THE POSSIBILITY OF SNOW?

Well, I was talking about severe wx yesterday which didn't pan out, but today the tables turn to some possible winter wx. The NW TX panhandle is currently in a winter weather advisory. I'm going to try to make it up to Cimarron county OK today to get some snow video for the station. Here is the NWS text for the advisory.

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO TX
532 AM CDT THU OCT 29 2009

...SOME SNOW TODAY...

.A STRONG UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE FOUR CORNERS REGION WILL
MOVE INTO NORTHERN NEW MEXICO TODAY. THIS WILL GENERATE MORE LIGHT
RAIN ACROSS THE PANHANDLES BUT AS TEMPERATURES FALL TO NEAR THE
FREEZING MARK BY THE AFTERNOON...ANY LIGHT RAIN WILL MIX WITH AND
CHANGE OVER TO SNOW ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE
AND IN THE NORTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE. SNOWFALL TOTALS OF ONE TO TWO
INCHES ARE POSSIBLE WITH THE HIGHEST TOTALS IN THE NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA
PANHANDLE. SNOW SHOULD DIMINISH BY THIS EVENING AS THE UPPER LOW
SLIDES ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.

OKZ001-002-TXZ001-002-006-007-011-291845-
/O.NEW.KAMA.WW.Y.0006.091029T1032Z-091030T0000Z/
CIMARRON-TEXAS-DALLAM-SHERMAN-HARTLEY-MOORE-OLDHAM-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BOISE CITY...KEYES...GUYMON...DALHART...
STRATFORD...HARTLEY...CHANNING...DUMAS...VEGA
532 AM CDT THU OCT 29 2009

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS
EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AMARILLO HAS ISSUED A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW FOR THE WESTERN OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE AND THE
NORTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING.

A MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW WILL BEGIN ACROSS THE NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA
PANHANDLE THIS MORNING. AS TEMPERATURES COOL OFF TO NEAR
FREEZING...THIS RAIN WILL MIX WITH AND CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW IN THE
NORTHWEST TEXAS PANHANDLE BY THE AFTERNOON. TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS
OF ONE TO TWO INCHES ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS SYSTEM...WITH THE HIGHEST
ACCUMULATIONS IN THE NORTHWEST OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW...SLEET...OR
FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR
SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE
DRIVING.

A POSSIBILITY FOR STORMS TONIGHT

A powerful upper level low is digging into the four corners area as we speak. As the day progresses, it will meander closer, and a cold front will sag from the north. These two features will work together to spark off a few severe thunderstorm mainly after dark in the eastern tx panhandle. Shear is strong, so if storms can somehow start off discreet, there may be a chance of a tornado or two. Even if storms start of discreet, they will quickly transition into a fast moving squall line with damaging winds and large hail being the main threat. I'll most likely be out covering the storms for the station I chase for, so stay tuned for some possible updates and photos/video.

A LOCAL FALL PHOTOGRAPHY TRIP

Had a pretty crappy day today, literally! And no, I didn't eat at Taco Bell before I left. LOL
I went on Hwy.60 (80 miles NE of Amarillo) between Miami and Canadian to get some fall photo ops. Everything is going good as I'm taking photos in a small roadside park. I get back in the vehicle and smell the most God awful smell. I knew what it was as I looked at my shoe. Needless, to say, I found some grass and tried to get it off. I then had to try to get it off my carpeted floor mat. After that fiasco, I was back to taking photos. After about 10 more minutes of taking photos, my CF memory card in my camera failed. I was about done for the day anyway, but I didn't know if I could save the photos or not. Fortunately I could, and the failure just wouldn't let me take more photos. I had another memory card, but he light was fading and I wanted to go get that stink out of my vehicle. What a day!!! I think the crap on my shoe was worth the photos though!

WTAMU UPSETS ACU

Most of you may not know, but I went to college at WTAMU in Canyon, TX which is just south of Amarillo. Hence, I'm a big WT fan, especially when it comes to their football program. WT has been doing very well this year, but this year they have struggled a bit due to 2 players going to the NFL and the others graduating from last years team. We have a young team this year which is the main reason we have been struggling. What hurt us even more is this. Our star running back, Keithon Flemming was injured in practice about a week before the season started and didn't get to play until October 10th.

Our record coming into Saturday October 18th was 2-5 which was disappointing after the great seasons we have previously had. We went into the game Saturday playing the #1 team in the nation which was Abilene Christian. Abilene has not lost a regular season game in 2 years! The last time they got beat, it was WT that did it. Well, I have great joy in saying that we beat ACU yesterday 32 to 21!!! In the history of WT football, we had never before beat a #1 ranked team before.

Running back Keithon Flemming had 4 touchdowns to his name and the Buffs defense looked incredibly good. I am so proud of these guys for showing true grit and determination when things didn't look so bright for them. They deserve this victory, and I think it's the most important win ever in the football program. All I can say is this:

GO BUFFS!!!

THE BELOW PHOTO IS WHAT THE BUFFS LOOKED LIKE JUST 3 WEEKS AGO. NOW, THEIR HEADS ARE HELD HIGH AFTER BEATING THE #1 TEAM IN THE NATION!

SELF PORTRAIT

As you all know, I've been on a real photo kick lately. Nothing really going on with the weather around here so I have to do something. I haven't taken a self portrait in a while, so I took one today just for kicks. I went with the old black and white style with a little noise thrown in for character.

A LITTLE BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY

I went out today with my new Canon 70-300mm lens and got some bird photography at a local park-lake. I got the lens last week and I have to say that I'm very pleased with it. I bought the lens for wildlife photography and I'm still new at this, so be easy on me. Here are a few photos.

A FEW PHOTOS FROM SUNDAY TURNED BLACK AND WHITE

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the foggy wx on Sunday turned black and white for more drama and effect. I personally like the b&w better.

DREARY DAY IN THE TX PANHANDLE

It was a chilly and foggy fall day in the TX Panhandle today. Temps barely made it to the mid 50's today with fog and light mist most of the day. It was a great day to stay in and watch football, but I just had to get out and get a few photos.