About Me
I am 27 years old and I live in Springfield, MO. I am the chief meteorologist for KSPR-TV. You can find me on the 4pm, 6pm, and 10pm newscasts Sunday-Thursday.Originally I am from Veedersburg, Indiana. I went to college at Vincennes University with a degree in radio/tv broadcasting. Also I went to Indiana State University with a degree in Geography/Climatology with an emphasis in meteorology.
I have worked in Terre Haute, IN at WTHI; Lexington, KY at WKYT; and Indianapolis, IN at WRTV.
I am a ham radio operator, WX9KSL is my call sign. I am an avid stormchaser and love chasing tornadoes. I most recently went with the Vortex2 project last spring.
I am a Cubs, Bears, Pacers, and Indiana Hoosiers fans.
I enjoy new movies, restaurants, playing cards, music, working out, meeting new people, and spending time with my Beagle named Wrigley.
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Stormy Weather in Kevin Lighty's World
A Parade and A Bell Ringing
Well today was a day to get you in the christmas spirit... kind of... snow would have been better.
Many of us from KSPR were out for the Springfield christmas parade that was held downtown today. Problem was that it was soooo cold, rainy, and windy.
That sure did not keep the thousands of people who came down to watch the floats roll by and get rained on by tootsie rolls and hershey kisses, courtesy of KSPR!
Joe and Christine Daues, Michelle Sherwood, Emily Rittman, Joanna Small, Craig Carnesi, and our promotions department (Addie Ferber and Dan McGrane) were all braving the elements.
After the parade myself and Craig Carnesi rang a bell outside the Battlefield Mall for the Salvation Army. Wow was it cold and rainy, but some Ruby Tuesday's made it all better with some buffalo chicken fingers and some coffee.
Watch the video that I put together below, I was bored so I did this.
Many of us from KSPR were out for the Springfield christmas parade that was held downtown today. Problem was that it was soooo cold, rainy, and windy.
That sure did not keep the thousands of people who came down to watch the floats roll by and get rained on by tootsie rolls and hershey kisses, courtesy of KSPR!
Joe and Christine Daues, Michelle Sherwood, Emily Rittman, Joanna Small, Craig Carnesi, and our promotions department (Addie Ferber and Dan McGrane) were all braving the elements.
After the parade myself and Craig Carnesi rang a bell outside the Battlefield Mall for the Salvation Army. Wow was it cold and rainy, but some Ruby Tuesday's made it all better with some buffalo chicken fingers and some coffee.
Watch the video that I put together below, I was bored so I did this.
Stormchasers and my big tornado
First off, sorry for the lack of blogging lately, it really is so hard to force myself to sit down and write something down, but I am going to try my best to start keeping up.
I was inspired to write a new post about last night's "Stormchasers" show on the Discovery Channel. For those of you who have never seen it, its about chasers who go out and well, chase tornadoes. It is a great show and depicts different people who different missions to gather info and study tornadoes to get data to help improve warnings times and learn why some storms produce tornadoes and others don't.
This past spring I was able to hook up with the Vortex2 tornado chase team who had a goal to surround a tornado with instruments and learn more about them. Vortex2 was featured in last night's episode where we intercepted a tornado in Goshen, Wyoming. It was this tornado that is now one of the most famous and soon to be studied and talked about tornado of all time because of the success of the Vortex2 team getting in and surrounding it with radars, and various pods. I am proud to say I was there and I wanted to share with you again the stories I did for KSPR while I was out there.
I did a 3 part series and I will post those below for you to watch if you didn't get a chance to see them when they aired back in Spring.
I was inspired to write a new post about last night's "Stormchasers" show on the Discovery Channel. For those of you who have never seen it, its about chasers who go out and well, chase tornadoes. It is a great show and depicts different people who different missions to gather info and study tornadoes to get data to help improve warnings times and learn why some storms produce tornadoes and others don't.
This past spring I was able to hook up with the Vortex2 tornado chase team who had a goal to surround a tornado with instruments and learn more about them. Vortex2 was featured in last night's episode where we intercepted a tornado in Goshen, Wyoming. It was this tornado that is now one of the most famous and soon to be studied and talked about tornado of all time because of the success of the Vortex2 team getting in and surrounding it with radars, and various pods. I am proud to say I was there and I wanted to share with you again the stories I did for KSPR while I was out there.
I did a 3 part series and I will post those below for you to watch if you didn't get a chance to see them when they aired back in Spring.
Shuttle Atlantis set to liftoff Monday
Another space shuttle is set to take off from Kennedy Space Center on Monday. STS-129 should liftoff from Cape Canaveral, FL. and is scheduled to launch at 1:28p.m. CST
A beautiful picture of Atlantis on launch pad 39a as the sun sets.
With only about a half dozen flights left on the space shuttle, they are focusing on taking up as many spare parts to the space station as they can before the shuttle is retired. The shuttle is the only vehicle that is large enough to take up pieces to the space station. So this mission is basically to stock up the station for years to come.
The spares are going up on two platforms – called external logistics carriers, or ELCs – to be attached on either side of the station’s truss, in hopes that wherever a failure happens, the necessary spare won’t be too far away.
This mission will only be 11 days, compared to some of the longer missions in the past, this is because Atlantis is the only shuttle that can't hook up to the Station to Shuttle Power Transfer System, so missions cannot be extended by making use of power provided by ISS.
The last mission for Atlantis was back in May when the Hubble Space Telescope was serviced.
A beautiful picture of Atlantis on launch pad 39a as the sun sets.
With only about a half dozen flights left on the space shuttle, they are focusing on taking up as many spare parts to the space station as they can before the shuttle is retired. The shuttle is the only vehicle that is large enough to take up pieces to the space station. So this mission is basically to stock up the station for years to come.
The spares are going up on two platforms – called external logistics carriers, or ELCs – to be attached on either side of the station’s truss, in hopes that wherever a failure happens, the necessary spare won’t be too far away.
This mission will only be 11 days, compared to some of the longer missions in the past, this is because Atlantis is the only shuttle that can't hook up to the Station to Shuttle Power Transfer System, so missions cannot be extended by making use of power provided by ISS.
The last mission for Atlantis was back in May when the Hubble Space Telescope was serviced.
NASA finds "significant" amount of water ice on the moon
As many of you may already know, or will soon learn I am a pretty big astronomy and space buff. If weather hadn't captured by attention so early on in my life at the age of 5, I would have pursued a career as an astronaut. Hey it's never too late right? haha
Well big news coming from NASA today. On October 9th (also my birthday) NASA crashed a spacecraft called LCROSS into a crater on the moon. This crash was on purpose though, the objective is to upheave enough material for instruments to detect the water ice scientists believe resides inside the crater. The spacecraft went to a place we have never gone to before, the south pole and GUESS WHAT?
Very exciting to hear that the mission has revealed a fairly significant amount of water ice on the moon. That is right a place that was once thought was dry and desolate can no longer be said.
Well big news coming from NASA today. On October 9th (also my birthday) NASA crashed a spacecraft called LCROSS into a crater on the moon. This crash was on purpose though, the objective is to upheave enough material for instruments to detect the water ice scientists believe resides inside the crater. The spacecraft went to a place we have never gone to before, the south pole and GUESS WHAT?
Very exciting to hear that the mission has revealed a fairly significant amount of water ice on the moon. That is right a place that was once thought was dry and desolate can no longer be said.
"Indeed, yes, we found water. And we didn't find just a little bit, we found a significant amount," Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS project scientist and principal investigator from NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.
NASA plans to return astronauts to the moon by 2020 for extended missions on the lunar surface and I think this is even more reason to go back and start exploring even more. A permanent base on the moon would be very beneficial to the space program especially since the Space Shuttle is set to retire late next year.
If you would like to see images from NASA on the impact, check out this link.
NASA plans to return astronauts to the moon by 2020 for extended missions on the lunar surface and I think this is even more reason to go back and start exploring even more. A permanent base on the moon would be very beneficial to the space program especially since the Space Shuttle is set to retire late next year.
If you would like to see images from NASA on the impact, check out this link.
Tweet Tweet Tweet
Hey everyone, I just wanted to share with you that you can also follow me on twitter, search for me as kevinlighty. Usually nothing too crazy, but I often do take pictures with my cell phone and then tweet them back, so check it out. Also you can follow ksprweather on twitter as it is updated everyday as needed and whenever the KSPR Weather blog is updated.
Ida to strike Gulf Coast
Tropical Storm Ida is about to make landfall tonight, at least the center of circulation or what is left of it is. This is rare as the typical hurricane season usually ends in November, but Ida will go down in the history books, as she is only one of six tropical cyclones to have made U.S. landfall in the month of November in the last 100 years!
Those include:
Yr. Name Max Winds Dates Deaths/ Damage ( millions of $) / Info
1994 Hurr. Gordon 85mph 11/8-11/21 $400 - Crossed Florida as a T.S. twice
1988 T. S. Keith 75mph 11/17-11/26 $3 - Crossed central Florida
1985 Hurr. Kate 120mph 11/15-11/23 5 deaths - Crossed Fl. Panhandle
1946 T.S #6 45mph 10/31-11/3 $7- Traveled I-95 (Miami-Myrtle Beach)
1935 Hurr #6 80mph 10/30-11/8 $5- Crossed So. Fl ( Miami-Naples)
Below is a look at the StormVision HD Doppler Radar just before 10pm on Monday.
Here is a look at the NOAA forecast for landfall early Tuesday morning.
This past hurricane season has been very calm with only one other storm making landfall and that was Tropical Storm Claudette on August 16th, otherwise it has been very quiet!
Those include:
Yr. Name Max Winds Dates Deaths/ Damage ( millions of $) / Info
1994 Hurr. Gordon 85mph 11/8-11/21 $400 - Crossed Florida as a T.S. twice
1988 T. S. Keith 75mph 11/17-11/26 $3 - Crossed central Florida
1985 Hurr. Kate 120mph 11/15-11/23 5 deaths - Crossed Fl. Panhandle
1946 T.S #6 45mph 10/31-11/3 $7- Traveled I-95 (Miami-Myrtle Beach)
1935 Hurr #6 80mph 10/30-11/8 $5- Crossed So. Fl ( Miami-Naples)
Below is a look at the StormVision HD Doppler Radar just before 10pm on Monday.
Here is a look at the NOAA forecast for landfall early Tuesday morning.
This past hurricane season has been very calm with only one other storm making landfall and that was Tropical Storm Claudette on August 16th, otherwise it has been very quiet!
Saturday Night Success
Well you would have to consider Saturday night a success. No one got into a fight, no one got sick, no one got thrown in jail. I mean what else can you ask for? Haha! Well a night in the downtown nightlife was fun, and it was nice not to have to stand outside in freezing cold weather, instead it was a picture perfect evening of weather. You all know how it can be downtown in the middle of November. Sometimes cold, rainy, windy; instead it was perfect.
A few photos of us one before we went out and the other at tonic.
Well now it's time to grab another afternoon nap before I head back into work for KSPR in HD at 10pm.
A few photos of us one before we went out and the other at tonic.
Well now it's time to grab another afternoon nap before I head back into work for KSPR in HD at 10pm.
Marty McFly aka Will Frampton to the SGF
So I know only about 98% of you, you have no idea what the title of this post means so let me explain. One of my best friends is coming to Springfield this weekend from Sacramento, Cali. It is always nice to have friends visit from out of town. Now to the Marty reference. Ok com on, you all know who that is right? Back to the Future, Michael J Fox, Great Scott!
Well my friend Will Frampton loves the movie just as much as I do, and he owns a Marty McFly life preserver. You know the red vest. Yea and here is a picture of him from years ago in Terre, Haute, IN when we roomed together.
Marty or News 10's Will 
Wow... Now that picture makes me laugh everytime. Will is a reporter at a tv station in Sacramento and he has decided to come out to visit so I can show him the Springfield downtown nightlife. So mothers and fathers lock up your daughters Will Frampton is in town and it may get crazy! Just kidding... Kind of... lol
And here it is... Johnny B Good.
Well my friend Will Frampton loves the movie just as much as I do, and he owns a Marty McFly life preserver. You know the red vest. Yea and here is a picture of him from years ago in Terre, Haute, IN when we roomed together.Marty or News 10's Will Wow... Now that picture makes me laugh everytime. Will is a reporter at a tv station in Sacramento and he has decided to come out to visit so I can show him the Springfield downtown nightlife. So mothers and fathers lock up your daughters Will Frampton is in town and it may get crazy! Just kidding... Kind of... lol
And here it is... Johnny B Good.
It's Clearer... It's Sharper...It's History... It's KSPR in HD!
Well quite obviously the biggest thing going on with me right now is our brand new studio and switch to HD. I must say I am quite impressed with how everything has turned out. I am very happy with how everything looks, especially when you see it on TV. It's one thing to see it in person but on TV the new set just "pops".
In the weather department our new weather graphics are also very crisp, clear, and detailed. Especially our StormVision HD Doppler Radar
This along with many of our other graphics really set us apart and allow us to really show off the Ozarks weather in a way never seen before. I must be honest I can't wait for our first big storm event so we can show this thing in action and in HD!
If you are not a regular viewer of KSPR, whether it be news, weather, or sports I encourage you to check it out. Give it a shot, and see what you think. If you still don't like it let me know what we can do to improve it, but I have a feeling you will sure enjoy watching news, weather, and sports in HD!
I wanted to share some video of the set that I took. You kind of get a behind the scenes look as I walk around and behind the anchor desk .
In the weather department our new weather graphics are also very crisp, clear, and detailed. Especially our StormVision HD Doppler Radar
This along with many of our other graphics really set us apart and allow us to really show off the Ozarks weather in a way never seen before. I must be honest I can't wait for our first big storm event so we can show this thing in action and in HD!
If you are not a regular viewer of KSPR, whether it be news, weather, or sports I encourage you to check it out. Give it a shot, and see what you think. If you still don't like it let me know what we can do to improve it, but I have a feeling you will sure enjoy watching news, weather, and sports in HD!
I wanted to share some video of the set that I took. You kind of get a behind the scenes look as I walk around and behind the anchor desk .
Welcome To My New Blog
Hello everyone and thanks for checking out my new blog. I look forward to sharing with all of you things that are important to me in both my professional and personal life. This blog will be a hodge podge of different things that have to do with meteorology, broadcasting, astronomy and other sciences and I will share with you things that go on in my everyday life.
I look forward to hearing from some of you about my blog and please feel free to leave comments and help me out along the way as I am fairly new to the blogging scene, besides our "weather blog" at KSPR.
Thats all for now. Sonn I will post about our "big move" to the new studio and KSPR in "HD"!
I look forward to hearing from some of you about my blog and please feel free to leave comments and help me out along the way as I am fairly new to the blogging scene, besides our "weather blog" at KSPR.
Thats all for now. Sonn I will post about our "big move" to the new studio and KSPR in "HD"!