Hot everywhere, from Indy

I am at hotel in Indianapolis, IN, about to go and give final talk of this weeks whirlwind 3-NWS tour.  Talk at NWS Chicago went great yesterday…they are very interested in our research on gravity waves, and I have now found 2 people who used to work the old WSR-57 radars (like the one at Centreville before 1995) in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and they used to see what they called “arc echoes” that moved fast (60-80 mph), moved through storms, and intensified them.  Afer looking at my modern radar echoes from gravity waves, they seem to think that’s what they were seeing way back then!  Cool. 

A note about Chicago…great NWS office, but some of the worst traffic and roads I’ve ever seen.  I hit the toll booths in a thunderstorm.  Wow.  You have to change interstates many times everywhere you go.  There are at least 9 interstates (94, 294, 90, 80, 355, 55, 57, 290, 190) in Chicago, not counting limited-access expressways (BHM has 4, 20, 59, 65, and 459).  I-355 was Ronald Reagan Memorial Freeway according to the GPS, but I never saw those signs. 

After an NWS talk in Indianapolis at 1 pm EDT (Indiana is on eastern time), it’s south toward Alabama.  I have Lynard Skynard and the group Alabama music ready.  It’s always nice to come home to Alabama.

PS I know it’s hot in BHM, 95 or so again today, but they are expecting mid 90s HERE today.  That has to be 20 or 30 degrees above normal.  This reminds me a little of fall 2000, when it stayed warm way into the fall, then the stored up cold air came zooming in and we had a very cold December.

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