This morning, I showed up at the unloading and parading of elephants and horses from the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus trains to the Von Braun Center.  One of the first people I talked to when I arrived were 2 young men dressed in black, quietly handing out brochures and coloring books.  Seeing their demeanor of concern and trepidation, since they are both welcomed and despised at such events, I asked them what brought them to Huntsville.  They pointed out the PETA decaled truck near my car in the parking lot, and said they follow the circus around, and try to educate people as to what they believe is the treatment of the animals by the circus.  While I did not see any mistreatment, and told my wife these animals never had to hunt for food and worry about my next meal, something did not feel right to me about seeing elephants from Asia and Africa walking the asphalt streets of Huntsville.

Does this make me against the circus?  No.  Does it make me pause when I see animals parading and performing at the delight of humans?  Yes.

My jury is out, mentally, and I don’t see a final verdict on my mental horizon.  My wife’s jury was in years ago.  It was a disturbing parade to her, yet seeing the joy in her eyes in showing our son the floppy ears and trunks holding onto the tails of the pachiderms in front of them.

My son, Kyler, almost 18 months old, was more fascinated with the trains than the animals.

The good news is that he is not old enough to force the next decision on taking him to the circus or not, the Greatest Show on Earth, other than my weathercasts and the laugh of a child.  This means that this parade caused lots of wonderful shows on the faces of kids lining the curbs of the elephants’ walk to perform for a larger crowd.

Brad Huffines, Chief Meteorologist / Storm Force 31

There is a reason that November and Early December are considered the ’second severe weather’ season in the Tennessee Valley.  Most of the severe weather outbreaks occur when very warm weather is stirred up by storm systems that bring much colder weather.  Usually, the more dramatic the temperature drop, the better the chance for strong to severe t-storms.  With colder weather heading our way for Thanksgiving Day, eat and drink for tomorrow we… plunge into cold autumn weather.

I have purposefully placed a link to the changing 7-day forecast from the weather page at waaytv.com.  The reason is that the forecast temperatures will continue to change between now and then, as will the threat for severe t-storms.

So the bottomline is this:  Stay weather aware Wednesday through Thursday morning because some of us may have to take action when scattered strong t-storms that are moving through the TN Valley start to affect our homes and lives. 

The severe weather threat for WED late afternoon and evening is almost exactly the same as last THU, when we had strong to severe t-storms, including several power outages, and a 5 mile long tornado path in Southeastern Lincoln County, which eventually damaged a church in Kimball, TN, injuring 3 children with flying glass.  So staying weather aware when the temperatures plunge this time of year is always a good idea.

And above all, keep it close to WAAY-31 and waaytv.com, as Storm Force 31 will be watching each and every change in this weather and in this forecast.

Brad Huffines, Chief Meteorologist / Storm Force 31

Yesterday marked the 18th anniversary of one of the darkest days in Huntsville’s severe weather history.  WAAY-31 News and Storm Force 31 spent 2 days focusing on that historic event by looking back at the event, at many of those affected by the storm , and at the changes in weather technology since that day.

A couple months ago, I wrote on our Storm Force 31 Weather Blog (see blog entry here) that I expect viewers to hold us and other television stations accountable for what we say about weather forecasts and weather information in general.  Doing just that, Danny Lucas, who lives in north Florence, AL, called me with 2 discrepancies in WAAY-31’s story about weather technology yesterday, and I am very glad he did.  While it was reported by WAAY-31 that the tornado warning was issued by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Birmingham, that was not the case.  At the time, there was a minimally staffed Weather Service Office in Huntsville, staffed by a team of highly dedicated and very competent meteorologists in 1989, who reported that since the developing tornado was over the radar site in Huntsville, the tornado warning was delayed after the actual touchdown, but that a severe t-storm warning had been issued before the tornado formed inside that thunderstorm.  You can read the WSO HSV Timeline here.  You can also look up a lot of very rich historical information about that tornado here and here.

It was also reported in the story that 4 people had lost their lives.  While the script that was written about the event accurately reported 21 deaths, when it was read, recorded, and packaged by Storm Force 31, it was misread as ‘4′, since the correct information was placed directly after the term ‘F-4′ tornado.  A simple slip of the tongue.

However, mistakes are mistakes, and we will hold ourselves accountable regardless of what those mistakes are.

After having spoken to Mike Coyne this afternoon, the Meteorologist in Charge of the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Huntsville, the reason there was a Forecast Office open in Huntsville in 2003 was that there was an outcry from emergency managers and politicians in North Alabama that we needed our ‘own’ office given the fact that so many severe weather events occured here in the Tennessee Valley, after the Weather Service Office had been closed an 1997, in the National Weather Service’s reorganization of the 90s.

I hope this clarifies our storm coverage, and reminds you of WAAY-31’s and Storm Force 31’s commitment to the truth in weather forecasting, severe weather coverage, and in weather reporting.

Thank you for watching WAAY-31, for logging on to waaytv.com, and for reading our weather blog entries on stormforce31.com.  We’ll keep it coming, keep turning up the heat, and will continue to grow.

A follow-up on the Tornado Warning of November 14th, THIS year, the National Weather Service in Huntsville surveyed some damage in Southeastern Lincoln County, TN, and found a damage path left behind by an EF1 Tornado.  The warning was issued long before the tornado touchdown, giving residents in the path lots of time to find shelter.  There was light property damage, and no injuries.

Brad Huffines, Chief Meteorologist / Storm Force 31

Technology is changing faster than most media companies can provide content for those technological updates.  However, at WAAY-31, we have committed to you to improve our web weather presence to give you both content you can use on a day to day basis, while we also offer you a unique weather experience.

4 to 6 times a day, Storm Force 31 will update the weather video portion of our video services on waaytv.com.  This will give you the ability to catch up on weather conditions between our newscasts, which are on between 5 and 7am, 11am, and 5,6 & 10 pm, and on weekends, between 7 and 8am, and at 5 & 10 pm.  When you fill in the gaps with our new web weathercasts, there are very few parts of the day when you cannot see a weathercast on WAAY-31 or on waaytv.com more than a couple hours old.

I can also assure you that there is a big difference between my relatively reserved personality on the television, and on what you will see on waaytv.com.  Log in and enjoy.  Often.  Make it a habit.  You will not regret it.

 Brad Huffines, Chief Meteorologist / Storm Force 31

Even though we have seen one of the warmest summers in North Alabama history, we are just behind average for our first potential freeze.  According the the National Weather Service in Huntsville, the average first freeze for Huntsville and Muscle Shoals occurs on November 5.  For 2007, the first freeze will likely occur on November 7 or 8, with a cold mass of Canadian air setting up shop in the TN Valley for a couple of days.

As this cold front whistles toward Florida with rapidly falling temperatures, the is a discussion about what morning will be the coldest, Wednesday or Thursday?  Some opinions say Wednesday, but I think the coldest start will be Thursday because to see the coldest temperatures you have to see both clear skies AND calm winds.  With BOTH of those present, there is not only a chance for maximized cooling, but of temperatures falling toward their ‘frost’ point.  Therefore, you can expect a widespread frost AND freeze when both of these weather parameters are reached.  What has to happen for that to occur?

On Thursday morning, right before the warm-up STARTS, we frequently see the coldest mornings historically, and I think that will occur again this week.  When the center of High Pressure is sitting directly over us, the winds will be the calmest, the skies the clearest, and the potential for the coldest morning and the heaviest frost of this cooldown.

So be prepared for a REAL chill.

Brad Huffines, Chief Meteorologist / Storm Force 31