Ron_Jackson's Blog

A HEAT ADVISORY is in affect for the Dallas/Ft. Worth area through Saturday and an EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH is in affect for Sunday and Monday.  The HEAT ADVISORY has been issued when overnight low temperatures will drop to around 80 degrees AND the Heat Index will range between 105-110 degrees.  The EXCESSIVE HEAT WATCH is a little more serious.  Overnight low temperatures will remain around 80 degrees BUT the Heat Index values will possibly climb to ABOVE 110 degrees!  The reason for this is quite simple..........higher humidity.

I can't stress enough for everyone to be careful and to try to stay in air conditioned facilities as much as possible.  If you're outside, try to stay out of the sun.  REMEMBER, the official temperatures you hear on television are taken in the shade.  If you're out in the sun, you can easily add 10-15 degrees to that. Outside activities should be held to a minimum during the afternoon hours. If you need to work outside, try doing it in the early morning hours when temperatures are 'fairly' pleasant.

Drink plenty of water and stay away from alcoholic drinks.

AND FOR GOSH SAKE, TAKE CARE OF YOUR PETS !!  Plenty of fresh water IF you keep them outside.  I know everyone doesn't spoil their pets like I do, which includes their own personal fans in the house (that's sick isn't it?), but PLEASE take care of them.  They feel the heat  much WORSE than you do because of the fur.  It makes me sick to my stomach thinking that some people have them chained outside in this heat.  Possibly without 'cool' water and even an area to go into to stay out of the sun.  But, that's me.

Have a good weekend and just be smart.  Unfortunately, the excessive heat will continue through much of next week.

After a beautiful weekend, many people may start to believe that we're going to begin a dry spell here in North Texas.  NOT JUST YET!  The upper level dynamics continue to show that the spring season has not ended.  Showers and thunderstorms will continue off and on for the next several days as an upper level low continues to 'dig' to our southwest.  There will be a chance of heavy thunderstorms by Wednesday.

The end of the week looks nice, with plenty of sunshine and temperatures climbing into the lower 90s!

Enjoy the cloudy and damp weather everyone.  In a couple of months you're going to wish you had days like this.  We need all the rain we can get before the dry months of July, August, and September arrive.

The month of June is usually dry, however many of us remember how wet it was last summer, don't we?

 I would give anything to know why people think this.  It IS absolutely absurd to believe that tornadoes do NOT hit large cities, but I constantly get asked that question.  Amazing.  Maybe some people think that the 'heat island' effect from large cities will 'shoo' tornadoes away.  Sorry folks, it doesn't work like that.

Ask the people in Atlanta on Friday.  Ask the people in Atlanta on Saturday when another tornado MAY have possibly hit.  This is the first time in recorded history that the city of Atlanta has been hit by a tornado. 

Tornadoes DO hit cities.  How about Ft. Worth? How about Nashville, Tennessee, a few years ago?  How about Miami?  ALL of these cities have been struck by tornadoes in recent years.

I think we tend to believe that tornadoes hit only rural areas and mobile homes.  This could not be further from the truth.  Tornadoes CAN hit just about anywhere in the deep south...cities or open fields have the same chances of being struck.

Be safe everyone.

As an alumnus from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, I can't begin to tell you how my heart sank after hearing about the tragedy that took place on Thursday.  Northern has ALWAYS been, and will always be, a great school.  Located about 80 miles west of Chicago, it was always known as a 'suitcase' college, in which most students went home for the weekend.

Cole Hall, which is where the shooting took place, was very familiar to me.  I had several Meteorology classes in that auditorium during the late 1970's.  Northern Illinois University is NOT necessarily known for its athletics, but IS known for Business Majors.  It also has an excellent program for Meteorology students.

Personally, I can't imagine what the students must be going through right now.  Something that will obviously stick in their minds, as well as mine,  forever.  God Bless them all.

No doubt about it, weather like this is fantastic!  You wish you could bottle it up and save it, don't you?  Well....things are about to change.

Clouds will be on the increase by Monday and with a fairly strong disturbance out west, we could see a few showers and thunderstorms.  SOME of the storms COULD be heavy late Monday night and into Tuesday.

There are indications that the weather will turn much colder by the end of the week.  Of course we can't rule out the possibility of winter precipitation, but as of right now a cold rain may fall next Saturday and Sunday with daytime highs only in the lower 50s.  This is several degrees below normal for the 2nd week of February.

Enjoy the weather everyone, but as they say in Texas, "Stick around for a while and it'll change.!"

It's NOT to unusual to see cold, dreary, wet days in the winter time across North Texas.  I know it's depressing, but weather like this happens quite often in the months of January and February.  The rain is definitely a welcome sight and it's actually the first measurable rainfall we've had for 2008!

Light drizzle will continue through the night and with it the chance of fog by early Tuesday morning.  As a cold front moves through the area on Tuesday, most of the precipitation should also be moving off.  Cold and windy conditions can be expected for the next several days as daytime highs will ONLY be in the 40s.

Another chance of rain will arrive towards the end of the week.  There are SOME indications that we COULD see a little freezing drizzle with this next cold front, but as of right now we'll simply call for a cold rain.

Stay warm everyone!  You're going to wish you had days like this in the middle of summer!

Weather conditions will be ideal for the Packers/Cowboys tonight.  Kick off temperatures will be in the middle 50s under partly cloudy skies.  Skies will cloud up late in the game, but NO rain is expected.  For kickers, the winds will also be perfect!  Light winds around 3-6 MPH are expected throughout the evening hours.

Sweaters or a light jacket should be all you need IF you're lucky enough to have tickets.

Enjoy the game everyone.

Ron Jackson
Fox 4 Meteorologist

Unseasonably warm weather will continue for the next couple of days until a STRONG Arctic Front moves in during the day on Wednesday.  This front will bring a chance of  rain, but the bid notice will be the strong northerly winds ushering in very cold air!  Afternoon high temperatures will be struggling to get out of the 40s on Thursday and Friday with overnight lows in the 30s. 

Right now, it might NOT freeze here in the Metroplex, but it's not a bad idea to bring in your plants by Wednesday evening.  Some of the outlying areas COULD POSSIBLY see a freeze by Thursday and Friday mornings, however it's still a little to early to tell.

Be ready everyone, the coldest air of the season IS COMING!

Have a happy Thanksgiving everybody, and try not to eat too much!  By the way.......................................GO COWBOYS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My main idol since High School is heading to Dallas.  For 1 night only at the Majestic Theater on Tuesday, August 23rd.  I searched and searched and found 2 tickets in the 'House Section.'  Center seating in row 8..........PERFECT!

I haven't seen this guy since the middle 70s when he performed in Chicago and Milwaukee, so it will be interesting to see how 'things' have changed.  I must have been pretty sick to go see this guy one week, and then the next week see the same show in a different city.

Anyway, I'll do a follow up and let you know what I thought of the concert.   Hope to see some of you there perhaps!

YOU HAVE BEEN 4-WARNED! 

Big changes are coming in tomorrow and a lot of people are going to wonder why nobody said anything about it.  Well, I mentioned it last night and will again...at 9PM Sunday...that a strong cold front will arrive after midnight bringing MUCH colder weather with some showers and thunderstorms.  Wind Chills MAY be in the 40s Monday morning with daytime highs struggling to get out of the middle 50s!  This is a huge change from what we had on Sunday when we reached a high of 90 degrees.  This was only 4 degrees away from a record.   

You wanted Fall-like weather, and here it comes everyone! Dress accordingly and take care of your pets IF you keep them outside.  Temperatures will warm back up into the 70s by the end of the week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, Fall is still here.  BUT, the temperatures aren't cooperating.  Even though it has been quite pleasant during the morning hours, afternoon highs remain over 5 degrees above normal.  This pattern won't change much, even though a frontal system will give us a good chance for showers and thunderstorms on Monday.

The normal high temperature is 80 degrees.  As it looks right now, temperatures will remain in the middle 80s for much of next week.

Eventually, it will get cooler...........just not yet.
 

 

 

Fall officially begins on Sunday at 4:51am CDT.  A time when the sun is directly over the equator...also known as the Autumnal Equinox.   NOW, since we have that over with, ARE YOU READY FOR SOME COOLER WEATHER?  Unfortunately, I don't see anything real dramatic in the upcoming week.  A weak cold front will try to slip through here on Wednesday, and that MAY drop the temperatures a couple of degrees.  That is about it.

We may also see a few showers as the front lingers across the region for a couple of days.  The normal high temperature for this time of year is 86 degrees.  There are NO indications that we'll have readings that 'cool' anytime soon.

But enjoy it.  October is normally a change in transition from one season to another and we will eventually see stronger fronts making it into the area.  It would be nice to see rain again, even though we're still over 18" above normal for the year.

Happy FALL everyone! 

I must be sick, or obsessed about fat cats.  I have adopted another one from the friendly people at Operation Kindness.  Jonnie England, Executive Director of Operation Kindness thought of ME right away when she ran across this 'monster.'  His name is Rascal, and this IS A HUGE CAT!  I will post a picture of him soon and plan on showing pictures of him on Good Day Saturday THIS coming Saturday morning.  I hope you get a chance to see him.

A VERY friendly cat even though he's hiding quite a bit around the house right now.  I'm letting him keep his distance until he gets more relaxed around the house.  If you have any 'fat' cats, show me a picture of him.  Even though I love cats, my dog 'Sir Lancelot', my Black Lab, is still my best friend and my favorite pet............but please don't tell Rascal.

Stay tuned....pictures coming soon.....

 

Temperatures for the next couple of days will continue to climb into the upper 90s to near 100. The Heat Index will be between 102-107, so make sure you dress your kids accordingly for school on Monday. IF your school does not have a dress code, it is best to dress them in light colored clothing and preferably some type of cotton material which can 'breathe.'   A hat or a visor would be nice to keep the sun off their faces if your school allows that.  Sun glasses or even sunscreen would also benefit IF their going to spend any time outside. Tell them to take it easy outside and don't over exert themselves.  Just use a little common sense. PLUS...an AIR POLLUTION WATCH - LEVEL ORANGE is in effect so the young and the elderly also need to take it easy.

The long range forecast DOES suggest some minor changes towards the end of the week. A weak cold front will try to slip through here on Friday sparking a few scattered showers with slightly 'cooler' temperatures. Afternoon highs will find us in the lower 90s which is slightly below normal for this time of year.

Another reminder....PLEASE..PLEASE take care of your pets. IF you have them outside make sure they have plenty of shade, fresh water, and areas to run around. I know most people don't spoil them as much as I do, but remember that THEY have feelings too! It makes me literally sick to my stomach to see these poor animals CHAINED to a pole outside.

Here we go folks. Another edition of Ron's House of Horrors. Today, we feature a scorpion I recently caught climbing up the side of my house. I don't know what kind this is, but I can tell you from experience that the 'sting' is something you won't forget. There are perhaps 100s of different types of scorpions and feel THIS particular one is probably  NOT one of the most dangerous. Hope you enjoy the video...