________________

Sorry, no winner this week. Here is my weekly weather quiz question for the last time. When tornadoes strike they have very strong winds. It is not possible to actually measure the winds created by tornadoes, so Dr. T. Ted Fujita created a scale of wind speeds based on the damage caused by the tornado. As of 2007  his designations have been changed. For example a tornado was listed as an F4 and now might be designated as an EF4. What does the “E” stand for and what does it mean? The Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale) rates the strength of tornadoes in the United States based on the damage they cause. Implemented in place of the Fujita scale introduced in 1971 by Ted Fujita, it began operational use on February 1, 2007. The scale has the same basic design as the original Fujita scale: six categories from zero to five representing increasing degrees of damage. It was revised to reflect better examinations of tornado damage surveys, so as to align wind speeds more closely with associated storm damage. Better standardizing and elucidating what was previously subjective and ambiguous, it also adds more types of structures, vegetation, expands degrees of damage, and better accounts for variables such as differences in construction quality. The new scale was publicly unveiled by the National Weather Service at a conference of the American Meteorological Society in Atlanta on February 2, 2006. It was developed from 2000 to 2004 by the Fujita Scale Enhancement Project of the Wind Science and Engineering Research Center at Texas Tech University, which brought together dozens of expert meteorologists and civil engineers in addition to its own resources. To see the Fujita scale and the Enhanced Fujita Scale go to: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/satellite/satelliteseye/educational/fujita.html

I’ll have another weekly weather quiz question for you next Monday. Please remember to post your answer as a comment by clicking on “no comments /comments” in the upper right hand portion of this page under the caption, then add your comment. The first person to post the correct answer will win a week of free personalized weather forecasts tailored to your needs. The answer has to be a comment to win. An email answer will not count.

________________

Advisories: NONE AT THIS TIME.

_______________

Forecast for the Southern and lower Mid Willamette Valley including Eugene-Springfield and Albany-Corvallis: Mostly cloudy, some sun breaks that will help generate storms, with showers and a slight (20%) chance of thunderstorms this afternoon and evening (0.25 in. of rain possible), a good (50%) chance of scattered showers tonight (0.10 in. of rain possible, more in storms, small hail possible), mostly cloudy Sunday with a good (50%) chance of showers (0.10 in. of rain possible), mostly cloudy with a (40%) chance of showers in the evening, partly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of showers late Sunday night (under 0.10 in. of rain possible), mostly cloudy with a (40%) chance of showers Monday AM, showers likely (60%) with a slight (20%) chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening (0.15 in. of rain possible, more in storms),  mostly cloudy with a good (50%) chance of showers likely (60%) late Monday night highs 65-68 cooling to 65 Monday lows 48-46 warming to 50 Monday night. A mix of clouds and sun Tuesday with a good (50%) chance of AM showers, a slight (20%) chance of showers in the afternoon and evening,  just partly cloudy Tuesday night through Wednesday night, mostly sunny Thursday, partly cloudy Thursday night, then a mix of clouds and sun Friday highs 68-79 cooling to 72 Friday lows 46-52. (seasonal averages high 75 low 49)

_______________

Forecast for the Umpqua Basin including Roseburg: Mostly cloudy with showers likely (60%) this AM, showers likely (60%) with a slight (20%) chance of thunderstorms this afternoon and this evening (0.15 in. of rain possible), a good (50%) chance of showers tonight (0.10 in. of rain possible, small hail possible) and Sunday (under 0.10 in. of rain possible), a (30%) chance of showers Sunday night, mostly cloudy with a good (50%) chance of showers Monday AM, showers likely (60%) with a slight (20%) chance of thunderstorms Monday afternoon and evening (small hail possible), then mostly cloudy with a good (50%) chance of showers Monday night highs 63-70 cooling to 65 Monday lows near 50. Mostly cloudy with a (30%) chance of showers Tuesday AM, partly cloudy and warmer with a (40%) chance of showers in the afternoon, partly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of showers Tuesday evening, partly cloudy Tuesday night through Thursday evening, mostly cloudy Thursday night and Friday AM, then mostly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of showers Friday afternoon highs 72-82 falling to near 80  Friday lows 49-53. (seasonal averages high 78 low 53)

_________________

Forecast for the South Oregon Coast including Coos Bay and North Bend: Cloudy with showers likely (60%) this AM, showers with a slight (20%) chance of thunderstorms this afternoon (0.20 in. of rain possible, more in storms, small hail possible) and evening, a (30%) chance of showers late tonight (0.10 in. of rain possible), mostly cloudy with a (40%) chance of showers Sunday (under 0.10 in. of rain possible), a slight (20%) chance of showers Sunday night, a good (50%) chance of showers Monday AM, coastal showers likely (60%) in the afternoon with showers inland, a good (50%) chance of showers and a slight (20%) chance of thunderstorms Monday evening, a (40%) chance of showers late Monday night highs 58-62 lows near 49. Mostly cloudy with a (30%) chance of showers Tuesday AM, partly cloudy with a (40%) chance of showers in the afternoon, a slight (20%) chance of showers in the evening, mostly cloudy late Tuesday night, partly cloudy Wednesday through Thursday evening, mostly cloudy Thursday night and Friday AM, then mostly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of showers Friday afternoon highs 59-65 cooling to near 60 Friday lows near 48-52. (seasonal averages high 63 low 51).

________________

Forecast for the Cascades of Lane County: Cloudy with AM rain and snow, rain and snow showers likely (60%) with a slight (20%) chance of thunderstorms this afternoon (2 in. of snow possible, 0.10 in. of rain possible) and evening, mostly cloudy with scattered showers late tonight, a mix of clouds and sun with a good (50%) chance of showers Sunday AM, showers likely (60%) in the afternoon, mostly cloudy with a (40%) chance of showers Sunday evening, a slight (20%) chance of showers Sunday night, mostly cloudy with a (40%) chance of showers Monday AM, showers likely (60%) with a slight (20%) chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening, then showers likely (60%) late Monday night snow level 4,500 ft. today, 6,000 ft. tonight, 6,000 ft. rising to 7,000 ft. Sunday and Sunday night, 7,500 ft. Monday, 7,500 ft. falling to 6,500 ft. late Monday night highs 46-54 lows near 37. A mix of clouds and sun with AM showers likely (60%) Tuesday, a good (50%) chance of showers Tuesday afternoon, partly cloudy with a (30%) chance of showers in the evening, partly cloudy with a slight (20%) chance of showers late Tuesday night through Wednesday, partly cloudy late Wednesday night, mostly sunny Thursday, partly cloudy Thursday night, partly cloudy Friday with a slight (20%) chance of showers in the afternoon snow level 6,000 ft. Tuesday, 7,000 ft. rising to above 8,000 ft. late Tuesday night and Wednesday AM, free air freezing level 11,000 ft. Wednesday afternoon, 12,000 ft. Wednesday night through Thursday night, then snow level above 8,000 ft. Friday highs 54-70 cooling to near 62 Friday lows 39-42.

________________

**Because weather forecasting is a combination of science, intuition, and timing there can be no absolute guarantees that individual forecasts will be 100% accurate. Nature is in a constant state of flux and sudden unexpected weather events can happen.

________________

Get your local Eugene-Springfield news on-line at Eugene Daily News.com

________________