WeatherBrains

WeatherBrains Episode 179 is now online (June 29, 2009). If you are crazy about weather, this is THE netcast audio program for you!

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No special guest on the show this evening, so you just never know what to expect out of the regular cast of characters in this netcast.

1977 was the year in which the longest period of no named tropical storm. And the tropics remain quiet at this episode.

Other discussions in this weekly netcast include topics like:

Our mail bag keeps our Email Officer busy, so Kevin tackles some interesting emails.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: Tackling a term that has appeared in at least 12 Weather Brains 101 segments, Professor Peters goes after dew point. This is a element that gets a lot of use in weather but it also gets it’s share of questions.

TWIWH: Bill Murray looks back at the week of June 30th with an interesting hurricane story.

Listener Surveys: Okay, we continue to drive this topic into the ground, but we really do like to hear from you. Many thanks to everyone who has taken the time to fill out the Listener Survey. The survey takes just a minute or two to complete and provides us with an opportunity to learn where you are and hear your thoughts and comments on the show. Click here to take the survey.

Web Sites from Episode 179:

Storm Pulse

Picks of the Week:

Brian Peters - Proposed NWS Weather Radar Display

James Spann - Alabama Climatologist Responds to Climate Change

JB Elliott - Ohio State University Twister site

Bill Murray - The Rough Guide to Climate Change by Robert Henson

Dr. Tim Coleman - You Tube Video of Warrior River Trip

Kevin Selle - National Data Buoy Center

Join James Spann, JB Elliott, Kevin Selle, Dr. Tim Coleman, Bill Murray, and Brian Peters as they come together for another fascinating netcast about the weather.

We love to hear from you! To leave a recorded message, call 1-888-247-8627. Some calls may be used in future episodes. Also, feel free to post comments to the site and drop us an email at email at (at symbol) weatherbrains dot com.

WeatherBrains Episode 176 is now online (June 22, 2009). If you are crazy about weather, this is THE netcast audio program for you!

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Our guest is Craig Mattox of the Southeastern Conference.  He is the Tournament Director for the annual SEC Basketball Tournament.  He also handles game management issues with the 12 member institutions of the conference.   Craig discussed the Atlanta tornado of March 14, 2008 that hit the Georgia Dome during the middle of a quarterfinal basketball matchup between Alabama and Mississippi State.  He talked about changes in emergency plans at the different schools for sports events.

We also had Josh Johnson, morning meteorologist for WSFA – Channel 12 in Montgomery, on the show.  He set the meteorological stage for the Atlanta tornado and gave a local perspective since he worked at Channel 11 in Atlanta then.

Our mail bag has been getting some attention and Kevin puts it in perspective.

Picks of the Week:

Bill Murray -  Alabama Lawn and Garden Index and Southeastern Lawn and Garden Index and Island in a Storm book.

James Spann -  NWS Precipitation

Josh Johnson -  Weatherquest

Kevin Selle -  Episode 62 - Heatbursts

Join James Spann, JB Elliott, Kevin Selle, Dr. Tim Coleman, and Brian Peters as they come together for another fascinating netcast about the weather.

We love to hear from you! To leave a recorded message, call 1-888-247-8627. Some calls may be used in future episodes. Also, feel free to post comments to the site and drop us an email at email at (at symbol) weatherbrains dot com.

WeatherBrains Episode 177 is now online (June 15, 2009). If you are crazy about weather, this is THE netcast audio program for you!

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Our special guest on this show is Jay Barnes, an author who has written two books on the history of hurricanes in Florida and North Carolina. Jay’s books look at hurricane history from a human perspective. Fortunately Jay has time to share a few of those stories with WeatherBrains listeners.

Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:

Our mail box sees some mail and we have a temporary email officer. You may be surprised who picks up the reins of this job and how many emails he has.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: Hurricane season is with us and the area where tropical systems form has a special name - it’s called the doldrums. What does that mean and where exactly are those doldrums. Professor Peters delves into the topic involving another unusual name.

Listener Surveys: Okay, we continue to drive this topic into the ground, but we really do like to hear from you. Many thanks to everyone who has taken the time to fill out the Listener Survey. The survey takes just a minute or two to complete and provides us with an opportunity to learn where you are and hear your thoughts and comments on the show. Click here to take the survey.

Web Sites from Episode 177:

Jay Barnes information

UK Tornadoes 1

UK Tornadoes 2

11 Alive Story on Westin-Peachtree Plaza

CBS Atlanta Story on Westin-Peachtree Plaza

Picks of the Week:

No picks this week due to on-going severe weather. But Brian requests a horn waiver since he had his pick already to go!

Join James Spann, JB Elliott, Bill Murray, and Brian Peters as they come together for another fascinating netcast about the weather.

We love to hear from you! To leave a recorded message, call 1-888-247-8627. Some calls may be used in future episodes. Also, feel free to post comments to the site and drop us an email at email at (at symbol) weatherbrains dot com.

WeatherBrains Episode 176 is now online (June 7, 2009). If you are crazy about weather, this is THE netcast audio program just for you!

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Tonight’s show, taped on Sunday, June 7th, in keeping with our weird schedule features the Meteorologist-in-Charge of an NWS office, specifically the NWS office in Birmingham, AL. Joining the WeatherBrains crew is Jim Stefkovich who has seen extensive NWS service at offices such as Fort Worth, TX, Jackson, MS, and Chicago, IL, before coming to Birmingham a couple of years ago. Our discussion focuses on the warning process and specifically what is called the false alarm. The FAR is a statistic that measures the warnings for which no event occurred.

Our mail bag continues to get input and Kevin brings a summary of the feedback. Some topics include meteorology jobs, marble size hails, the movie “Twister,” a chase scare, plus other emails.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: A look at the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.

TWIWH: Bill Murray looks back at the week of June 9th.

Listener Surveys: Okay, we continue to drive this topic into the ground, but we really do like to hear from you. Many thanks to everyone who has taken the time to fill out the Listener Survey. The survey takes just a minute or two to complete and provides us with an opportunity to learn where you are and hear your thoughts and comments on the show. Click here to take the survey.

Web Sites from Episode 176:

Tornadoes and Vehicles

Interactive Tornado Page

New Cloud Type

Alaska Waves

Climate and Solar

Chaser Blog

Picks of the Week:

Bill Murray - Storm Based Warnings Training

Brian Peters - Gets the horn!!! So Spann suggests one - Cheaha SkyCam

James Spann - Weather Underground Tornado Page

JB Elliott - (No horn for JB this week) NOAA’s El Nino Web Page

Kevin Selle - Experimental Convective Parameters in North Texas

Join James Spann, JB Elliott, Kevin Selle, Dr. Tim Coleman, Bill Murray, and Brian Peters as they come together for another fascinating netcast about the weather.

We love to hear from you! To leave a recorded message, call 1-888-247-8627. Some calls may be used in future episodes. Also, feel free to post comments to the site and drop us an email at email at (at symbol) weatherbrains dot com.