A lot has taken place the last few months and this has prevented me from being able to blog. Since my last post the United States has experienced a devastating tornado outbreak (27 April 2011 in the southeast), the deadliest tornado since 1947 (22 May 2011 in Joplin, MO), and a violent tornado outbreak in the more tradition area of Oklahoma (24 May 2011). What makes this year remarkable is the number of tornadoes that have hit heavily populated areas, which has contributed to the number of direct tornado fatalities being well over 500. It’s certainly been an emotional year for meteorologists. Also during my blogging hiatus, the National Severe Storms Laboratory and the Storm Prediction Center held another successful Experimental Forecast Program. The datasets generated will provide researchers ample opportunities for discovery.

This post is short, but serves to end my blogging drought. In the coming days, weeks, and months, I hope to share what’s been keeping me busy. Here’s to getting back into the habit of putting my thoughts in words.