Good morning NBC Action News Weather bloggers,
There is a moderate risk for this afternoon and this evening. A Severe T-Storm Watch is in effect today. Severe thunderstorms are already forming and heading right towards us. We will monitor the situation closely. The main threat is a bow echo producing very strong winds.
I want to thank each of you for the fantastic growth and participation in the blog. It is this type of community support that certainly fosters a place to communicate and learn about weather. Having said this, I want to take a moment to address some recent issues on the blog.
During regular weather days, the team here actively tries to address all questions posed on the blog. We spend many hours participating, in addition to our regular work! We make time to blog from both work and from home. During these normal times, things seem to generally remain weather related or otherwise in check on the blog. During severe weather situations, recently the blog has invited some off topic and derogatory comments to other bloggers.
As I have watched the growth of this blog; the experience, knowledge, and passion of the blogger bas has expanded immensely. This is terrific! We invite those that have a great deal of experience, as well as those that have none. This blog is great when ideas are exchanged, and you are respectful to others through this learning process. We rely on you for observations, rain totals, and other weather related information around our area. This is so critically important to our success!
When the weather gets exciting during severe weather, our team does not have enough time to monitor the blog as much as we would like to. We are working to provide our viewers the best analysis and working to communicate in advance where we believe the risk to be. At this time, we simply cannot be available for every question in the blog. When we are away, we need everyone to be responsible for their how they interact with others. We need everyone to remain on topic as it relates to weather, and most of all, we need everyone to rmain toloerant and open minded to those that may have different opinions. There is a very broad cross section of people participating now, and each of us can learn from all of our ideas as it relates to weather.
I am asking that everyone remain focused on Kansas City's crazy weather and to be kind to your fellow blogger. If this cannot be done, we will have to take further steps to eliminate this type of behavior. Ths blog is so valuable and such a great tool, that we would hate to have to make changes because of a few bad comments or situations.
Please try to get along, and where we disagree, be respectful. Most importantly, lets stay on topic regarding weather, as there are many days where we start to chat about our lives, and get into some topics that are quite personal and emotional. Try to find another way to do this, through email. If we all do this, the blog will continue to be a great resource for many and provide value to all that participate.
Have a great day! We will talk about today's developing weather situation soon.
Gary