Derek_James's Blog

We'd love to feature the cute, funny, and scary Halloween pictures of your kids on FOX News Rising and FOX News @ Ten.

Email them to us: Rising@FOXCharlotte.com or djames@foxcharlotte.com.

You may see your little ghost or goblin during Tera Blake's "Forecast on the Fours" this week on FOX News Rising from 5-8 AM or during Reg Taylor's Forecast on FOX News @ Ten.

Be sure to tell us who you are, where you're from and who is in the picture.

Derek

 

 

With our first real blast of cold autumn weather this morning, you may have noticed you were a bit "Electric" this morning.  Typically during the winter season is when you notice a lot of those static shocks when touching a door knob, or getting in or out of your car. But any time the air is very cool & very dry it can happen. 

Dry air has a low relative humidity.  When the relative humidity drops below around 40% the air feels dry to your skin. If very low relative humidities hang around it can make the skin dry, lips chapped and can put more static in the air.

In the winter when air with a low dewpoint from outside is heated and moves inside the air will decrease in relative humidity. To add moisture to the air some people run humidifiers.

The air is already moistening back up so it could be a few weeks before the zaps come back.

Derek

Thursday morning's USDA Drought Report shows improving conditions across the Carolinas, especially the Eastern half of the state.  The data cutoff each week is Tuesday morning, so none of Wednesday or Thursday's rain factors in.  Take a look at the map here.  Most of Mecklenburg County is still at Severe Status, while Eastern Mecklenburg, Union, Cabarrus & Rowan have dropped to the Moderate Level.

For the month so far in Charlotte, we are three one-hundredths of an inch ahead of normal.  Overall for 2008, we are ahead of average rainfall by 1.32" and ahead of last year's overall rain total by 12". 

Although we've made great strides, we still need to experience more rain, as streamflows and groundwater (takes a long time) are still recovering.  Water restrictions are still in effect so continue to conserve!

Derek

 

 

 

As of this post, the evening of July 26th we are still in an extreme drought across a majority of the FOX Charlotte viewing area.  Over the last two weeks, Charlotte Douglas International has only recorded 0.87" of rain.  We are now in the negative (barely) for the month of July. For the year, we are down 4.22" compared to a normal year. An active hurricane season and some tropical remnants are what we really need to make a true dent in this current longstanding drought. 

And now for something totally different...my wife Kristen and I are expecting our first child (A BOY!).  Actually the due date passed yesterday. She's a trooper, hanging in there as best she can in this humidity and with some major hip pain.

Some of our family & friends are telling us he won't arrive until we come up with a name for him, which we haven't.  We've each come up with names, but can't agree on anything. For some reason naming him after Kiefer Sutherland just does float with my wife.

Anyway, as soon as he does arrive, I'll post a few pics up on the site.  I'll be taking some paternity leave and the wonderful Steve Lyerly will be doing what he always does for everyone here, allowing us to be off by filling in.           

Most of us have green grass, some of the plants look pretty good, BUT Charlotte is still in a severe drought. Gaston, Lincoln, Cleveland and other counties to our west are doing even worse, they are at the second worst level, extreme drought.  

It was about this time last year that things really started going downhill and it could again this spring/summer.  Unfortunately, so far in 2008 we're doing worse than in 2007.  Last year at this date, we'd received 15.27" of rain.  So far this year, we've only received 13.35" of rain.  We're already behind by over 3" from our normal. 

We can hope we don't get in the same hot, dry pattern as next summer of you can count on another round of severe summer water restrictions.

Reg, Tera, & I will continue to keep you up-to-date with the latest conditions on all our forecasts...If you ever have a drought related question, feel free to post it here.  We'll do our best to answer it.

Derek

We've seen a few showers so far today, but while you're sleeping the rain should get heavier.  Most of us will pickup another .25" to .5" of additional rain.  As I write this blog, Charlotte Douglas International Airport has only record a tenth of an inch.

We're only down .25" for this month (pretty good) but down about two and a half inches since January 1st (not so much). Valentine's Day will be full of sunshine with temps in the mid 50s.  Friday we'll see more sun and highs should make it into the low 60s, while Saturday night and Sunday will bring more chances for needed rain.

Now...the SHOCKING CONFESSION...dunt dunt duuuuh

I feel that Paula Abdul is one of the most annoying people on the planet, she is behind Britney, Lyndsay, Rosie, Fergie, Drew Carey (stop laughing at yourself MAN!) and Carson Daly (least talented person in the world). 

I caught Paula Abdul's attempted comeback during the Super Bowl XLII (42) Pre Game Show on FOX.  The song is called "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow" and I LOVE IT!!  I know, scary that a guy who listens primarily to U2, Duran Duran, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, and The Police would like a bubble-gum pop song from Paula Abdul of all people.  I've been close to downloading the song off of I-Tunes, but so far I've kind of kept my credibility by not buying it.

 If you haven't heard the song yet, check this out.  And please don't judge me...I swear I'll redeem myself by buying some cool new wave stuff off I-Tunes this week.

More to come...

Derek

We're still holding to our earlier forecasts for this winter storm event on Thursday.  Here's a quick breakdown:

Mountains - Snow & Sleet, Then Some Freezing Rain, 2-6" of Snow, .10-.20" of Ice

Foothills - Snow & Sleet Quickly Turning to Rain, 1-4" of Snow, .10" of Ice

Piedmont - Snow, Turning to Rain, Slushy, Trace - 2", Light Icing

 

Below is a time line of precipitation and temperatures in Charlotte on Thursday morning.

A majority of the FOX Charlotte Viewing Area including Mecklenburg County is under a Winter Storm Warning from 7pm tonight until 7pm on Thursday. This means snow, ice and sleet are expected in the forecast. Although, based on what I've seen so far in these models, Charlotte could quickly transition from snow to rain with little icing. That would good news for your ride to work in the morning. 


By midnight, some snow showers are expected to begin across Western North Carolina, the Foothills, and especially the Northwest Pidemont. Some light snow accumulation is possible in and around Charlotte. A few spots in the Piedmont could see up to 2 inches of snow. By dawn, much of the snow will have turned over to a cold rain and the snow will quickly disappear. North of I-40 and west of I-77 some minor icing is possible.  By approximately 10am, this should be an all-rain event for Charlotte and by lunch-time, precipitation will begin to move out. 


Reg Taylor, Tera Blake and I will be watching the situation closely and will have up-to-the-minute information tonight on FOX News @ Ten and tomorrow morning on FOX News Rising starting at 5am. All morning Tripp will also have the latest traffic reports and updates on any icing on the roads and overpasses. You can also track the showers on FOX Charlotte Doppler Radar by clicking the weather tab.

January statistically is when we have our best chance of getting some measurable snow.  Check out this data I found, December isn't even listed in the top 3.  That's why a White Christmas is a rare occurrence in Charlotte.

   

More to come...

Derek

Reg & I have been looking at the models for this winter storm that we expect to move in early Thyursday morning.  We know this...A winter storm watch will in be in effect for our viewers in Avery, Caldwell, Burke, Alexander, Catawba, Iredel, and Rowan counties from Wednesday Evening until Thursday evening.   

 

At this point...the high country could be looking at 2-4+ of snow, the foothills could experience a mix of snow & a little sleet, and around Charlotte maybe a little sleet, but mostly rain.  Those locations further north and west of Charlotte have the best chance of the snow holding on for a little while.     

More to come...Derek

Weather...Yesterday we were watching the possibility of some early Monday morning snow in the Charlotte area.  I mentioned how the timing of this system would need to hold true and the temperature profile would have to be below freezing throughout the lower atmosphere.  Neither appears to be the case looking at the new data today.  Rebecca Clark told me the other night that she would get up at 3am on Monday to try and see some flurries. Being from Florida, she's always hoping for some flakes to fall this time of year. Let's hope we can get that in the forecast sometime this winter, for Rebecca and all the kids that want a snow day. In the short term, I expect a nice Saturday with Mostly Sunny skies and temps in the upper 50s.  Sunday we'll cloud up some, meaning high temps near 50 and even a small chance of rain.        
 
Football Excitement...Tomorrow my beloved Green Bay Packers host the Seahawks at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The two have numerous connections ( Holmgren & Favre, Hasselbeck & Favre & Holmgren, defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes briefly coached the Packers)  and I'm sure you'll hear plenty of the stories during the NFL on FOX coverage tomorrow. The frozen tundra won't be 20 below (unfortunately), but a few flurries are possible. Temps will run from the low 30s to upper 20s during the game. I'll be wearing my Packers gear with pride up until before tomorrow night's 10pm show. GO PACK GO!!! If you really want to laugh, dig up a song called "Jump In The Stands" recorded by Robert Brooks in the Mid 90s after Leroy Butler started "The Lambeau Leap."        
 
Movies..."The Bucket List" opened today and looks really funny.  I've always liked both Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson.  If my wife & I go it'll be my first movie seen in the theatre since "The Simpsons Movie."      
 
More weather and random thoughts to come...  
Derek

Thanks to some great work by our new FOX Charlotte web team headed up by "the master of our domain" Steve Lyerly blogs are up & running. This gives us a great opportunity to share your weather reports (including photos) not only here on our website but on the air too!   

This blog will be about more than just weather and stories I may be doing on FOX News @ Ten.  I plan on talking about just about anything happening from the latest episode of "House" to whatever bad behavior "Dawson The Dog" is frustrating my wife and I with.

Today though, I want to start with some talk about weather...we're getting some much needed rain today & tomorrow but I want to bring up the big four letter "S" word...SNOW!! We're not looking at anything sizable but some early models are showing the possibility of some flurries across the Charlotte area on early Monday morning.  The timing of this event is subject to plenty of changes before then, but right now it appears a small flurry window would be open between 2-6 am Monday morning.  To get snow, the temperatures will need to be cold enough to allow snowflakes to fall to the surface without melting, and this far out are tough to predict.  We're not just talking about the temperature here at the surface but miles above it. That's what can make snow forecasting especially difficult.

I got a good taste of snow over my Christmas vacation when my wife & I traveled to visit my family all across Wisconsin over Christmas.

I'm going to try & post a few of those photos here on the blog...more to come...

Derek