Spring arrives at 8:44 a.m. on Friday, but we are already seeing all the signs that spring has sprung. It seems everything is starting to change, from the grass in the yard going from brown to brown with a shade of green, to snow boots being replaced by flip-flops.

Most of us enjoy seeing mother nature come out of hibernation. We are tired of bare trees and chilly wind. In the meteorological circle, we tend to get geared up as well. Spring usually means extra hours in the studio or out in the field following the damage caused by severe storms or predicting when the next batch will arrive.

Contrary to popular belief, the weather geeks in the studio aren’t all wishing for tornadoes and damaging storms — although you can argue the contrary in some cases. We get excited for a completely different reason. We are typically nervous about the strength that some of these storms are capable of, and about the possibility of a tornado destroying homes or killing people in the community. It is important that we’re accurate, timely, and armed with the latest data in order for us to keep you on top of what is going on.

That’s why the 6NEWS weather team makes it a priority to be on air when there is a danger to the communities that we serve. Whether it is a storm rolling through Lawrence, or hail in Basehor, or wind damage in Piper or Tonganoxie, we’ll be here to keep you informed.