Good Monday to you all.

Good Monday to you all.

I am trying to be better about blogging as I have a lot on my mind and I want to share it….

God help you all…

It is the Monday after a long weekend and I am glad to be back at work.

We had a pretty major winter storm move through on Thursday of last week and it dumped about 4 inches of snow here in the metro area. Now those of you who live in areas where you get snow all the time are laughing right now.

4 inches of snow… really?  

Yep really… I was at a conference for work on Thursday and it took me almost 4 hours to drive the 30 miles home and throw in a brief 20 min stop to pick up my boys… so you can see... we don’t handle snow very well here in Oklahoma. My wife was at work on Thursday and it took 3 hours to get home.

Anyway... Aside of the traffic and other headaches that are associated with winter weather in Oklahoma we did get to get out and play with the boys in the snow! This is only their second time to see the white stuff. The first was last Christmas at my Dad’s in Idaho. We took them out and pulled them on their sleds. They didn’t know exactly what to think about the white stuff and kind of became stiff. Oh well, I think as they get older they will get to where they are inseparable from the snow when we get it.

We also loaded the boys up on Saturday and took them to the Oklahoma Train Show at the State Fairgrounds. The boys really enjoyed the trains and of course every train that they saw was Thomas! They are just starting to get into Thomas the Train and haven’t learned the other characters yet so anything that looks like a train is considered to be Thomas to them! It is cute to see them starting to recognize stuff they are reading and to watch the gears turning in their brains. I have a feeling as the boys get older that we will have at least one train set in our house! I think that it is almost guaranteed!

On Sunday we got to go have Turkey dinner at me maw’s house! I married into a family of great cooks and while I have gained some weight I am very appreciative of the great food!

The boys always love going over to the Grandmas’ because they get spoiled and they pretty much have free rein of the house!

Well that was pretty much the weekend.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Be safe and slow down!

Bryan.

Day three of Severe Weather event in Oklahoma

Well today will hopefully be the last day of the multi day severe weather event that has occurred in Oklahoma.

This post will be brief and to the point.

Below is what the National Weather Service office in Norman Oklahoma is thinking regarding timing and coverage.

Image courtesy of the National Weather Service in Norman

Image courtesy of the National Weather Service in Norman

Image courtesy of the National Weather Service in Norman

These are not set in stone and could very well change depending on when and where storms fire.

I will add that you need to be very weather aware today and please have multiple ways to get your warning information. Weather Radios and Local Media are all good ways to receive warning information.

Have a plan and go over it with your family and make sure that they understand it.

Be Prepared, Not Scared.

Be Safe

Bryan

Active Severe Weather period shaping up for Oklahoma

As we head into the weekend one thing is becoming very clear......

We will be entering into an active weather pattern starting Saturday the 18th and going through Monday the 20th. Below are images from the Local National Weather Service office in Norman. They chronicle their latest thinking on how the weekend weather picture will unfold.

Image courtesy NWS Norman

On Saturday the Dry line will be pushing into the state and will be at the western border by late afternoon. There is a strong Capping inversion, warm layer of air that acts as a lid on the atmosphere, that should be in place during the day to limit convective initiation. If it gets warm enough and there is enough lift to erode that cap then storms should fire in the western part of the state and move to the E or NE. As the Weather service indicates with the Red shaded area.... this is the area that will see a tornadic threat if those storms do fire. These storms, if they form, should be into the metro area by late evening.

Image courtesy NWS Norman

 From every source that I am reading and hearing, Sunday appears to be the main day in the state as far as the very real possibility of a severe weather outbreak. All modes of Severe weather will be possible and there is a very real possibility of strong and damaging tornadoes. The red shaded area again indicates the area that has the highest probability for Tornadoes. Time frame for the Metro Area should be around 4-6 pm.

Image courtesy NWS Norman

Monday has the potential to be a sleeper Severe Weather day to me. There are a lot of indications that point to another "outbreak" type event but there are still some uncertainties that would limit a hard and fast determination. I have not seen any of the local media mention outbreak on this day but it will be a day to keep weather aware.

I post all of this information so as not to freak you out. I do this to make you aware of the potential and try to provide you with the tools to keep you and your family and friends aware. I try to update weather as much as possible and also try to provide you as many opinions as possible. Those of you who have lived in the southern plains for any length of time know that weather is a very inexact science. All indications can be there for a major severe weather day and if that "Cap" holds... then you are not going to get anything. 

Some of the sites below are good examples of places to get information: 

Storm Prediction Center 

Norman Forecast office of the National Weather Service

It is also a good idea to have multiple ways of getting warning information. Social Media should not be one of them. I would also not rely on the outdoor siren network. These are meant for outdoor warning only!!! 

I will try to post updates as I can. 

Be Safe and be weather aware. 

Bryan

Life happens.

Well I haven't exactly been a good blogger as of the last year or so... have I.

Well I promise to try and be better..... really I do.

It's not like I don't have a ton of stuff that I could talk about.....

My wife and I have been fostering two cute as heck little boys since January of 2012.

We are in the long, and I mean long, process of trying to adopt them.

My wife is amazing.... this is nothing new I just had to say this in case she reads this post.... hey you gotta let them know in the little ways.

Oh and as of last Friday I am unemployed!

Yes... you read that right. I don't have a job. That is ok though because you see... I will get one real soon.

Right?

Is this thing on.... Hello?

Ok, I might be a little bit apprehensive about that last fact. I have never not had a job. I have been working in some form or another since I was ten years old. If I left a position at one place it was to go to a position at another. The only real exceptions were when I moved to a new city or back home from those places.

Don't get me wrong... I am confident that I will find a new job, but it is still a little bit distressing to know that it could take awhile. I have done the usual things that you are suppose to do like file for unemployment with the State. I have reached out to my vast network of friends, family and colleagues. I have posted my resume on job boards, updated my status on my LinkedIn account and even posted my lack of a job on social media!

So what to do now.

Well my wife has a nice set of honey do's for me to do and I also actively look for new jobs. I have also reached out to the Workforce Oklahoma folks to seek their assistance. I have my faith which tells me that God will provide all I have to do is have faith and do my work...

Everything will be just fine..... I hope.

Be safe everyone

Bryan