John Wheeler: Storms do not 'always' weaken just before hitting your location

FARGO — No, thunderstorms do not always change direction or weaken just before hitting your location. People watch the horizon or their radar pictures and see storms that appear to be headed straight for them with large hail or heavy rain or damaging wind or something. Then it misses or isn't as bad as advertised.

First of all, storms wobble all the time, but you usually don't notice unless it happens just before hitting you. Second of all, a storm headed kind of toward you can look as though it is headed right for you but it was always aiming for one side of you or the other.Third, storms constantly pulse weaker and stronger but only the stronger elements get reported, giving the impression that storms are continuously at their worst.



Remember, where you are is a point. Everywhere else is a great big area. You have to be very lucky/unlucky for a storm to be at its worst as it hits your particular point.

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