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Extreme Fire Weather Concerns; Severe Thunderstorms from the Plains to Mississippi Valley

Extremely critical fire weather concerns for portions of the southern High Plans as strong wind and very dry conditions could result in rapid spread of any fires. Meanwhile, severe thunderstorms are expected once again across areas of the Central and Southern Plains, then spreading in the Mississippi Valley regions on Monday. Damaging winds, very large hail and strong tornadoes are possible. Read More >

Pictured (L to R): NWS Jackson Meteorologist Jonathan Guseman, SKYWARN Spotter & E KY VOST Leader Tim Bruno, NWS Jackson Meteorologists Jane Marie Wix, Kevin Sullivan, & Pete Geogerian.

The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Jackson, KY recognized SKYWARN Spotter and East Kentucky Virtual Operations Support Team (VOST) Leader, Tim Bruno, with a Special Service Award on October 9, 2018 for his dedication to providing timely and reliable reports during all weather phenomena impacting eastern Kentucky.

Tim has been one of the most reliable spotters to ever serve the citizens of eastern Kentucky. Whether it's sending in severe weather reports or providing high-resolution temporal/spatial variations in temperatures, meteorologists at the NWS in Jackson have relied on Tim's service to provide more accurate forecast and warning products.

As the leader of the East Kentucky VOST, Tim was responsible for searching for, filtering through, and sending accurate hazardous weather reports to on-duty forecasters at NWS Jackson. These reports were generally passed on from local social media, allowing NWS staff to focus more attention on tasks outside of the realm of social media.  

While we are sad to see him leave the reaches of eastern Kentucky, we are very excited for Tim as he begins his new adventure with the National Weather Service in Alaska. The citizens of Alaska should be proud to have such a loyal and dedicated individual to assist in the generation of their weather products.