Fun with the Forecastronic — but a severe threat looms 

I’m pretty sure it was obvious, but yes, the Forecastronic was, in fact, an April Fool’s joke. I hope you enjoyed it. It was a fun introduction to this blog for a lot of folks — kind of a kickoff as we get going here. :) While the main page has reverted, the Forecastronic page will live on for posterity (though it won’t be updated).

I’ve reverted the site a bit early, though, because we might have trouble tomorrow. Here’s the Day 2 convective outlook from the Storm Prediction Center:

Day 2 Convective Outlook

While a majority of the action is going to be concentrated in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia (where a moderate risk of severe weather is forecast, which is pretty significant), the bulk of the energy which could foster severe storms may move into the Carolinas — and the Charleston metro — after midnight. This is something we’ll want to keep a watch on, as large hail, damaging winds, and a tornado threat all come packaged with this system. Expect rain and some embedded thunderstorms during most of the day Thursday, with a gradual worsening of the weather into the night. RADAR already indicates some shower and thunderstorm activity to our southwest moving eastward, so there’s a fairly decent chance of some thunderstorms tonight.

These nighttime systems are especially dangerous because most people are sleeping, so it behooves you today to make sure that you are prepared for the possibility of severe weather. A NOAA Weather Radio is always a good choice. Have that severe weather action plan ready, too.

I know that there have been a couple instances this year where severe scenarios haven’t panned out the way they were expected — and this one could be no different hence the “slight” rating (which we’ve had several times this year). However, the nighttime threat does prompt the need for a little more caution and watchfulness tomorrow night.