WeatherBrains 1004: You’ll Never Be As Good As That Guy In The 80s
WeatherBrains
Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is an AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and Weather Communications Coach whose mission is to keep communities safe and help people live better lives through effective, viewer-focused weather communication. A four-time Emmy winner, Tim brings decades of major-market experience and was among the first in the nation to incorporate augmented reality into daily forecasts. Tim Heller, welcome back to WeatherBrains! Also, Bruce Jones joins us to discuss the importance of NOAA Weather Radio and its integration in order to save lives. Welcome back, Bruce! Our...
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WeatherBrains 1003: I’ve Eaten 20 Year Old SPAM
WeatherBrains
Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is a prolific author and Southern preparedness expert who has written over 75 novels that blend gripping survival scenarios with real world lessons drawn from his professional training in emergency management. His work spans everything from tornadoes and hurricanes to grid-down solar flare events. His storytelling offers a uniquely grounded, Southern approach to self-reliance and resilience. Ron Foster, welcome! Tonight's Guest Panelist is Jared Rennie, research meteorologist at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information in North...
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WeatherBrains 1002: I Am Sending You A Hair Clip
WeatherBrains
Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is a fast-rising YouTube creator known for her deeply researched and emotionally resonant documentaries on high-end tornadoes. Her channel goes beyond the radar and statistics in order to tell the human stories behind these devastating events. Born and raised in East Tennessee, she combines strong narrative skills with a unique interest in global severe weather, particularly in undeserved regions like India and China. Her work bridges science communication and empathy in a way that resonates with a new generation of weather enthusiasts....
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WeatherBrains 1001: You And Your Jet Cores
WeatherBrains
Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is one of the most respected voices in the field of broadcast meteorology. He celebrated his 45th anniversary with WGN-TV in August 2023, and officially retired from WGN-TV at the end of February 2024. Tom Skilling, it's great to see you tonight! Meteorologist and Former Director of NWS (2013-2022) Louis Uccellini also joins us tonight as a Guest Panelist. He was also director of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and served as the Permanent Representative of the United States for the World Meteorological Organization. Thanks for...
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WeatherBrains 1000: We're Just Getting Started
WeatherBrains
Tonight's WeatherBrains is a celebration. Nineteen years and 1000 shows! We are looking back on our journey and celebrating all of these years together, and we wouldn't be a podcast without our most important asset - our listeners! Tune in for this is a one-of-a-kind episode. We are also excited to announce our new permanent Panelist, meteorologist John Gordon! Also, Bruce Jones joins us to discuss the importance of NOAA Weather Radio and its integration in order to save lives. Welcome back, Bruce! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming...
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WeatherBrains 999: I'm Muting As Fast As I Can
WeatherBrains
Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is a veteran meteorologist at Bluewater Forecasting in Montgomery, Alabama. He's got almost five decades of experience in the field, and formerly served as the Chief Meteorologist at WSFA-TV in Montgomery for 34 years, before transitioning to radio. Rich Thomas, welcome to WeatherBrains! Brooks Garner of FOX 35 TV in Orlando also stops by to discuss the tornado that made a direct hit on their studios on March 10th, where he covered the tornado live on air and warned his viewers, and in this case, his co-workers! Brooks, thanks for hanging...
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WeatherBrains 998: Bangers and Mash
WeatherBrains
Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is a retired meteorologist with thirty-five years of experience at the NWS. That includes twenty-six years as a SOO, and he's been a leader with forecaster training, mesoscale analysis and radar interpretation, which helps NWS offices improve proving warning decision-making and lead times for severe weather hazards. Pete Wolf, welcome to WeatherBrains! Also, Bruce Jones joins us to discuss the importance of NOAA Weather Radio and its integration in order to save lives. Welcome back, Bruce! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the...
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WeatherBrains 997: Merry Go Round of Craziness
WeatherBrains
Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is a retired Lead Forecaster for the Storm Prediction Center with nearly four decades of Federal service, specializing in severe convective storms and tornado forecasting. He's a passionate storm chaser, researcher, and an advocate for weather safety. He co-founded the Electronic Journal of Severe Storms Meteorology and remains an influencial voice in meteorology. Roger Edwards, it is great to see you! Also, Bruce Jones joins us to discuss the importance of NOAA Weather Radio and its integration in order to save lives. Welcome back, Bruce!...
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WeatherBrains 996: Pull the METARs
WeatherBrains
Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is a seasoned broadcast meteorologist and weather anchor at KGW-TV in Portland, Oregon. He brings a wealth of knowledge and a passion for weather to his viewers daily. His forecasting career has spanned nearly 30 years, taking him from the hurricanes of south Texas to the lake effect snows of Michigan, the tornadoes of the Ohio valley and yes, the hard to predict weather of the Pacific Northwest. Rod grew up in Missouri and graduated from Mizzou. He later earned his certificate of broadcast meteorology from Mississippi State. Soon after, Rod...
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WeatherBrains 995: I'm The Girl They Didn't Like
WeatherBrains
Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is an Atmospheric Scientist and a Research Meteorologist and Managing Director of the FARM (Flexible Array of Radars and Mesonets). With a passion for fieldwork, she's collected data from over 100 tornadoes and 9 hurricanes. Karen Kosiba, thanks for joining us. Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: [email protected]. Active weather pattern ahead for Southeast (01:45) Increasing attention on hail production (19:00) The importance of field research for the emerging generation (20:30)...
info_outlineOur First Guest WeatherBrain is the great grand-niece of Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley, the Vermont farmer who first photographed snowflakes. Sue Richardson, welcome to the show!
Wilson Bentley was born on February 9, 1865 in the town of Jericho, Vermont. A farmer by trade, he attracted worldwide attention with his pioneering work in the area of photomicrography. Most notable in his life long work with rain, dew and frost, was his extensive work with snowflakes. On January 15, 1885 he became the first person to photograph a single snow crystal. He would go on to photograph well over 5000 snow crystals (never finding two the same), and his documentation of this work advanced the study of meteorology in his time. His photomicrographs were acquired by institutes of higher learning all over the world and his writings on these subjects were published in many journals and magazines including Scientific American, National Geographic and The National Weather Service Research Journal. In November of 1931, his book “Snow Crystals” was published by McGraw/Hill and is still in print today. Shortly after, on December 23, 1931, Wilson Bentley died at the family farmhouse in Jericho where he lived his entire life. Because of his wonderful work with snow crystals, he became affectionately know as “Snowflake” Bentley.
Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: [email protected].
- January 10th snowstorm totals (02:00)
- January 15, 1885: The world's first photograph of a snow crystal (10:30)
- Various shapes and sizes of snow dendrites (16:00)
- Comparisons/similarities to Dr. Ted Fujita (17:30)
- Snowflake Bentley's ice crystal analysis and perspective (41:00)
- Jericho Historical Society and exhibit (43:30)
- Collecting snowflakes and collecting "smiles" (50:30)
- Tricks of the trade in genealogy (53:30)
- AMS Annual Meeting in New Orleans (01:10:00)
- Los Angeles fires (01:11:30)
- The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:00:55)
- This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:04:08)
- E-Mail Segment (01:05:55)
- National Weather Round-Up (01:18:45)
- and more!
Web Sites from Episode 991:
"The Snowflake Man: A Biography of Wilson A. Bentley" by Duncan Blanchard
Picks of the Week:
James Aydelott - AIR7 maps out Altadena damage from Eaton Fire
James Aydelott - Eaton Fire Recovery Information
Jen Narramore - Snowflake Man Bio - Snowflake Bentley
Rick Smith - Out
Neil Jacobs - Out
Troy Kimmel - Out
Kim Klockow-McClain - Out
Bill Murray - Watch Duty Wildfire Maps and Alerts
James Spann - AMS 2025 Hashtag #AMS2025
The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore, Dr. Neil Jacobs, and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.