topic Re: Waiting for the Storms in Community Chat

Waiting for the Storms Updated 7 pm Central

On It — Mon, 02 May 2022 00:00:49 GMT

Our area of West Texas has had no measurable precipitation for January-April 2022. This is the driest start to a year in the record books. We have had rain in the long range forecast for today. As it grew nearer to our rain event, we were told it would likely be severe. The storms are forming and forecasters are predicting up to 4" hailstones and isolated tornadoes.

My go-bag, purse, and computer are in my safest room to ride out the storm. We need the moisture. We just don't want the severe stuff. Now we have to wait to see what develops. The severe weather box is in the lower left corner of our TV screen with warnings to our west.

Re: Waiting for the Storms

4kitties — Sun, 01 May 2022 20:53:08 GMT

Hoping you only get the much needed rain with no damage!

I am in Central Illinois and we had a tornado watch all afternoon yesterday. Thankfully we only got rain. Had a lot of wind but no damage.

Re: Waiting for the Storms

On It — Sun, 01 May 2022 20:56:25 GMT

@4kitties wrote:
Hoping you only get the much needed rain with no damage!

I am in Central Illinois and we had a tornado watch all afternoon yesterday. Thankfully we only got rain. Had a lot of wind but no damage.

I am glad you escaped the tornadoes. I hope we get lucky, too.

Re: Waiting for the Storms

Love my grandkids — Sun, 01 May 2022 21:02:30 GMT

@On It I will echo 4kitties and say I hope you only get much needed rain and no damage but glad you are so well prepared. Be safe, wishing you well. Please update when it's safe to do so.

Re: Waiting for the Storms

Sooner — Sun, 01 May 2022 21:06:13 GMT

@On It wrote:
Our area of West Texas has had no measurable precipitation for January-April 2022. This is the driest start to a year in the record books. We have had rain in the long range forecast for today. As it grew nearer to our rain event, we were told it would likely be severe. The storms are forming and forecasters are predicting up to 4" hailstones and isolated tornadoes.

My go-bag, purse, and computer are in my safest room to ride out the storm. We need the moisture. We just don't want the severe stuff. Now we have to wait to see what develops. The severe weather box is in the lower left corner of our TV screen with warnings to our west.

@On It Us too. It's coming here too. All next week will be up and down--as is always especially the first week of May. I dread it so much and pray a lot.

Last year the hail was awful around here. Friends of ours had their house beaten to pieces. Some of her neighbors still don't have replacement windows.

Good thoughts to you and all of us under the gun.

Re: Waiting for the Storms

On It — Sun, 01 May 2022 21:09:39 GMT

@Love my grandkids Thank you. I will update as soon as the storms finish rolling through. It will be sometime tonight.

Re: Waiting for the Storms

On It — Sun, 01 May 2022 21:13:15 GMT

@Sooner Thank you for the good thoughts. This is our only chance for rain this week. We don't want to miss the precipitation, but we would love to dodge the severe stuff. I'll be thinking of you all this week. Hopefully, you will avoid the bad and get the good.

Re: Waiting for the Storms

hckynutjohn — Sun, 01 May 2022 21:16:00 GMT

Weather box is in the corner of our screen more time than not. Think our local channels just like taking up 1/4 of our screen to distort the picture. Guess they think we viewers don't remember what channel we are watching. "Possible heavy rain", really?

"High winds and possible tornado in the area", I get. Possible rain? Way overdone around here to suit me.

hckynut 🇺🇸

Re: Waiting for the Storms

On It — Sun, 01 May 2022 21:17:56 GMT

@hckynutjohn Your weather box does sound large. Ours is small and really doesn't interfere with viewing. There is a crawl in the corner as well that I cannot read without walking over to the TV. Our weather guys are breaking into the golf tournament about every 15 minutes. A TV station here has to service a large viewing area.

Re: Waiting for the Storms

Kachina624 — Sun, 01 May 2022 22:33:54 GMT

@On It We desperately need that rain but it appears that it will miss the areas that are burning up as the fires rage on. The huge one that is near the city of Las Vegas, the original Las Vegas, grew by 30,000 acres just yesterday and is threatening Western foothills communities. Over 160 homes in that area have been destroyed. They say it may be months before it's extinguished.

Another fire, near Jemez Springs in the Jemez Mountains and less than an hour from me, has also burned a large area and is threatening the Valles Caldera Nation Preserve and Bandelier National Monument, prehistoric Indian ruins. The Valles Caldera had a devastating fire 4 or 5 years ago, the results of which made me sick. Its a beautiful place, a 93,000 acre ranch which the government bought some years ago to preserve it. The mountain ridges surrounding the caldera are now bare of towering trees. I like to go there to spot the elk herd.

We had smoke and a burning smell in the Albuquerque area for the first time this morning due to a wind shift. The smell actually woke me up.

The best part of New Mexico is being destroyed.

The Jemez Fire last night.

Re: Waiting for the Storms

SharkE — Sun, 01 May 2022 21:22:04 GMT

Amarillo, Tx area hasn't had any appreciative amount of rain since 9-21

had few inches of snow that wet the whistle of the ground is all.

If it does anything to break the constipated skies I'll go out and dance in it.

Re: Waiting for the Storms

SilleeMee — Sun, 01 May 2022 21:28:18 GMT

@On It

Do you have a safe place to go when bad storms roll in?...like a cellar or basement?

Re: Waiting for the Storms

Goodie2shoes — Sun, 01 May 2022 21:31:13 GMT

Stay safe ! we had possible strong storms on the way yesterday but they fizzled out.

Re: Waiting for the Storms

On It — Sun, 01 May 2022 21:42:02 GMT

@Kachina624 These fires are devistating and beyond frightening. The grip this megadrought has on the Southwest doesn't seem to be relaxing at all. I have tried to follow the news about the fires on the TV apps, but keeping up is difficult. I don't know Northern New Mexico towns and landmarks very well.

It is hard to imagine a fire taking months to extinguish. I hope Las Vegas can be protected. Bandelier would be a tragic loss. We lived in Ruidoso for several years and our son's gifted and talented class toured Los Alamos and the labs. His teacher's father was a scientist there. We then went to Bandelier. It is of such historic value that I can't imagine it being damaged.

My husband spent several days on the ranch that became the Valles Caldera Preserve. We have a photograph of it hanging in our home. Some time after his visit, I believe it became a preserve during the Clinton Administration. Seeing all of these areas that hold such dear memories being at risk is so sad. My heart goes out to those whose homes and livelihoods are being threatened.

Re: Waiting for the Storms

On It — Sun, 01 May 2022 21:48:36 GMT

@SilleeMee We do not have a basement or cellar. We will be in an interior downstairs bathroom that has no windows. I just hope it doesn't come to that. Hopefully, I can post good news later, but we do get power outages during these storms. Thank you for your concern.

Re: Waiting for the Storms

Sooner — Sun, 01 May 2022 22:36:15 GMT

@hckynutjohn wrote:
Weather box is in the corner of our screen more time than not. Think our local channels just like taking up 1/4 of our screen to distort the picture. Guess they think we viewers don't remember what channel we are watching. "Possible heavy rain", really?

"High winds and possible tornado in the area", I get. Possible rain? Way overdone around here to suit me.

hckynut 🇺🇸

@hckynutjohn Don't knock it. Just be thankful if the tornado isn't headed your way. Or the softball sized hail. Either one will make you forget about what's on tv.

Re: Waiting for the Storms

Kachina624 — Sun, 01 May 2022 22:44:43 GMT

@SharkE wrote:
Amarillo, Tx area hasn't had any appreciative amount of rain since 9-21
had few inches of snow that wet the whistle of the ground is all.

If it does anything to break the constipated skies I'll go out and dance in it.

@SharkE I heard they're going to "seed" the clouds in several Southern NM counties this summer hoping to make some rain. I don't know why they don't do the whole state. There's nothing down there but flat prairie and oil wells. Maybe oil money is paying for it?

The last "normal" year I remember for rainfall was 2006. It's been drought ever since. Getting worse.

Re: Waiting for the Storms

Spacrazy — Sun, 01 May 2022 23:50:50 GMT

Woohoo @SharkE that rain dance will do it every time !

Re: Waiting for the Storms

hckynutjohn — Sun, 01 May 2022 23:52:36 GMT

@Sooner

I am knocking it for the ridiculous "possible heavy rain". And I am supposed to do what with that info? Raise my house from the foundation/see if I can find a boat, what? And, it's strange that it doesn't stay on the screen during commercials. Hmm!

We have a weather radio, and out in our area, we have a very good view of the sky. If it is serious enough when it comes to "possible tornado" in the area? The channel will go directly to the meteorologists, not a box distorting the picture.

If I am concerned about high winds or a tornado, we will be down in our completely underground basement, watching a program we DVR'd maybe 2 days ago.

All our TV viewing is from programs we prerecorded, not live. As I said "heavy rain possible"? We live miles from a river, and it would have to rise about a 1500' elevation to reach us. By then our whole city will be under water.

I'll stick to our weather radio and our good view of the sky and the clouds.

hckynut 🇺🇸

Re: Waiting for the Storms

AuntG — Sun, 01 May 2022 23:57:56 GMT

I agree with @hckynutjohn that possible heavy rain probably doesn't need a special announcement. Where I live, they use a 1 to 5 scale put out by the weather center in Norman, OK.