Ask a TV Meteorologist anything

326 Questions

Last Answer on December 24, 2019

Should you take shelter during a sever thunderstorm warring.

Asked by Ryan almost 7 years ago

Great question. The answer is somewhat personal choice. A severe thunderstorm is defined by 1 inch hail and/or winds of 58 mph or greater. Those things can certainly break windows and cause damage. Absolutely be inside. We try our best to provide substantive warnings and information but if you ever feel threatened by the weather by all means don’t wait for us and take cover!

721 Votes

Do you think Meteorologists sometimes over react when sever weather or something is coming?

Asked by asdklj almost 7 years ago

Yup. Some do. ;)

721 Votes

Why does a river overflow when it should be emptying into the sea?

Asked by Glen over 6 years ago

You might get a better answer from a hydrologist, Glen. Water does continue to empty into the ocean, or a lake. The overflow occurs when the water running into the river is greater than what is flowing out. The incoming water can come from creeks and streams and heavy rain. Thanks!

719 Votes

Okay the NWS and the SPC and other independent networks keep getting stuff wrong here in SW MO! Yesterday there was a slight risk of sever storms and today it is GT and from 40% down to 20%! Something similar happend last week. What the hell?!

Asked by DJ almost 7 years ago

Often times changes like that come because the outlook on a given day is highly dependent on what happens during the day or days before. A small variation in the specific way storms develop and behave can mean a big change in the development hours later or the next day. Another explanation includes the somewhat large distance between twice daily weather balloons. A lot of things can go undetected between them. Thanks, DJ!

714 Votes

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Why is it that the hours of 2 or 3 p.m. the hottest times of our day

Asked by t417 about 6 years ago

For the most part the sun doesn't directly heat the air. It heats the ground which then reradiates that energy in the form of longer wave radiation which heats the air. The strongest heating occurs midday when the sun is highest in the sky. At that point the sunlight is traveling through the least amount of atmosphere as opposed to earlier or later in the day. So there is a short lag between maximum sun angle and the time is takes the air to heat up. Thanks, Tommy. Hope that makes sense.

708 Votes

Have you seen the video of the Ohio weather man who gets mad at viewers for complaining that he interrupted his show? What do you think?

Asked by Manning over 6 years ago

Hi, Manning. Yup, saw it. Feel bad for him since that video will be attached to him for a long time. Often times it is a hard choice to break into programming. We all understand the interruption. Severe weather can be a high stress environment. It is particularly frustrating when someone makes a ridiculous comment like, “you just want to hear yourself talk.” Happens to me just about every event. Gotta take a deep breath and move forward. For every snotty response I usually get “thanks for keeping us informed,” tenfold. Thanks!

708 Votes