Mike Wilhelm's Alabama Weather Blog

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Bamawx.com

Here are some photos of storms in Winfield, Alabama, in Marion County, taken today from another ABC 33/40 Weather watcher, Kim Langston.

Yesterday the weather was awesome here in Chicago. The high was in the mid 70's but the sky was overcast and light sprinkles fell during the afternoon while we were at the zoo and the park. It felt like October in Alabama. There was also a real nice breeze. This morning, as I write at 6:20, the temperature is a cool 62 degrees at Ohare airport. I suspect that there are a few areas with temperatures in the high 50's in the area.

I woke this morning to the sound of thunder. It has been thundering much of the night here in Chicago. Overnight I was awakened by what sounded like a huge explosion. I decided it was probably thunder and went back to sleep. Thunder in the Midwest sounds different than thunder in much of the South. I think the hilly terrain where I live makes the thunder echo and roar longer.
At 9:00 this morning it is 71 degrees with rain and thunder here on the north side of Chicago. I'm hoping the rain will end soon so that the boys and I can get out today. The forecast is for the rain to end by noon with a high in the low 80's.

The night before last we had an electical storm that kept us awake here on the north side of Chicago. We saw a tree down at the Lane Tech College Prep School on Addison Street. The high yesterday was 82 but with low humidity and a nice northerly breeze. It felt like we should have been going to a college football game more than a Cubs game.

The SPC placed Northern Illinois in a moderate risk area for severe weather this afternoon and evening. The greatest threat in Illinois is from large hail and high winds.

The SPC has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for all of Northern Illinois this afternoon.

The weather has changed for the better here in Chicago. Last night we had an electical storm that kept us awake. We saw a tree down at the Lane Tech College Prep School on Addison Street on the Northside. The high today was 82 but with low humidity and a nice northerly breeze. It feels like we should be going to a college football game more than a Cubs game.

It's been hot up in the midwest this week. It's been well up in the 90's. I had a can of coke explode in my vehicle yesterday. The boys and I were leaving the Adler Planetarium going back to my sister's place when it happened. By the time we got to the north side of Chicago, the air conditioner cooled the car off enough to cause the pressure to blow a hole in the aluminum. Meteorologist J.B. Elliott mentioned it in his blog entry today.

What we need with this global warming issue is a consensus regarding crieria and methodology. Al Gore's political rantings are not conducive to finding the truth. If scientists could agree on (a) an accurate, reliable method for measuring the average temperature of the earth for at least, say, 6 thousand years; and (b) the criterion to denote what amount of temperature change over time denotes a significant threat; then we would have something to work with. Could someone who believes in global warming prove to me the following:(a) What was the average temperature on the Earth's surface for each of the last 6000 years?(b) Explain why I should believe your measurements are an accurate reflection of the reality.My major concerns are that there is not enough reliable data, what data we do have is not global, and for every indicator of global warming you can also find an indicator for global cooling.

6/25/06 Thunderstorm in Huntsville, AL

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The low this morning here in Vinemont was 57.9. Not bad at all for July in Alabama! Our high was 84.4 and the humidity was low for this time of year.

6/22/06 Lightning

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Here's an assignment for you, even if you are not a weather geek. Watch the news and make a mental note of everything that someone in the media blames on global warming. This week, wildfires out west have been blamed on global warming. It's all over the media. Why doesn't someone blame the guy who threw his cigarette out the window or didn't put out his campfire?

Here's a site that keeps tracks of such absurdities...

School administrators in China are being held accountable for casualties in natural disasters, including tornadoes, in the wake of a recent tornado.

http://english.people.com.cn/200607/03/eng20060703_279397.html

The link below from the National Weather Service in Indianapolis Indiana explains.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/crnews/display_story.php?wfo=ind&storyid=2883&source=0

This one was building up east of Huntsville near Monte Sano last night around between 6 and 7.