Wacky Weather

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
600 PM PDT SUN MAR 30 2008

From NWSFO PDX ! Doesn't surprise me that this week, we've had snow, rain, sun, hail, wind, lightning, thunder, and now Funnel Cloud. Welcome to a La Nina spring in the Northwest !

Bobby

ORZ007-310900-
CENTRAL WILLAMETTE VALLEY-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...SALEM...MCMINNVILLE...DALLAS
600 PM PDT SUN MAR 30 2008

...FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED NEAR WOODBURN IN MARION COUNTY...

AT 547 PM PDT THE PUBLIC REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD 5 MILES SOUTH OF
WOODBURN IN MARION COUNTY AND THEN LOST SIGHT OF IT SHORTLY AFTER THAT.
IT MOST LIKELY DISSIPATED SHORTLY AFTER IT FORMED. THE AIR MASS IS
UNSTABLE AND IT IS NOT UNCOMMON FOR THESE TYPES OF FUNNELS TO FORM
IN THIS WEATHER PATTERN. IT IS MUCH LESS LIKELY FOR ONE TO TOUCH
DOWN ON THE GROUND. IF THEY DO HOWEVER THEY CAN CAUSE DAMAGE.

U.S. Tsunami Warning System Complete !

NOAA has finished placing buoys for the U.S. Tsunami Warning System. The final two buoys were put in place last week, just off the Solomon Islands. NOAA has placed over 35 DART buoys around the world. You can read more about the Warning System here. For a map of the buoys, click on Map.

The Weather Channel Bidding War Begins !

The New York Times is reporting that several media companies are ready to bid for Landmark Communications number one property, The Weather Channel. Landmark has set a deadline for this Friday, March 7th, for bids to be submitted. You can read the story here.

It will be interesting to see who makes the most aggressive bid. The key thing to remember is that while the cable network is valuable, the website weather.com is the most valuable piece of the puzzle. If I had to make a guess, I think General Electric (Parent Company of NBC) will take the prize and join The Weather Channel with Weather Plus. If Weather Plus and The Weather Channel do end up merging, you have the most powerful news operation and weather network under one roof. That's a very powerful combination.