WeatherBrains 1024: Tokin' On A Number
WeatherBrains
Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is a meteorologist, climatologist, instructor, and now author. She has a brand new book just released titled "Wilder Weather: What Laura Ingalls Wilder Teaches Us About Weather, Climate, And Protecting What We Cherish". In her book, she digs deep into Wilder's depictions of weather events and helps readers connect past weather to present weather. She's worked at NOAA for over 23 years. Dr. Barbara Boustead, it's great to have you on the show! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach...
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WeatherBrains 1023B: Me And 8 Million Bags
WeatherBrains
WeatherBrains Episode 1023B is a deep dive into 2005's Hurricane Katrina. It's hard to believe, but the tragedy is approaching its 20th anniversary. Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain for this somber episode is the Curator of the Ground Zero Museum in Waveland, Mississippi. She's a retired RN and was a former Nurse Administrator in New Orleans, LA. Bernie Cullen, thanks for joining us. Guest Panelist and show veteran Mark Sudduth "The Hurricane Tracker" joins the panel's discussion by looking back at such a significant historical event, the technological challenges of twenty years...
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WeatherBrains 1023A: NWA 2025 Preview
WeatherBrains
WeatherBrains Episode 1023A is a preview of the upcoming 2025 NWA Annual Meeting in Huntsville, AL. The meeting is only two weeks away from the date of recording (August 25th, 2025). Show veteran Kevin Laws joins us to dive into the upcoming NWA Annual Meeting in Huntsville. He currently serves as the SOO (Science and Operations Officer) of the Birmingham, AL NWS office. Kevin, it's great to see you again. David from the Texas Storm Chasers also drops in to chat with the panel about what to expect at the meeting. Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming...
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WeatherBrains 1022: Tighter Than A Tick’s Butt
WeatherBrains
Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is a professor of mechanical engineering and applied mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania. He previously served as a principal scientist at Microsoft Research, where he led the development of Aurora. This was the groundbreaking AI foundation model for earth system forecasting. Dr. Paris Perdikaris, welcome to WeatherBrains! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: [email protected]. What is Aurora and the motivation for the program? (08:15) Practical experience and...
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WeatherBrains 1021: I’m Glad You Wear Pants Now
WeatherBrains
Tonight's First Guest WeatherBrain is a meteorologist and veteran storm chaser who has documented tornadoes, hurricanes and supercells across the United States since 2015. He has degrees from Arizona State University and the University of Oklahoma, where he operated a mobile radar under tornado research pioneer Dr. Howie Bluestein. Trey Greenwood, welcome to the show! Our Second Guest WeatherBrain is a professional broadcaster and CEO of storm chaser Coaching, hosting over 200 episodes of the Chaser Chat Podcast since 2020. He leads the company's mission to centralize storm...
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WeatherBrains 1020: Slashing Tires
WeatherBrains
Tonight's special Guest WeatherBrain is Evan Fryberger, who is an independent content creator and a weather communicator who has built a loyal following online. He's a calm and informed voice in the ever-noisy world of weather streaming. His no-hype approach stands out in an age of rising anxiety and clickbait. Evan, welcome to WeatherBrains! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: [email protected]. New record low maximum for Birmingham, AL on August 4th at 77 (02:00) One week away from launch of Alabama...
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WeatherBrains 1019: Colon Cleansing
WeatherBrains
Tonight is a late-summer unfiltered homegrown show from the panel, and it's an array of important topics, including the launch of the Alabama Weather Network. The panel discuss its mission and vision moving forward. The regulars deep-dive into other pressing topics like confusion over county warning areas, new information about the Texas flooding tragedy, and much more. Thanks for listening! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: [email protected]. Telling the stories from the perspective of storm...
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WeatherBrains 1018: He Got His Crotch Caught
WeatherBrains
Tonight's Hall of Fame Episode pays tribute to the legendary late broadcast meteorologist and industry pioneer Gary England, who passed away on June 10th 2025. He was 85 years old. We have three Guest WeatherBrains tonight to help us honor Gary England, who was a pioneer and a trailblazer in the field of meteorology. Our first two Guest WeatherBrains appeared on Episode No. 946. First up is David Payne, who is the Chief Meteorologist of KWTV Channel 9 in Oklahoma City. He replaced Gary England when he retired in mid-2013. He is a native Oklahoman and an OU...
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WeatherBrains 1017: Jenny8675309
WeatherBrains
Tonight's episode features TWO special guests! Our Guest WeatherBrain for tonight is an award winning journalist and author who's latest book "Cloud Warriors" was recently named one of Barnes and Nobles's best science and technology books in 2025 with a background in investigative and narrative journalism. He brings a deep curiosity and perspective to the world of atmospheric science. In researching his book, he traveled across the country embedded with scientists at the National Weather Service. His book explores the shifting landscape of weather forecasting at a time that...
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WeatherBrains 1016: A Time For Sorrow
WeatherBrains
Tonight's episode comes on the heels of another horrific weather tragedy; a Texas hill country flash flooding event that killed at least 100 people. This was a flash flood that we all fear - extreme rainfall, rugged terrain, and was a nocturnal event overnight on a holiday weekend. It's a home-grown show among our panelists, and it's a critical topic about a historical weather event. Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: [email protected]. 1978 Texas Flash Flood/Tropical Storm Amelia (03:00) What makes the...
info_outlineTonight's Guest WeatherBrain has a 25-year history in aviation. He is an experienced skydiver with over 700 jumps, a fixed-wing pilot with a seaplane rating, and a commercial hot air balloon pilot. His company, Champagne Sunrise, operates out of Meridian, Mississippi, and has safely taken hundreds of passengers on unforgettable balloon rides over the years. Beyond commercial operations, he uses Champagne Sunrise for community outreach, including delivering letters to the North Pole for Santa with local schools and donating tethered balloon rides to the local children’s museum. During the week, he serves as the General Manager of Peavey Electronics, one of the largest manufacturers of musical instruments and professional audio equipment in the world, with sales in over 136 countries. Additionally, he is a Board Member of the Balloon Federation of America (BFA). Fred Poole, 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 incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: [email protected].
- Conditional severe weather threat in Nation's Heartland (01:00)
- Potential issues for severe thunderstorms on May 1st (04:30)
- Differences between base jumping vs sky diving (11:30)
- Base level weather knowledge needed for hot air balloon piloting (20:30)
- What it is like to ride in seaplanes (29:50)
- Utilizing Windy.com in aviation and hot air balloon piloting (34:30)
- Balloon chasing before the days of GPS (44:30)
- Hot air balloon designs/artwork/decorations (49:45)
- Fabric/materials used in hot air balloons (51:30)
- On-site weather operations/protocol for hot air balloon festivals (53:00)
- Hot air balloon safety precautions (58:15)
- Typical hot air balloon clientele and standard flight preparation (01:03:07)
- Hot air balloon instrumentation (01:06:30)
- Unique rides (01:15:00)
- Balloon Federation of America (01:17:30)
- Communication and radio equipment (01:21:45)
- Saint Louis University loses meteorology program (01:30:00)
- Importance of past analogs of severe weather events for assimilating public forecasts (01:31:00)
- Bruce Jones/Midland Weather Radio (01:33:25)
- The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (No segment this week)
- This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:26:15)
- E-Mail Segment (01:27:30)
- and more!
Web Sites from Episode 1006:
Champagne Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Rides
Picks of the Week:
Fred Poole - Windy.com
Bruce Jones - La Plata Maryland April 28, 2002 Tornado Outbreak paper by Tim Marshall
James Aydelott - Image of QLCS TDS in western Wisconsin/a>
Jen Narramore - OTUS Project on X: NE Tornado Photo
Rick Smith - Out
Troy Kimmel - Out
Kim Klockow-McClain - Tom Petty - Free Fallin'
John Gordon - VWP Display and Calculations - VMP Paper by Jared Guyer and John Hart
John Gordon - Vertical Wind Profile SAT
Bill Murray - Out
James Spann - Using lightning to monitor the extreme impacts of landfalling hurricanes -NSSL News
The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore, John Gordon, and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.