Matthew McCourt

Meteorologist | Florida Professional Emergency Manager (FPEM) | @floridastate Alumni | Opinions are my own.

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

Hey @NWSBinghamton, my extended family on Irish Hill Rd in Addison, NY says they had massively heavy debris thrown in multiple directions on their property yesterday. A heavy pergola that was cemented into the ground was split and thrown. (42.1674708, -77.2062435)

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

@NWSBUFFALO There was a full 8 inches of snow in far southern West Seneca between 5:30pm and 10:30pm when I left. Driving back to South Buffalo was treacherous. Location: near Michael Rd & Union Rd (42.80420N, 78.75313W)

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

Getting lots of #thundersnow in South #Buffalo tonight like this video from my apartment #NYwx

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

It is 73°F and we have already tied the record high temperature in Buffalo before noon today. The old record of 73°F was set in 1971.

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

@NWSBUFFALO Thanks, that makes sense. I looked at the current model soundings and didn’t see much of an inversion for it to duct off of over the lake, but I know they aren’t always accurate. I figured you all would have a better idea what it was.

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

Anyone know what these radar returns are over Lake Erie? They are not precipitation. Very low correlation coefficients. @NWSBUFFALO

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

Adding to the #aurora photos on your timeline. These are from Hinsdale, NY south of Buffalo. First photo is from my iPhone, the rest are from my DSLR camera, all unedited. #northernlights

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

There is an impressive line of very slow moving supercells in the convective band northeast of #Milton tonight. Visible from the Key West radar.

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

@SamLMontano And while we had a retrofit program to make buildings safe to use as shelters, the $3 million we had per year didn't go far. Since covid, building costs for hurricane mitigation have increased significantly and stayed elevated, so fewer shelter projects have been done per year.

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

@SamLMontano I worked for years helping to find safe hurricane shelter space with the state of FL, and it is so incredibly difficult. When you have the risk of Cat 5 hurricanes, all of the shelters have to be built well above the standard building code requirements, which is rare & expensive.

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

The name #Milton replaced #Michael in the naming list. Michael made landfall as a Cat 5 in the FL Panhandle six years ago Thursday (10/10/2018). Milton is forecast to make landfall in FL on Wednesday (10/9/2024) as a borderline Cat 2/3 hurricane—one day off the name it replaced.

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

It is truly awful seeing #Helene getting ready to make landfall within miles of where #Idalia made landfall at Cat 3 just 13 months ago. I feel for the people of the Big Bend having to deal with another disaster while still trying to put their lives back together after last year.

[NWS Tallahassee @NWSTallahassee]

An extreme wind warning is in effect for Perry FL, Madison FL, Monticello FL until 12:00 AM EDT for extremely dangerous hurricane winds. Treat these imminent extreme winds as if a tornado was approaching and move immediately to an interior room or shelter NOW!

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

@wxkylegillett I think you have the wrong units for your wind graph. Those are the m/s numbers. It peaked at 32.0 m/s sustained with a gust of 48.0m/s. In knots, that was 62.2 & 93.2kts, respectively.

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

I was bored, so I made a graph of the National High and Low Temperatures for every day so far in 2024.
(Data only includes the contiguous United States)

[NWS Weather Prediction Center @NWSWPC]

National High/Low temps for Wednesday August 07, 2024: 119 at Death Valley, CA, Stovepipe Wells, CA; 30 at 9 miles southwest of Big Bay, MI #cawx #cawx #miwx https://t.co/b9vl7CRDVJ

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

* Meteorological summer = June 1 - August 31

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

Buffalo, NY has had a very hot year so far. We are set to break the record for the hottest January to July average temperature in the 150 years of records in Buffalo. With a month left, we have already had more 80°F days this summer (40) than we had all of last summer (35)*

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

Just above every @CoCoRaHS observer in 19 eastern states reported at least a trace of rainfall yesterday. Pretty impressive areal coverage.

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

Radar screenshot with my location and radar timestamp just before the hail started. Largest single hailstone I saw was around penny sized (3/4”), but most were in the 1/4”-1/2” range. @NWSBUFFALO

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

Half inch hail currently at the Hamburg Fairgrounds @NWSBUFFALO

[Matthew McCourt @mccourt_wx]

2024 #Beryl feels a lot like 2012 Beryl. Both had a broad, almost subtropical wind field. Both had very favorable environments for strengthening but ended up battling dry air in the core. Both had winds around 55-60 knots.