Quite a contrast to the very wet May we had), we just missed good T-shower cells (over 1"/25mm rain each) last Tuesday and last Saturday which passed just to the south of town. Area lawns are looking very brown in spots and grass is getting crunchy underfoot. Hope this isn't a sign of an upcoming very dry summer. Summer officially arrived on the 21st and we've also had Heat Indexes of 95F-105F/35-40C since that time.
Wishing ALL a Safe, Blessed, Happy & Prosperous Month of July~~~David Powell</table
This is a fascinating thread here guys. Keith raised a really interesting point I thought. Further to my last post about S low-level jet interaction with mountains near Mena, mountainous terrain encourages thunderstorms but once they form, very rough terrain might disrupt things like inflow/outflow enough to discourage tornadoes from forming... unless the thunderstorms move off the ranges onto plains, or they develop over plains in the first place like to the SW of David's location.
Anyway I guess you've already noticed but the NE is fun to watch at the moment on webcams and radar. Persistent area of upper lows around there lately with lots of shortwave troughs sweeping around it bringing lots of thunderstorms, many of them severe. Some spectacular anvils and gust fronts on NYC webcams of late.
Ken.
From: kka...@hotmail.com
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 21:57:28 +1000
Interesting David. I do know thunderstorms generally like forming over mountainous terrain but I'm not familiar with the peculiarities of your area. I had a quick look at google maps for AR and noticed most of the ranges near you are oriented east-west. So if most strong storms form to your NW, N and NE, perhaps its because of that severe storm setup that area of the US often gets with a S/SW low-level jet (or a moist unstable S/SW flow in the lower levels). The flow or jet hits the southern faces of those ranges, starts throwing up storms which then move further N or NE as they keep growing? It's the only thing I can think of since those low level jets can be up to 50 knots and possibly be low enough to interact with the mountains.
Ken.
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 01:57:03 -0700
From: dajapo2...@yahoo.com
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Hello Again Ken (& All):
One thing that has really slowed the T-shower activity (severe or otherwise) in my area lately is that a large High pressure has been sitting over a good bit of the S US (inc Arkansas) as of late. Hence the "Ring of Fire"--T-shower activity--has been moving around the periphery of the High (meaning the widespread T-shower activity is well to the NW/N & NE of Arkansas). Also, we're in the time of year (late Spring through Summer) when only the strongest of cold fronts make it this far south. A good deal of our rain in Summertime comes from Heating/Instability (aka "popcorn-type") showers, which don't tend to be that severe--so if you happen to be in the right spot you'll get wet, while closeby it is dry.
I'm glad Mena is really on the edge of "Tornado Alley" and we here don't get repeatedly raked by severe weather/twisters such as locations on the Great Plains cop each year. Perhaps (some say it's a myth) the surrounding mountains play a factor in possibly keeping much of the severe weather away from my area.
What do ya'll think? Could mountains keep severe weather away from an area? There are fairly high (up to almost 2,700FT ASL) mountains to the NW/N/NE and SE of Mena--the April 9 twister came from the SW, where the hills aren't as high.
Hello Again Everyone:
Many Thanks for ya'lls input and opinions.
To continue, I think most of the twisters that have hit Mena (the only ones I'm aware of were in 1913--seen pics of damage, 1938--was told about it and I experienced the ones of Nov. 13, 1993 and Apr. 9, 2009), have come from the SW direction. Otherwise, I believe if they'd have dropped down on us from the NW, the mountains might've thwarted them. Yes, Mena is at the base of one of the ridges which make up the Ouachita (pron. Wash-i-taw) Mountains; there are only 2 major mountain chains in the US which run from East-West and the Ouachitas are one of them. Unfortunately, most of the severe weather we do get hits us from the SW (individual cells in rainfronts moving SW to NE), so the mountains aren't of any help in that situation.
I do know these mountains have a definite impact on rainfronts through here. Many times I've seen (on radar loops) areas of rainfronts lessen in intensity upon reaching the nearby mountains (rainfronts hitting us from the NNW or W). Sometimes the showers miss Mena altogether (rainfront splits around town) and reform to our East--hence the reason I sometimes say I'm in the "rain doughnut-hole". Although Mena gets a good deal of yearly rain, I sometimes think we'd get more if not for the mountains weakening the rainfronts through here. I don't think our mountains/hills are high enough to cause upslope T-showers to develop (as our normal winds are S/SW and would bank up against the S-side of the mountains, but I've not seen showers develop bacause of this).
Cheers & Thanks Again~~~David Powell
--- On Thu, 7/2/09, Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Ken Kato <kka...@hotmail.com>
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: "Austpacwx" <austpacwx@googlegroups.com>
Date: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 7:32 AM
#yiv519435494 .hmmessage P
{
margin:0px;padding:0px;}
#yiv519435494 {
font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana;}
This is a fascinating thread here guys. Keith raised a really interesting point I thought. Further to my last post about S low-level jet interaction with mountains near Mena, mountainous terrain encourages thunderstorms but once they form, very rough terrain might disrupt things like inflow/outflow enough to discourage tornadoes from forming... unless the thunderstorms move off the ranges onto plains, or they develop over plains in the first place like to the SW of David's location.
Anyway I guess you've already noticed but the NE is fun to watch at the moment on webcams and radar. Persistent area of upper lows around there lately with lots of shortwave troughs sweeping around it bringing lots of thunderstorms, many of them severe. Some spectacular anvils and gust fronts on NYC webcams of late.
Ken.
From: kka...@hotmail.com
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 21:57:28 +1000
#yiv519435494 .ExternalClass .EC_hmmessage P
{padding:0px;}
#yiv519435494 .ExternalClass body.EC_hmmessage
{font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana;}
Interesting David. I do know thunderstorms generally like forming over mountainous terrain but I'm not familiar with the peculiarities of your area. I had a quick look at google maps for AR and noticed most of the ranges near you are oriented east-west. So if most strong storms form to your NW, N and NE, perhaps its because of that severe storm setup that area of the US often gets with a S/SW low-level jet (or a moist unstable S/SW flow in the lower levels). The flow or jet hits the southern faces of those ranges, starts throwing up storms which then move further N or NE as they keep growing? It's the only thing I can think of since those low level jets can be up to 50 knots and possibly be low enough to interact with the mountains.
Ken.
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 01:57:03 -0700
From: dajapo2...@yahoo.com
Subject: [austpacwx] Re: June 2009 in Mena, Arkansas:
To: austpacwx@googlegroups.com
Hello Again Ken (& All):
One thing that has really slowed the T-shower activity (severe or otherwise) in my area lately is that a large High pressure has been sitting over a good bit of the S US (inc Arkansas) as of late. Hence the "Ring of Fire"--T-shower activity--has been moving around the periphery of the High (meaning the widespread T-shower activity is well to the NW/N & NE of Arkansas). Also, we're in the time of year (late Spring through Summer) when only the strongest of cold fronts make it this far south. A good deal of our rain in Summertime comes from Heating/Instability (aka "popcorn-type") showers, which don't tend to be that severe--so if you happen to be in the right spot you'll get wet, while closeby it is dry.
I'm glad Mena is really on the edge of "Tornado Alley" and we here don't get repeatedly raked by severe weather/twisters such as locations on the Great Plains cop each year. Perhaps (some say it's a myth) the surrounding mountains play a factor in possibly keeping much of the severe weather away from my area.
What do ya'll think? Could mountains keep severe weather away from an area? There are fairly high (up to almost 2,700FT ASL) mountains to the NW/N/NE and SE of Mena--the April 9 twister came from the SW, where the hills aren't as high.
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