Severe weather Tuesday?

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has circled an area including southcentral Kansas for a "moderate risk" of severe weather.

A warm front moving back into Kansas from Oklahoma will provide the energy and instability for severe thunderstorms to develop. The Weather Service says large hail, damaging wind and possibly even tornadoes are today's weather threats.

KFDI News is ready for the possible chase day. Myself, John Wright, George Lawson and Phil White will be manning the KFDI Mobile Units today. Dan Dillon will be anchoring the coverage if needed.

Remember, follow KFDI News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kfdinews for the latest interactive coverage of news, weather and traffic.

Growing up and getting old...and ready for the baby gate

I struggled with what to write about for this week's blog post. Much of what I've been doing this week has focused on negative news and sad stories. Not just the news I've been covering in Wichita, but also news across our nation and around the world.

So, I thought Allie should be the topic of this week's blog post. Someone who's always happy and always smiling...when she's not hungry or sitting with a dirty diaper.

Allie turned eight months old last week and she continues to amaze her mother and I. There's not a day that goes by that I don't laugh at something she does or a new noise or talent she's learned to make or perform. She's now learned to clap, roll her tongue, click her tongue and sleep on her stomach. Little things, I know...but the way she does each of these things makes me smile and forget about all of the other things that could possibly be weighing on my mind.

She's also about to create more work for me. She's about to learn to crawl. That means it's time for daddy to install the baby gate at the top of the stairs that we've had since December. Maybe she'll help me read the installation instructions and hold the drill.

Tigers...a must see exhibit at the SedCo Zoo

If you haven't been to the Sedgwick County Zoo to see the new tiger exhibit, then you're missing out.

The folks at the Zoo and WDM Architects have once again created a fabulous addition to one of the nation's greatest zoo experiences.

The tigers in the new Slawson Family Tiger exhibit are active and they're so close you can nearly reach out and touch them...which, as you can see by the reaction from my daughter, might be fun to pet and cuddle with. I had to explain to her that the kitties in this cage are not as cute and cuddlesome as her Jack Russell Terrier is at home.

The only downside to the new exhibit might be the complaints from the ducks and other water fowl that land in the exhibit. Twice while we were watching, a duck landed in the water and was quickly hunted by the tigers. As the giants cats tried to pounce, the ducks flew away in a hurry. Oh well, I guess they'll soon learn as they did in the bear and lion exhibits!

A baseball vs Mobile 22

So...I decided to attend Thursday night's WSU vs Creighton baseball game at WSU's Eck Stadium during the MVC Baseball Tournament.

Not a very good game. The Shockers were run-ruled 11-0.

However, the best part of the night was what I found in the parking lot as I was leaving the game. By the way, it doesn't feel very good to sit on glass while driving home.

The Cleveland Tribe just made me sick

OK...bottom of the 9th and you're up 5 to 2 on the road and your ace pitcher just finished tossing a strong eight innings and the guy you've hired to close the 9th takes the mound.

No problem, three up...three down...that's the goal.

Wait, a home run...not good, but we'll get the next two.

Next pitch....gone. NOT GOOD...but still OK, with a one run lead.
Maybe a pitching change? Nope. Kerry Wood can handle the now deafening crowd at the rennovated K in Kansas City.

Five pitches later, a walk to put the tying run on first.

OK....now we should make the change on the hill. It's just not Wood's night.
What? No change from Wedge in the Indian's bullpen? Are you sure? David DeJesus is coming to plate and he's batting like .350, you might want to consider walking him or something strategic.

Nope....instead, let's pitch to him so he can hit a triple off the wall in centerfield and drive in the game tying run.

OK, now surely we'll make the pitching change.

Again, the answer is nope. Two more pitches and then a sacrafice fly ball to right and DeJesus scores from third base.

Game, set, match Kansas City.

Way to go, Indians. You just did the unimaginable. Giving up four runs in the bottom of the night. Thanks for making me physically ill.

Oops...I've been absent

There's really no excuse, I know...but I've been out of town since the snow melted.

A week's to Baltimore and Washington DC with my wife and daughter and now I'm getting back into the swing of things. The cherry blossoms...The Capitol Building, the monuments, the memorials...and Major League Baseball at Nationals Park. Did I mention dinner at Capitol City Brewery, Five Guys Burgers, Bertucci's Brick Oven Pizza, J. Paul's Seafood on the Chesapeake and Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Well, It was a nice trip...but it's nice to be back....and it appears I'm back just in time for spring weather! The forecast: sunny and warmer throughout the week...with a chance of storms on Thursday. We'll keep you posted on those chances.

Ice...covered with snow...yikes!

I woke up this morning and found my river birch trees bending over and touching their toes.

About a 1/4 inch of ice is coating everything not inside and under a roof. Speaking of rooftops, the ice and snow has clogged guttering systems and is weighing down everything.

The good news; we don't have as much snow as the folks just to the west of the metro area. Snowfall totals west of Pratt are reported at more than two feet. Forecasters say we should climb just above freezing today...maybe by a degree or two...so hopefully the ice will melt off the trees and power lines.

I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to next week: Temperatures in the upper 50s!

Send me your storm photos...I'll post them online. E-mail stormshots@kfdi.com