Getting ready for the worst tha Mother Nature can throw at us.

And one organization marks 90 years of making sure disadvantaged kids have the support they need in The Cities.

[lively music] [music ends] We have already seen record breaking cold and war temperatures during the winter.

We've had blizzards and long stretches of dry weather as well.

But now that we're entering spring, it's time to find out what we might expec in the weeks and months ahead.

To get that insight, I talk with National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist Alexander Gibb from his offices in Davenport.

Well, Alex, first off, thank you so much for joining us.

Let's talk about last week.

I mean, we had storm after storm after storm, come through our area.

Is that unusual for April?

No, it's not really unusual for April.

And you know, April is the beginning of a severe weather season across the area.

You know as far as having repeated days in a row that happens frequently each year, whether or not that's our area, versus somewhere else in Central Plains, it's not an abnormal pattern.

But it is interesting how many thunderstorms have occurred.

I was just looking.

The Quad Cities has issued more than 170 combined severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings so far this year.

It's a new record set fo January 1st through April 20th.

You guys have been busy.

I mean, it does seem to be busier than normal.

Yes.

So when it comes to warnings, definitely above normal and that aspect so far through the season.

Right.

So we've had more severe thunderstorm warnings, more tornado warnings, like you said, compared to January to this time of the year.

Overall, though, we look at the storms, problem was a lot of them formed over us and we got a couple extra rounds of storms.

So, you know, that's why we have the higher numbers on that end.

You know, this could be the spur to the season and we could be done or we could continue this up.

You know, this is just kind of one of those things that, you know, we train for and we're ready to go.

But you were able to know ahead of time at least, that you knew tha it was going to be a bad week.

So, so what are, what i the mix that you're looking for?

Because as you said, it kind of developed over us.

But so often these thunderstorms start, you know, hundreds of miles before us.

Yep.

So, you know, in this setup, we kind of had a there was this warm fron boundary that kept oscillating between northern Wisconsin southern Wisconsin, close to us.

And then we have repeated weak waves moving up through the flow of from the southwest in each of those little waves or convective [?

], you know, storm augmented away from storms [?]

our southwest would move up over the area, over that boundary and form thunderstorms.

Any time were close to a warm front we usually see, have a chance for tornadoes.

That little, that if you think about the warm front, we actually get winds out of the east and we get lo level winds more out of the east and say the winds at, you know, 3000ft off the ground of the southwest, you can just [?]

envision there's a little spin in the atmosphere.

So we are getting most of th flow aloft from the southwest.

And that warm front was nearby.

So we had just enough of that low level spin.

For once we had storms develop, they could easily, easily acquire rotation.

How do you look that far into the future?

I mean, you were you knew that bad weather was coming about a week out.

What data do you use in orde to make sure that we stay safe?

Yeah.

So one of the things with, some big severe weather events, we're able to look at essentially, model data that we have pattern recognition of.

So stuff that we've seen before, and especially for larger events like we've had the past week, really see a week ou that we're having that set up.

And you can see as we got closer sometimes that that area of severe weather risk went from larger to smaller, as we get closer and as our confidence increased.

But essentially we're using computer model data, to help u figure out what the pattern is.

And that pattern recognition is really what drives the longer term forecasts for severe weather.

And tell me a little bit about the day of when the storm is occurring.

I would assume it's all hands on deck.

I mean, you've got, different people doing different parts of the storm because, you know, you get a severe thunderstorm watch, a warning.

I mean, it just kept developing so quickly.

How much staff do you have in there?

And, and what are their specialties at that moment?

Yeah.

So I think at the heigh of the event, we had probably 9 to 10 different forecasters in the office.

They're all meteorologists.

And, what we do is we kind of sectorize by threat, we continue the communication process.

So, we had two warning team and a warning team is, usually made up of two meteorologists one person driving the warning, the other person kind of helping them look at stuff, get information into them, helping them make a decision as a team with some overflow people who are watching radar as well.

But we, you know, we got two aspects of this.

We have the warning, we're watching the radar, then we got communication.

So we're putting that information out.

We're also talking about what's going to happen in the next, you know, a few hours to give people a heads up.

So, you know, we we did quite a bit of, briefings ahead of time and some phone, heads up phone calls.

We made some calls to, some officials.

We said, hey, guys, this looks really good.

Our computer mode has repeatedly shown a rotation track across your county, for the past 4 or 5 hours.

I think, you know, you're up for that weather.

So there's a combination of everything.

There's people that are dealing with what's going on right now and getting the message out, and then we're kind of lookin ahead of schedule, ahead of that to give people kind of an outlook that can, you know, if you've got a decision to make that that has to involve a process.

It takes longer than five, ten minute from now giving you a heads up.

Hey, an hour or two ahead of time, it looks like your your chances of seeing severe weather have gone up.

On the day of the stor as its developing, are you most just tied to radar?

As well as official spotters?

I mean, how exactly do with the day up?

Yeah.

So we're looking at all kinds of information, not just spotters and radar.

You know, there are storm chasers that put their feed up of chasing.

Well watch that.

We'll look at webcams.

You know, we've got people that are that are sortin through all kinds of information trying to find out what's going on.

And getting that information.

Well look at power outages.

You know, there's a website that's got nationwide power outages that's good.

We've developed some tools to pull in all kinds of home weather stations that people have put on the internet, that pulls in wind speeds.

So we're looking at a combination of things, not just the radar.

The radar was a great tool.

The radar is our fundamental tool to identifying things in the storm and stuff like that, and our our spotters and other instruments, like I talked about that website that looked at wind data or observation sites.

That's our ground truths.

So it's a combined effort between the radar and the observations that we're getting.

And you pointed out, storm spotters explain that to me, because in some ways they're looked at as rogue people that are out there, driving too fast in some cases or or putting themselves in danger.

Is that the spotters you're talking about?

The storm spotters I'm talking about, are actually, people that we've traine as the National Weather Service.

We've trained anybody who, basically anyone can become a storm spotter.

A lot of storm spotters are emergency officials.

You know, first responders, things like that, part of government.

But anyone, the public can be it.

And the people that we train are more like, we give them trainin based on what to report to us.

And most of them are going to be at a specific location, at their residence, at thei place of work, things like that.

But those people that we've trained essentially are our eyes on the ground and provide us that information to confirm what's going on.

So, they're not necessarily they're not necessarily mobile.

Theyre more likely to be your next door neighbor And tell me wha happens the day after the storm, because that's when you have crews going out that are determining whether or not it was straight line winds, or a gust-nado, or a tornado.

What are you looking for and how do you make that decision of what actually happened?

Because that it's at that point it's official.

That's a good question.

And in fact, we're still doing that process today.

After a storm, you know, and this is where our partnership with our, our emergency managers, our public safety officials, they provide u with information about damage.

And a lot of times we'll look at that and compare that to radar dat and decide, okay, we should go look at this damage or theyl provide us with some pictures.

We decide, okay, we need to go look at this damage, determine if it was tornadic if it was straight line winds, things like that.

And and the day after the event, normally we determine, okay doing we need to sen a certain number of teams out?

Where are they gonna go?

Interact with those county officials in the area.

And when we get out to a damaged site, or where damages occurred, we're looking at a, quite a few things.

We've got this, this tool calle the Damage Assessment Toolkit.

And what it is, i it's a bunch of different things that could be damaged, trees, be it hard wood or soft wood, houses, manufactured homes apartment buildings, you name it And and what we can do is we can look at the damage that occurred on that structure, and then we will drop it into the tool.

It'll tell us the expected wind speed for that.

And that's how we figure out the wind, any type of wind, straight or tornadic, what the wind speed would be with it.

When were determining betwee a tornado versus straight line winds, we'll use, you know, a combination of things.

Do we have eyewitness reports?

We'd like to talk to people that are experienced, and hear their stories.

That tells us a lot about what happened.

We use the radar data.

We also use the way the damage occurred, the way the damage fell.

You know, one of the things I look at, you know, a lot of straight line winds, if you blow a roof off that insulations tgone down with the roof.

If that installation's cake all around the side of the house on all four sides, that was definitely not straight line winds.

There was something spinning.

So most likely a tornado.

So small things like that, that we're looking at, the way the trees fell, and so forth to make that designation about whether or not it was tornado, straight line winds or a gust-nado.

One of the other things that we were looking at is how much rain has fallen as well.

I mean, these storms brought a lot of beneficial rain, in some areas, way too much because we had flash flooding, we had flood alerts throughout the area.

But when you look at the, drought monitor that comes out repeatedly, we're seeing, the drought impact in Iowa, particularly southeast Iowa, seems to be dwindling more and more.

That's correct.

And the drought outloo comes out Thursday morning.

So a lot of the data for each week is collected during the day.

During the week Wednesday, th the people that are assembling the monitor will have discussions amongs experts across different areas.

And then they come out with the update on Thursday.

So, you know, we'll probably see some level of improvement again across, across the area with the rainfall.

But most of that drought for the most part, seems to be improving across the area, which is a good sign, especiall as we go into planting season.

And as we saw so much heavy rains.

I mean, the flood levels, the river levels did rise.

I'd assume that that is slowly dwindling as well, that that that alert, that that caution pretty much is gone in many areas.

Yeah a lot, so what we're seeing or transitioning from, you know, overland flooding, which is fields and, and small creeks and now that water is flowing into the river system.

So we've got, for example the Rock River, I believe we're, we're forecasting flooding up a Rock river in Moline, the Mississippi River.

So essentially all that rain that fell is is making its way to the larger rivers.

And those are coming up and going into flood.

So it's much more that that flood area as opposed to being wider, is now smaller, but into some our larger impact, especially with the Mississippi and Rock River and things like that.

Well, those of us who live in the Quad Cities know full well how quickl the Mississippi River can rise and how long it can stay at, at flood levels throughout the area.

Tell me a little bit about, and either dismiss it or explain it, there's now talk of what's called a Supe El Nino, in, in North America.

Is that something to be concerned about?

No.

So the National Weather Service and NOAA, we refer to El Nino or a La Nina in terms of stronger or a strong or a stronger El Nino.

Not using any of the terminology that that you just said.

And looking at El Nino for this year, there is a very strong signal that we will be going into El Nino.

Where we're at righ now, though, is unfortunately, our transition seasons.

Some of the models that we look at for El Nino and La Nina struggle because there's a change in, in, in the overall temperature that normally occurs with the changing of seasons.

And so the models or, might be trying to predict a strong, a stronger one, but we're not too confiden in that because of where we are in the actual seasonal, to seasonal trend of things, to be able to identif or talk to the strength of it.

What we are saying, though, what is very, very confident, the bottom line is that we expect El Nino to develop this summer.

Right now, basically, we're in that we're in an issue of predictability and strength is difficult.

But we have about 50% chance of the El Nino this, this winter to be in the strong to very strong event.

You know, and the other thing to say is we're April, so there's a long way to go with with with with what happens with El Nino for this fall.

Yeah, absolutely.

But no, we don't use any of that terminology.

Our biggest thing is, is it strong or very strong event.

And then when we sa that we actually can put value to that as well.

So we're not just using those words.

We can use probabilities.

We can tell you what that means with it.

And relative to what a normal El Nino would be.

You're always talking about the fact that you want people to be weather prepared.

And what what do you mean by that?

How can people be safer when storms do hit?

Yeah, that's a good question.

And one of the things, a good example, I was afraid of tornadoes when I was a kid.

My mom said to me, Alex, wh don't you learn about tornadoes?

And by doing that, I fell in love with storms and wanted to do that for a career, because what I was able to do was increase my knowledge.

And so that's what we're asking people to do.

We're asking people to think ahead, know what they would do a storms occur, understand storms, understand our terminology, a watch, a warning, things like that.

And just not take it for granted.

A lot of these things, a lot of these storms can turn into, we don't think much you think not much is going on, and the next thing you know, you're in a very strong storm and possibly a tornado.

So in that moment of fear, in that moment of change, we want you to know what's going on.

And a lot of times when you think about that ahead of time and plan that, you're more likely just to respon without even thinking about it, going to a safe space.

You know, once you get to that safe space, seeking essential information from the media and things like that.

So we're just telling people the best thing to do is think about it before the event occurs.

Know your safety you know your safety procedures, know your safe spots, so that you can get there quickly if need be.

Our thanks to National Weather Service Warning Coordinatio Meteorologist Alexander Gibbs.

Just ahead, a group called YouthHope is marking 90 years of Christian base mentoring for at-risk children in the cities.

We take a closer look at the organization.

But first, April is a great time in the cities to star enjoying the springtime weather.

So here are some great outdoor and indoor ideas for you, your friends, and your family.

Thanks to Visit Quad Cities.

[soft music] Check out the things t do this week in the Quad Cities.

Start your week at the Adler Theater to see Beetlejuice the Musical.

You'll be laughing all night long.

Then get ready for the next show over at Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse.

Fiddler on the Roo will be performed through June.

Then get ready to eat at Food Truck Fridays in LeClaire.

You can expect great food amazing music, and a lot of fun.

Then experience the grand opening of the Outdoor Freight House Farmers Market.

Shop local produce, treats and crafts.

Finally, watch the Kentucky Derby while relaxing at the Hauberg Estate.

Don' forget to wear your derby hats!

For more events like these, check out our events calendar at VisitQuadCities.com [music ends] It started in 1936 as Christian Friendliness Association, and has grown into an organization that features youth centers, a summit program, mentoring sessions, food pantries and more, all under the banner of YouthHope.

On April 30th, Youth Hope will hold a 90th anniversary banquet at The Bend Expo Center in East Moline.

And we got a chance to talk to the executive Director of youth Hope, Esther Joy King.

90 years is very impressive.

And you started, tell me the, the origin story.

Yeah, absolutely.

Well, YouthHope has been incredibly blesse with a history of faithfulness.

So many people have given and planted seeds for almost a century, just under 90 years.

But it began in 1936.

There was an international prayer conference that happened here in the Quad Cities, and I recently was reading through our histor in preparation for this banquet.

And they, it was the first meeting was in February 1936, which they shared was the coldest winter on record up to this point.

So this group of women got together, and one young lady named Carla stood up and just shared that her Bible study, a group of seven women were serving immigrant families here in the Quad Cities.

And she shared that they were doing food and bringing them clothes as needed.

And particularly she shared the nee for the kids of those families.

And that was where it all started.

And from that day, a group o leaders in the community, church leaders, came together and said, how can we support this need?

And they established our original nam was the Christian Friendliness Association.

Whic a lot of people still remember.

Yes, absolutely.

And we changed our name about 30 years ago.

But still people know us as the Christian Friendliness Association, because that's what it started as in 1936.

And it's really serving at risk youth in our community.

How do you find, well, it's easy to find at-risk rescue, sadly, but how do you find them to be part of, YouthHope?

We we do a couple things strategically.

So first of all, our youth centers, they're located in areas of need.

So, for example, ou our Moline Center is just across from Springbrook a government housing, complex.

And we also work closely with schools.

So I'll share a quick story.

There wa a Moline school that had a son or a young boy who just great need.

A family had a pretty chaotic, home life and just poverty.

And one of the teachers said, hey, you should consider going to YouthHope.

And they they introduced us to this family and this young little boy.

And he's been coming for about two years, and his behavior has completely transformed.

So not only has he learned about Jesus and had an environment where he feels safe and known, if you meet him and talk to him, he'll be like, I belong at YouthHope.

That's what he'll say.

And the teacher shared with us recently, I have seen a 180 transformation.

And this little boys behavior.

So, it's working, but we find the kids by working with schools, having them tell us and say, hey, here's some families that have great needs so that school s relationshi is really a strategic advantage for YouthHope.

But it's going, it's going out.

We go find the families, find the kids and invite them in.

You've go a number of different services.

I, I was looking at your mentoring programs, and of course, you've got, the camp, the summit.

Tell me a little bit, first off, about the mentoring program, because that's so essential for building young boys into stronger men.

Young girls into confident women.

Yeah.

So our mentorship program, the title of the program is Move, and it's an acrony for Men of Valor and Excellence.

And it was birthed in an idea and a partnership with a school, actually, someone who intimately knows YouthHope was in the school, a teacher, and she heard the schoo counselor sharing a frustration.

Ah, we have so many behavioral problems.

And this woman said, you know, I think YouthHope can help.

And we started meeting with the school administration, and Jim, the idea that was flipped on its head that really makes this program meaningful is as an organization, we said to the school, give us your 2025 worst behaving third and fourth grade boys.

That's how it started.

And you can imagine there was some resistance.

Why would we reward bad behavior?

What is this?

What are you guys asking for?

I mean, just just let us try it, see how it works.

And so they nominated their their kids that had the greatest need, their little young men, from third and fourth grade.

And we partnered them with godly male men that would meet with them for an entire year and just pour into them, have lunch with them, and we'd teach them about respect.

And it has been so transformational.

The young boys have had such a difference in how they talk to their teachers, how they behave in the classroom, that there has been such an excitement and a demand fo this program, that it's growing.

We started with one school, now we're at four schools, but we have a waitlist of 11 schools that are interested in expanding this program.

So we need volunteers.

So if there's any men that hear this and want to come mentor.

It's once a month.

So it's a pretty easy commitment.

But once a month, having lunch with a young third or fourth grade boy can change that boy's life.

Speaking of, expansion is that your group has been trying to expand in Davenport.

Particularly on the southwest side.

You have a capital campaign going on.

We do, yeah.

So the the headline, the most exciting thing that just happened in March is we purchased the building.

So that is a huge, just exciting moment in time.

We have a partnership with 180, the, organization, and we've been working together to pou into the West End of Davenport.

And we're kind of, stepping into their shoes and continuing the wor with kids in that neighborhood.

And Jim, there's so much need on the West End of Davenport.

I heard a statistic from th Scott County Health Department that a young child from the zip code of the West End versus a chil from a zip code of Bettendorf, that young child from the West End is more, is going to have a 15 year shorter lifespan for factors of violence and poverty and, just things that happen, that those kids are going to live 15 years shorter than someone just a few miles away that grew up in a safer environment.

Purely because of environment.

in so many different ways.

Yeah.

So you have the gala that's coming up, which of course, the banquet, I should say which which of course is a moment of celebration.

But it's also a moment for you to look forward.

So tell me what you're hoping to to accomplish in the banquet and tell me about the forward thinking.

Yeah, absolutely.

Well, the the people who have come before me, I stand on the top of a mountain of of investment, of faithfulness, like I said earlier, of people who have given their lives to build this ministry, this organization to serve at-risk kids.

So we are just getting started and we hope for 90 years in front of us to serve this community and to grow into not just Iowa side of the river, but East Moline and Silvis and beyond, wher there are so many kids in need.

We provide a safe place, our our purpose that we we say as a team all the time together as we passionately and persistently pursue at-risk kids and teens through authentic relationships to lead them to hope in Jesus Christ.

So as long as there's kid in need, we are going to do what we're doing and go pursue them and invite them in to know the love of Jesus.

Banquet tickets are still available.

They absolutely are.

You can go to our website.

It's YouthHopeQC.org and we would love to have the community join us.

It's going to be a celebration, a sharing of some of the history, but also a forecasting of the vision and the dreams of how we can grow and meet more needs here in our community.

Our thanks to the Executive Director of YouthHope, Esther Joy King.

Tickets are still available for the youth Hope banquet.

As you heard on April 30th you can go to youth Hope qcd.org for the detail as well as a link to register.

We are celebrating America 250 with an ongoing initiative that looks at what some of ou friends and neighbors have done, whether it be on the job or in their spare time.

For the past year, we asked people about their Civic Spark, why they continue to contribut to the cities.

And we posed that question to Rock Island County Board Chair Richard Brunk.

[soft music] [music ends] Our thanks to Rock Islan County Board Chair Richard Brunk for sharing his Civic Spark.

On the air, on the radio, on the web, on your mobile device and streaming on your computer, thanks for taking some time to join us as we talk about the issues on The Cities.

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