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Jan 24
2010
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The Future is a Dark and Scary Place |
The world has gone mad! There are tornadoes in California, earthquakes in the Caribbean, 2012 is just around the corner and Al Gore is still breathing…actually, we’re all still breathing — so let’s just take a deep breath and calm down.
It isn’t unusual for our phones to ring and we find curiosity on the other end of the line. People are very curious about nature’s most extreme weather, especially those who are unlucky enough to not live in Tornado Alley. And, we love talking about extreme weather – we welcome your phone calls!

2012 - Brought to you by Hollywood.
However, as of the past few months and we believe largely driven by the release of the movie 2012, it seems that every time some crazy event happens from an unseasonable tornado on a California beach to an earthquake in a region where they’re not common — we’re getting flooded with calls from nervous people wondering when it’s all going to end.
In short – we don’t know.
But, there is some glimmer of hope to all the despair, “we don’t know”. Yes, that is the glimmer of hope and as far as we’re concerned, we think our chances are pretty damn good….considering the real threats that exists in the world.
Which brings me to yet another point — why are so many people shook up about these events in light of “2012″ when so many other things exists that people should really be scared of?
Like what you ask? Here is Brian’s Top 10 Things People Should Really be Scared of…
10. What’s really in that fast food burger you’re eating? Yes, that’s right — this day and age “100% Beef” actually means it was a real cow at one time, but it was raised on a toxic mixture of chemicals and growth hormones. Unless you raise your own beef — I’d be scared!
09. Clowns.
08. MSNBC.
07. Clowns at MSNBC.
06. People who don’t see any need within themselves to improve something about themselves.
05. People you haven’t seen in 25 years popping out of nowhere on Facebook (who are probably addicted to Whoppers and working at MSNBC).
04. People who don’t recycle (I like to think of them as Eco-Terrorist, since they are after all threatening the world’s oceans and our global ecosystems).
03. The collapse of fish stocks in the oceans (yes, it’s a real threat!). Did you know that last week a Blue Fin Tuna from the Mediterranean sold on the Japanese Fish Market for 111,000 Euros! Why do you think that is?
02. Terrorist – you remember them don’t you? Those are the people that want to kill other people for a religious or political statement and have no official backing of government.
01. The Future. That’s right, we can’t rule it out. Anything can happen from mass extinction meteor impacts to super volcano eruptions to massive solar flares….the future can be a scary place. But, just chill out about it. What would you rather do, go through your very probable long-lived lifespan worrying about every little thing each and everyday, or living like each day is your last and being the best person that you can be? Dream big – live your dreams and reach your goals… and don’t worry about anything else.
So you see, we can take all the possibilities of the Earth’s natural events and cram them into a single topic. Why? Because you can’t change it. If and when nature decides it’s your final day, then its your final day. But, we can change the world and make it a better place in meantime!
After all, it’s not the two dates written on your tombstone that mean anything – it’s that little dash in the middle!
So, “Here’s to the Future!” Enjoy it, you won’t get another one.
The first tornado of the decade has been issued. To our knowledge at the current time, an actual tornado hasn’t been confirmed – but the warning went out. So what is the lucky area that received it? Texas…Oklahoma?
Recently in an interview with GritTV, actor Danny Glover made a comment that I found to be completely absurd. In his statement, Glover says that the entire Caribbean region is in danger of earthquakes due to global warming and the failure of the Copenhagen conference.
One of the most important tools that convective forecasters have is the Skew-T/Log-P Diagram. It is a thermodynamic chart that allows forecasters to view real information about the state of the atmosphere from the surface level all the way to 100 millibars.
I receive a lot of email from prospective students asking for advice on picking a meteorology school and/or program. I have compiled some information that people can use for a starting point in their search.
It appears that the chaser who apparently gave away free video to a major network may have been wronged by the network. New information from the chaser at the center of this suggests that the he did sell the video to the network and he allegedly has confirmation numbers that can prove that the video was sold.
It has been brought to my attention that during the recent Oklahoma blizzard, which was a major story over the holidays, that a few very well known storm chasers have given away video footage to major networks using those networks “Citizen Journalist” or viewer video services.
We just received a high priority phone call at the StormChase.com forecasting center from the North Pole. It was Santa’s lead elf meteorologist, Dr. Bouncy Sugar Socks. Poor little guy was freaking out!! It seems that Santa is very worried about the Christmas Eve forecast for supercells and possible tornadoes over parts of Oklahoma and Texas, as well as the strong turbulence over the United States due to a strong upper jet.
At the possible expense of sounding “alarmist”, I am personally concerned over storm safety of Florida’s seasonal winter residents. Having been one myself for several years now, I’m surprised at how many people invade the sub-tropical state each winter to escape the harsh cold air and winter storms of the Midwest, although I fully understand their reasoning for doing so.
The National Weather Service in Miami, FL has issued what might just be the final tornado warning of 2009 at 10:27 EST Friday, December 18th.
Due to (I’m not kidding) HUNDREDS of request for a poster print of our Hyannis Supercell panorama from May 20th ealier this year, I’m pleased to announce that we have put the amazingly gorgeous image in the inventory of our store on Zazzle.com. Buy direct from our Zazzle store and save, while also be able to immediately select from dozens of great printing and framing options.
Last week I had the honor of being invited to Hamilton College in upstate New York to give a lecture to a group of students and members of the community.
We’re dealing with a high volume of phone calls and emails at the moment due …
My storm chasing tour guest come from all over the world and to a person who is visiting Tornado Alley for the purpose of chasing storms, they sometimes go home with the feeling that a person must be mad to live here. From their point-of-view, if the weather cooperates with the tour during their visitation – they’ll see extreme weather at its best, or sometimes at its worst. But, in reality most people that live throughout the Great Plains have never seen a tornado and most never will.
Global Warming is big business. And no matter which side of the aisle you stand on you can point your finger at various companies and industries about their influence in shaping policies in regard to Global Warming. If you’re a believer then you’re going to point your finger at the oil and automobile industry and say they are trying to prevent the truth from getting out. If you’re a non-believer than your going to point your finger at the carbon credit and “green” industries and companies such as GE and say they are trying to use fear-mongering techniques to scare us all into buying their products.
Get ready for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs from Columbia Pictures and Sony Picture Animation! It will be the most delicious event since macaroni met cheese. Inspired by the beloved children’s book by Judi Barrett, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain.