Wild Weather Wednesday

Today’s Forecast

Good morning and happy Wednesday! I hope everyone has had an amazing week so far and has managed to stay dry! With a hazardous weather outlook currently issued by the National Weather Service, multiple waves of rain will continue throughout our area until Friday. Minor issues of flooding are possible, as well as, isolated strong to severe storms overnight. The main threat of these storms are strong winds and heavy rain. Today highs continue to stay in the lower 70s with lows in lower 60s. Tomorrow the rain will continue to cool things down slightly with highs in the upper 60s and lows in the upper 40s. Luckily, heading into this weekend we start to see those sunny skies reappear. Friday will be sunny, but breezy with highs in the lower 60s and lows in the mid 40s. Warming up, Saturday and Sunday will be beautiful sunny days with highs in the mid 70s and lows in the upper 50s.

Recent Wild Weather

Well, I couldn’t ignore the biggest topic of the week when sitting down to write my “Wild Weather Wednesday” blog entry. The 2024 solar eclipse is in the books, and it certainly brought all the feels from all different parts of the country. There were many people along the path of totality that had beautiful clear views, and there were others that saw nothing but clouds. I was fortunate enough to make a nearly two hour drive from campus to just outside of Evansville, Indiana with a group of my meteorology friends to view the eclipse in totality. It did NOT disappoint. Being in the path of totality with a clear view of the eclipse is a feeling that can’t really be described. Just one of those “you had to be there” kind of moments. Reports coming from the National Weather Service say that in Evansville, Indiana the length of totality was just over 3 minutes and the temperature dropped 7 degrees during the height of the eclipse. I personally witnessed this, as well as, the streets lights coming on and the birds going silent. It’s such a unique experience that I think everyone should have at least once in their lifetime. This is the second time I have experienced a total solar eclipse, due to the fact that the 2017 eclipse’s path (when I was just a freshman in high school) went straight over my hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. It was actually at 99% totality, but we still had a very similar experience as to what I had on Monday. I feel blessed to have experienced this not once, but twice, in my 21 years of life. For those that didn’t get a clear view of the eclipse this time around you will have to wait another 20 years for the next one to cross the United States. In 2044 and 2045 solar eclipses will make their way across the US, with the 2045 eclipse crossing the most states of these two; spanning from California all the way to Florida. Now if you don’t want to wait it out you can always go international as the next total solar eclipse will occur on August 12, 2026 crossing over the northern half of Spain. So, as the famous Spanish quote goes “Que sera sera”… what will be will be!

This incredible image was captured in Albion, IL by our very own Meteorology professor Dr. Josh Durkee

Wild Weather this Day in History

For this wild weather Wednesday day in history we will, ironically, look back on an event labeled by residents and meteorologist alike as “Terrible Tuesday”. On April 10, 1979 an F4 tornado ripped through Wichita Falls, Texas. It killed 43 residents and caused 300 million dollars worth of damage. This particular outbreak of tornadoes is also referred to as “The Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak”. There were 61 confirmed tornados over the span of a 38 hour period with the Whichta Falls tornado being the highest rated on the Fujita scale. This outbreak spanned across the Midwestern and Southern United States eventually taking the lives of 58 people and injuring 1,927 others. This storm system also triggered the notable 1979 Easter Flood in Jackson, Mississippi resulting in one death. The evacuation of 15,000 residents, and 500 million dollars in damages.