Why Happy People Hide From Climate Change

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:23:54 -0400

Ignorance may be bliss, but bliss also leads to ignorance—at least when it comes to climate change.

College fossil-fuel divestment movement builds

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:34:26 -0400

SWARTHMORE, Pa. (AP) — Student activists at more than 200 colleges are trying a new tactic in hopes of slowing the pace of climate change: They are asking their schools to stop investing in fossil fuel companies.

Yes, Oklahoma Truthers Think Obama Used His Anti-Scandal Weather Magic

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:20:06 -0400

On Sunday, six days after a furious and deadly tornado, President Obama will reportedly head to Moore, Oklahoma. It took less than 48 hours for the truthers to furiously accuse the White House — perhaps by way of George Soros — of creating the tornado itself. If you thought 9/11 conspiracy theorists were bad, or the Sandy Hook and Boston bombing truthers were reckless, Obama's meteorological manipulation — all to distract a country from three Washington scandals — well, that might be a new level of ridiculous.

Chilly Morning, Great Afternoon

Wed, 22 May 2013 06:45:56 -0400

Good morning!  After yesterday’s severe weather threat that didn’t pan out to be much, today we are rewarded with Chamber of Commerce weather.  Here’s the email weather update I sent my morning show team this […]

Factbox: Tornado damage and the Enhanced Fujita scale

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:17:22 -0400

(Reuters) - The tornado that slammed into the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, killing 24 people, was upgraded on Tuesday to a rating of EF5, the category reserved for the most damaging twisters on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, the National Weather Service said. The Enhanced Fujita scale is an updated version of an earlier chart to measure the ferocity of tornadoes published in 1971 by University of Chicago professor Ted Fujita. ...

Tornado Warning: Despite Oklahoma Alert, U.S. Weather Forecasting Service Needs Major Upgrades

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:22:37 -0400

The atmosphere never gets a moment’s privacy. It can barely stir enough to move a leaf without some piece of high-tech equipment—often many, many pieces—knowing about it. The U.S. alone has up to 30 satellites at any one moment that devote at least part of their time to monitoring global and national weather patterns; 122 Doppler radar systems scattered across the country looking up from the ground; and a web of computers that just got a massive upgrade—increasing their data-crunching capacity 30-fold—to process the information that all that other hardware gathers.

Oklahoma tornado was a monster, but it wasn't a record-breaker

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:16:00 -0400

The National Weather Service has rated the tornado that struck Moore, Okla., Monday afternoon as an EF5, the highest rating with wind speeds estimated at more than 200 miles an hour.

Severe Weather Moves Across North Texas

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:45:33 -0400

Storms continue to develop across parts of North Texas this afternoon. Several areas west of the Metroplex have already reported heavy rains, hail and high winds at times prompting storm warnings.

Tornado-Proofing Cities in the Age of Extreme Weather

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:06:27 -0400

Right now the death toll from the massive tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma on May 20 seems—thankfully—to be less than first thought. City officials now say that 24 people have been confirmed dead, down from 51 people last night, due to double counting of some bodies in the confusion. But the new number still includes 9 children, and the toll could rise as rescuers search through the rubble.

Deadly Moore Tornado Tops the Scale at EF-5

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:30:01 -0400

Complete and utter destruction in some parts of Moore, Okla., in the wake of yesterday's deadly tornado confirms the twister was a rare EF-5 — the top of the tornado rating scale, the National Weather Service announced today (May 21).

3 takedowns of the GOP's latest climate change skeptic

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:30:00 -0400

In an op-ed in the Washington Post this week, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the chair of the House Science and Technology Committee and a noted climate change skeptic, offered a laundry list of reasons why people who are worried about climate change and fighting plans like the Keystone XL pipeline are hurting American policy and the country's economy.

Oklahoma tornado upgraded to EF5, highest strength rating

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:30:28 -0400

(Reuters) - The tornado that struck the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday was a rare EF5, the highest rating the National Weather Service assigns in classifying the strength of tornadoes. An EF5 tornado can pack winds exceeding 200 miles per hour and damage is devastating, the service said. Damage assessment teams also determined that the huge tornado cut a path of approximately 17 miles by 1.3 miles wide. EF5 tornadoes are rare in the United States. The twister in Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011, which killed 161 people, was rated an EF5. ...

Strength Of OK Twister Upgraded, Search For Survivors Continues

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:25:39 -0400

Just after 3:00 p.m. (CST) officials with the National Weather Service upgraded the classification of the deadly tornado that struck in Moore, Oklahoma to an EF-5, the strongest storm rank on the enhanced Fujita scale.

Prelude to Disaster: Inside the Oklahoma Weather Center

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:22:12 -0400

The National Weather Service forecast center in Norman, Oklahoma, is located in a five-story building on the south campus of the University of Oklahoma. It is technically on the second floor, but an auditorium  located below it  dips partly underground, so the experience is more like being on the first floor. It has a wall of windows facing west and is neither tornado-proof nor tornado-resistant.

Oklahoma tornado: How accurate were predictions?

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:04:00 -0400

A 2013 tornado season that began with a whimper has suddenly ramped up with all the explosiveness of the powerful tornado-generating thunderstorms that have erupted in the past few days – with Moore, Okla., taking the brunt.

Severe Weather Threat Closes Schools Early

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:45:36 -0400

Several schools around North Texas have decided to close early on Tuesday due to reports of severe weather arriving in the area later in the afternoon.

What Role Does Climate Change Play in Tornadoes?

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:31:00 -0400

What Role Does Climate Change Play in Tornadoes?

Oklahoma Tornado Rated EF-4 By National Weather Service, Second Strongest Ranking

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:23:34 -0400

CBS 11 Programming Update

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:12:24 -0400

With the threat of severe weather continuing across North Texas and Oklahoma today, CBS 11 will be providing continuing coverage of the Moore, OK recovery efforts until noon.

Why Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn doesn't want tornado relief money

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:33:00 -0400

On Tuesday morning, emergency responders began dealing with the aftermath of a tornado that killed at least 24 people in Moore, Okla., and injured at least 140 more. The White House has announced that "the administration and FEMA stand ready to provide all available assistance in response to the severe weather."

Preparing For Severe Weather In North Texas

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:29:01 -0400

The forecast for this afternoon in North Texas again includes heavy storms, hail and the possibility of dangerous tornadoes. So, how should you prepare?

Tornado threat continues, including Dallas-Fort Worth area

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:46:06 -0400

By Greg McCune CHICAGO (Reuters) - Tornadoes could form across a wide area of the southern Plains and into the U.S. southeast again on Tuesday, including metropolitan Dallas-Fort Worth, the most populous urban area in the threatened area, a government meteorologist said. "There could be a few more tornadoes again, particularly in northern and central Texas," said Brynn Kerr, meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. ...

Oklahoma Tornado Fallout: Disaster Assistance, Weather Detection Spending Cut in Sequestration

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:35:47 -0400

As disaster personnel and volunteers comb through the havoc left by the tornadoes that tore through Oklahoma on Sunday and Monday, they are going to rely on critical federal funding that was severely reduced by the massive cuts known as sequestration and which raises the possibility that Congress will have to cough up more money on future disasters.

More Severe Weather Threatens Recovery from Oklahoma Tornado

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:17:35 -0400

Residents of Moore, Oklahoma, continue to dig out from yesterday's horrific storms, but the search for any remaining survivors is threatened by more severe weather. Thunderstorm warnings and tornado watches, continue to stretch across Southern Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, as the storm that has already killed dozens of people this week continues to churn across the Southeast.

More tornadoes in forecast for central US Tuesday

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:07:30 -0400

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — More severe weather is in the forecast for parts of the central United States already reeling from powerful tornadoes this week.