WeatherBrains 1046: Commissioner Emeritus
WeatherBrains
Tonight's show is all about the OTUS Project. It's a nonprofit research mission lead by President Nelson Tucker, Drone Builder and Ops Coordinator Louis Tucker, Lead Engineer Tanner Beard, and chasing expert Eric Fox. The OTUS Project was founded by engineering and meteorology students, and is pioneering the use of cutting edge UAV technology, software and sensor engineering to investigate tornadoes in ways never before possible. Their goal is to protect life and property by improving our understanding of wind forces for structural resilience and collecting thermodynamic data...
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WeatherBrains 1045: NAM Kicked Booty
WeatherBrains
Tonight’s show celebrates 20 years of WeatherBrains, still going strong in January 2026! Former show regulars join the panel to reflect on memorable moments, including Aubrey Urbanowicz, Nate Johnson, Dr. John Scala, and Dr. Neil Jacobs. Over the years, WeatherBrains has covered nearly every topic in meteorology, and panelist Jen Narramore shares audio highlights from some of the most memorable episodes. Thanks for being part of the celebration tonight! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: email@weatherbrains.com. ...
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WeatherBrains 1044: Ape Crazy
WeatherBrains
Tonight's show is dedicated to a deep dive into avalanches! Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is Dr. Ethan Greene from Colorado Avalanche Center. He's also served as the Director of the NW Pacific Avalanche Center. We will cover a basic understanding of avalanches, the geographic responsibility of the Colorado Avalanche Center, launch of forecasting avalanches and how they try to prevent avalanches during the off-season. We will examine how they prepared in this work with the citizens of Colorado and who they collaborate with make this happen. Dr. Greene joined CAIC as...
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WeatherBrains 1043: The Aliens Are Moving
WeatherBrains
Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is Canadian meteorologist Ken MacDonald. He started his career way back in 1975, and has been an instructor, a forecaster, and a researcher. He is the former Executive Director of Environment Canada. Our second Guest WeatherBrain James Abraham is a veteran meteorologist with almost four decades of experience who has forecasted in British Columbia, the U. S. East Coast and even was former and first Director of the Canadian Hurricane Center. Ken and James, welcome to WeatherBrains! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming...
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WeatherBrains 1042: Two Hour Bag of Nonsense
WeatherBrains
Our Guest WeatherBrain couldn't make it tonight, so our panel holds a homegrown episode to kick off 2026. Discussions include storm-based vs county-warnings, public storm reports, and a deep-dive into fundamentals of modern-day radar. Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: email@weatherbrains.com. Severe storms possible on Friday in Deep South 1/9/26 (05:00) Storm-based warnings vs county-wide warnings (26:00) Pete Wolf Charitable Foundation (38:00) Helping the general public with radar interpretation (48:00) Public storm...
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WeatherBrains 1041: I Am The Blue Norther
WeatherBrains
On WeatherBrains this week this our annual year-ender episode with Greg Carbin. Greg needs no introduction; tonight we look back at 2025's notable weather events, and what the meteorology community has learned in the past year. Greg has presented his “Year-in-Review” presentation to the NWA Annual Meeting every year since 2004. His professional society memberships have included the NWA, AMS, International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), and Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Greg currently serves as Chair on the NWA’s Professional Development Committee. ...
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WeatherBrains 1040: I Will Hunt You Down
WeatherBrains
On WeatherBrains this week are two special guests. Friend of the show and WeatherBrains veteran Mark Sudduth is the owner of HurricaneTrack.com and has over three decades of experience documenting landfalling hurricanes and other high impact weather events. He founded the Hurricane Intercept Research Team, which pioneers the use of unmanned camera systems to safely capture severe weather. Welcome to the show! Last but certainly not least is our second Guest WeatherBrain Bruce Thomas. He's the President of WeatherCall and is the former spokesman of Midland Weather Radio...
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WeatherBrains 1039: Moose Pasture
WeatherBrains
On WeatherBrains this week are meteorologist Jim Abraham with Environment Canada and meteorologist Ken MacDonald. Jim actually started the Canadian Hurricane Center in Halifax, and has been working in meteorology for over four decades. Ken MacDonald has been in the weather field for over 48 years. He launched his career in 1975, and has been an instructor, a forecaster, and a researcher in areas all over Canada. It's great to see you both and thank you for joining us tonight! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners....
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WeatherBrains 1038: We're Losing Minutes
WeatherBrains
On WeatherBrains this week, we're diving deep into the Weather Prediction Center's Winter Program - how they forecast snow and ice, the challenges of nailing accumulation totals, the coordination calls with NWS field offices, and what the future may hold for winter weather headlines. Joining us are two of WC's best: Peter Mullinax, a lead winter forecaster who produces national snow and ice guidance, Key Messages, and a wide range of surface, short-range, rainfall, and tropical products; and Dr. Owen Shieh, WPC's Warning Coordination Meteorologist, providing national-level decision support for...
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WeatherBrains 1037: Fizz Dizz
WeatherBrains
Tonight’s Guest WeatherBrain is WPC's WCM Warning Coordination Meteorologist Dr. Owen Shieh. He holds a B.S. in Atmospheric Science from Cornell University, an M.S. in Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Hawaii. We talk tonight about how Owen landed this position and all of the aspects of his role. He's also a talented gardener and an accomplished musician. Welcome to the show and thanks for joining us, Owen! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach...
info_outlineTonight's show is all about the OTUS Project. It's a nonprofit research mission lead by President Nelson Tucker, Drone Builder and Ops Coordinator Louis Tucker, Lead Engineer Tanner Beard, and chasing expert Eric Fox. The OTUS Project was founded by engineering and meteorology students, and is pioneering the use of cutting edge UAV technology, software and sensor engineering to investigate tornadoes in ways never before possible. Their goal is to protect life and property by improving our understanding of wind forces for structural resilience and collecting thermodynamic data to enhance computer models. Also, they prioritize hazard prediction through advanced drone deployment and strategic partnerships as well as real-time field work. Thanks for joining us tonight!
Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: email@weatherbrains.com.
- Meet the OTUS Team! (05:00)
- How did OTUS Project start? (11:30)
- Drone design development (14:30)
- What does an OTUS project deployment look like? (17:30)
- Successful 2025 chasing season (22:00)
- May 2025 Arnett, OK tornado intercept (33:00)
- Difficulties of acquiring viable data with difficult variables during chases (43:00)
- Leverage controlled environments with drones for calibration activities (56:00)
- How an airspeed sensor works when chasing (57:30)
- Status on upcoming OTUS Documentary (01:09:00)
- Nelson shares footage of actual tornado intercept (01:12:00)
- 2026 National Storm Chaser Summit (01:28:00)
- The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:33:15)
- This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:36:00)
- E-Mail Segment (01:37:00)
- and more!
Web Sites from Episode 1046:
Picks of the Week:
Nelson Tucker - TornadoGenesis.Org
Eric Fox - Colorado water officials plan for "exceedingly grim" low reservoir levels
James Aydelott - Okie J on Facebook: Shovel Hack video
Jen Narramore - SPC Data Viewer
Rick Smith - SPC's Liz Leitman explains upcoming changes to SPC convective outlooks
Troy Kimmel - Out
Kim Klockow-McClain - Panel Discussion 10A - Informed decision-making and ethics: Developing a blueprint for ethical weather and climate communication
John Gordon - Barotrophic Instability AKA Karman Vortex Street
Bill Murray - Out
James Spann - Adding Intensity Information to SPC Convective Outlooks
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.