Around 5pm this evening (June 11th) I was going to pick up my daughter at her friend’s house not a mile away…along the way I couldn’t help myself….I had to stop and take a picture of these…
They are called Mammatus clouds.
Mammatus Clouds
These clouds were formed about 100 miles to the north of a cluster of supercell thunderstorms that developed over Brown and Eastland counties. The minute I got home, I checked the radar and sure enough there were tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings for the storms south of this incredible display of Mother Nature.
When you see these clouds…just know that the atmosphere is EXTREMELY unstable. These clouds look like little pillows all placed randomly about in the sky. Mammatus can occur just a few miles away from severe weather, or more than 100 miles away, just like these today.
Of all the severe weather related clouds, these are my favorite. They are so benign, yet indicate danger is not far away. After a crazy day and night and severe thunderstorms Wed night and Thurs morning, I was a bit worried by these, but once I got a look at the radar, I knew they were just a tease. Warning us in the metro that nasty storms weren’t far away, but close enough to stay on guard.
Now you know..so next time you see them..be prepared for a “bumpy ride”!
Kristine
This morning, I drove through the driving rain to the KLTY studios in Irving where I recorded a half hour long interview with Minette Riordan. She is the founder and publisher of North Texas Kid’s Magazine. She also hosts a radio show that airs between 2-2:30pm 5 days a week on KWRD The Word 100.7 FM.
She invited me to be on the show to talk about my faith, my family, my new life outside of TV and of course Katie. She is an amazing woman and is so easy to talk to. We had a great time and time just flew by. I”m looking forward to meeting with her again to brainstorm and share marketing ideas for my business and of course the release of the next book in the Katie series.
Minette Riordan and Me
I’ll Twitter to let you know the date the interview will air. Probably in the next few weeks.
You can listen by podcast straight from her website and I’ll be working to link the podcast directly to my website as well.
Thank you Minette.
Stay dry everyone….looks like we aren’t done with the rain yet!
A strong upper level ridge of high pressure over Mexico will stand strong for the next 2-3 days at least. A weak disturbance will rotate around the north side of the upper ridge to bring North Texas a chance for strong to severe storms late this evening and tonight.
Here is the Storm Prediction Center’s Day 1 severe weather outlook for today and tonight.
Severe Storm Outlook
Notice how most of the action should be just to the NW of the DFW area. But we are close enough that we should watch the weather closely for storms that could produce large hail and damaging winds.
Most of us won’t see a drop of rain, but with highs in the mid 90′s and dewpoints in the 60′s today, the juice and heat energy is there to feed storms that can get started. I think most of the storms will be late after 9pm.
After today..the ridge strengthens a bit and a weak cap will develop over much of North Texas, and storm chances will be much lower Tuesday. But Wednesday could be an interesting day as another disturbance and cool front enter the picture.
Have to say, this is the first time since leaving the station that I’ve put together a forecast. Didn’t realize how much I missed it.
I’ll try and do this more often. Have a great day everyone!
Kristine
I know most of you know that Katie and the Magic Umbrella is available at all major bookstores and on Amazon. But you may not know that there is a huggable plush Katie doll too and that both items are now available for purchase at 3 locations in the metroplex.
The newest location is at The Vineyards Antique Mall in Colleyville off of Hwy 26. I just set up this display on Monday. I want to thank Yvonne Starnes with Kloey’s Fairytale Resale for sharing a portion of her wonderful retail space with me.
Newest Katie Display
If you need a gift of any kind or just love antiquing, you must stop by The Vineyards. They have everything from old rusty wagons to stylish new women’s wear and yes, children’s resale. If your kids love Webkinz, the booth next to mine has buy one get one 1/2 off!
My products are also being sold at the Owl’s Nest in Southlake in Towns Square and at Willow Cottage at beautiful little boutique store right off of Main Street in downtown Grapevine.
I’m looking for new locations in Dallas, Ft . Worth and key locations around North Texas. So if you or someone you know happens to own a retail outlet and is looking for a new vendor, I’d love to chat!
Stay tuned….Katie’s Magic Umbrella is in production and coming soon!
I’m a few weeks late posting this because it’s taken me this long to download the photos off my camera.
On Saturday May 16th, I had my final spring book signing at a wonderful new family owned and operated bookstore called The Book Carriage. It’s this fabulous 2 story bookstore that just opened up in Roanoke. Their website: www.thebookcarriage.com
Have you ever heard of Babe’s I don’t know may people in NE Tarrant county that don’t about Babe’s. Well the Book Carriage is just down the street. So you can spend the afternoon reading in this fabulous and friendly bookstore, then hop on down the road to stuff yourself with some of Babe’s famous fried chicken.
Anyway…owners Larry and Angie Granado own The Book Carriage and they hosted a book signing event where I read to a nice group of 20-30 parents and children in one of their upstairs meeting rooms. It was a rainy, stormy day too. What better way to get everyone in the mood to read a weather adventure book?
Angie Granado(left), Kristine Kahanek, Judy Bell(right)
I want to thank Larry, Angie, and their wonderful staff, including Judy Bell for inviting me into their book kingdom and for supporting the success of my writing adventure.
Kristine
This Friday morning, I’ll be a proud mother at my daughter’s 1st grade awards program at school. I’m hoping I can stay for the whole event before heading to another very special event….
I will be the guest speaker at a luncheon in Arlington sponsored by the Friends of the Library. I am really looking forward to sharing my experience as an author and publisher and of course, now retired TV meteorologist. Should be a great time and a great opportunity to share what I’ve been doing and plan to do now that I’m able to focus full-time on my business and new opportunities outside of TV.
If you have a passion for reading and books and are looking for an organization to belong to that really helps bring vital volunteers and resources to it’s local library…become a friend of the library.
My first exposure to “the friends of the library” was in Rockwall where I did my very first book signing back in September when “Katie and the Magic Umbrella” was first released. These ladies made sure everything was set up and ready for my event. They helped with sales so I could focus on signing and meeting guests who came for the reading…they even fed me before I left! After all, it does take a lot of effort to read to 50+ children all under the age of 7!
Anyway…I’m really looking forward to enjoying a fabulous lunch at Cacharel ( a fabulous French Restaurant) with my Arlington “Friends” on Friday.
Kristine
I can’t believe June is almost here..let alone the official start of the Atlantic/Caribbean hurricane season.
It kicks off June first, and we are already seeing the signs that the upper level steering winds are beginning to transition across the Gulf from a cool weather season pattern to a warm season pattern. In fact, North Texas will see it’s share of tropical rain showers this Memorial Day weekend due to a tropical-type system that developed over the Florida and is now moving west (not east) across the north Gulf of Mexico.
During the winter months these winds are predominantly for the west carrying systems from west to east. But during the summer months these winds are much weaker and/or switch to the east which often carry tropical systems westward into Texas and the gulf coast.
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) just released it’s forecast this week for the 2009 Atlantic/Caribbean hurricane season. Their scientists are predicting a 70% chance that we’ll see:
14 named storms, 4-7 hurricanes, and 1-3 of those will be major hurricanes (cat 3 or higher). This would make it an active season. What’s “normal”? An average season typically brings 11 named storms, 6 hurricanes with 2 majors.
Of course they can’t possibly predict where those hurricanes will develop or if they’ll make landfall. But realize that it only takes one landfalling hurricane to make a bad season.
Why the active season? Evidently researchers have noticed the oceanic and atmospheric conditions are similar now to the conditions that began a very active era starting in 1995. They have observed increased rainfall over western Africa, warmer Atlantic waters and decreased wind shear over the tropics which allows tropical systems to breed and strengthen.
They also do note that what could kill the season is if El Nino strengthens over the eastern equatorial Pacific ocean. This would influence ocean temperatures and wind patterns not only in the Pacific, but the Atlantic. I’m okay with that!
Climate Factors (NOAA)
The first name on the list…Ana.
While tropical systems are a sure fire way to bring North Texas rain during the hot, dry summer months…we don’t want the hurricanes of late (like Ike) last year that killed many fellow Texans and displaced hundreds of thousands. The coastal areas near Houston and Galveston still haven’t fully recovered.
Hurricane Ike (NOAA)
There are 35 million people living near and along coastlines who are at risk of being impacted by tropical storms that develop in the Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean waters. While so many of us welcome those lazy days of summer, there are 35 million who always have an eye on the weather map…just in case.
Had a blast doing a radio interview with Rebel and Heywood Friday morning on The Ranch Radio. Gave away a couple of books and had a great time chatting about weather and TV and family. You can find them on the FM dial every weekday from 7-10am.
Here I am posing with Rebel and Heywood holding a cool pink guitar.
A Little Bit Country
If only I could play. My brother got the real music talent. His a fabulous guitarist and musician in LA. Here’s where to go to listen. www.briankahanek.com
I plan on using the summer to focus on finishing the second book in the Katie and the Magic Umbrella series. The first book A Stormy Adventure covered all the main aspects of a thunderstorm. Book #2 is called Katie and the Magic Umbrella: On Snowflake Trail. This one I am so excited about. It will teach kids about severe winter storms and the fun side of winter weather ..and there’s even a new character. A hint: he has 4 legs and is very furry! I’m really going to try and get this out in time for the winter season.
My dilemma now is what weather topic to cover in Book #3.
I have some ideas…
1. Tornadoes
2. The Water Cycle
3. Hurricanes
Vote Now…or make a suggestion.
(Remember I’m reaching 4-8 year olds and trying to work with curriculum that fits nicely with TAKS requirements)
Thanks a million!
Kristine
I’ll be live on 95.9 FM-The Ranch beginning at 9:30am. My host will be Heywood.. this fabulously funny guy who is never afraid to tell it like it is.
They play a lot of classic country with great jocks who can definitely entertain. The cool thing too is that they are located right in the heart of Ft. Worth, whereas most of our DFW stations are closer to Dallas. So this station really has the heartbeat and the soul of Ft. Worth.
Their website: www.959theranch.com
Not sure what we are going to talk about..but I’m sure the question as to why my early “retirement” will come up.
Stay tuned!
Kristine
