Tips for the Gulf South TV Forecaster

Moving to a new TV market is tough. I’m putting together some of the most important websites you’ll need to hit the ground running. Good Luck! Since the Gulf South is driven in a large part by the tropics during the summertime, you will have many days of frustation before you begin to learn the patterns and the different small scale boundaries that can develop.  Severe weather develops rapidly, especially in the fall, winter and spring. Even a summertime thunderstorm can cause flooding in the streets. Of course snow is not a common occurence, but if you get all the right ingredients, you will have a miracle snow day during a cold winter.  

 Looking at the radar and satellite, (if your shop doesn’t have what you need, go to the National Weather Service Eastern Region Headquarters and Aviation Weather) to get a general idea of the weather pattern.

Use your synoptic scale models (large scale models) to get storm placement, flow patterns, and 850 mb temperatures, and precipitation amounts (this is available at Unisys Weather), and make a short-term forecast. Look at atmospheric forecast soundings  site, especially if thunderstorms are expected, to determine severity. Make sure you visit the Storm Prediction Center to see if you are in a risk category for thunderstorms.

Generally, your local NWS office can give you the risk of inland flooding due to repeated storms, but here’s a link to the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center – Inland Flooding in case that is a concern during repeated storm events or a tropical storm has moved inland.

Tides are extremely important for coastal communities, here’s a link to Tide Predictions for Gulf States. Marine and boating forecasters also generally use buoy data. NOAA Buoys Gulf of Mexico

Make an extended 7-day forecast using the latest and most complete suite of extended model runs (e.g. the GFS), available at NCEP Model Analyses and Forecasts.

Also, you’ll need a temperature forecast to compare all of your graphical data against for a highs/lows forecast.  The best place to find MOS (Model Output Statistics) is Current NWS MOS Forecast Products.

When it comes to tropical weather, which can also often be a player, things can get even more interesting, here’s a link to my blog on Tracking Hurricanes.

Oh! One added note, sea fog can develop in the wintertime along the Gulf South. The NWS Office in New Orleans has a decision tree Sea Fog Forecasting to help you forecast a sea fog event in the wintertime. It’s fascinating!