No WeatherBrains guest tonight as the show takes on a more somber note in light of the tragic news coming out of Moore, OK, where a tornado today was responsible for over 50 fatalities (at the time of the posting of the show notes). The discussion focuses on some of the issues that come out of events like this.

The winner of the contest for the bobblehead doll will be announced next week.

Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:

Our email bag officer will have the email bag in total next week.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101 and This Week in Weather History will be back next week.

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 382:

Moore, OK, Tracks from 1999 and 2013

Picks of the Week:

With the major weather events of today in Central Oklahoma, the picks of the week will also return next week.

The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like JB Elliott, Nate Johnson, Bill Murray, Kevin Selle, and Brian Peters. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating netcast about weather.

We might have found a guest WeatherBrain who does more in less time than James Spann!

Dr. Kim Elmore is a research scientist with CIMMS, Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies, and adjunct associate professor of Meteorology at OU. He was part of the VORTEX2 project on the SR2 mobile radar team. Prior to that, he was an associate scientist with the RAP at NCAR. His current project is known by its very onomatopoeic name, “mPING” – the mobile Precipitation Identification Near the Ground project. They’ve just released a new mobile app. When he’s not at work, he’s a husband, father, runner, a single/multiple-engine and glider-rated pilot, an extra-class amateur radio operator, and – as if that wasn’t enough – violinist with the National Weather Center’s new performing ensemble, “Helical Flow.”

Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:

Our email bag officer is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: As we approach the summer season which includes an uptick in lightning occurrences, the 101 segment takes a look at a little of the history of lightning research. Did you know that lightning research actually netted one person a Nobel prize? All the details in this episode.

TWIWH: Bill Murray looks back at the week of May 13th.

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 381:

Contest: Send your home screen capture to myapps at weatherbrains dot com. The prize is a James Spann Bobblehead Doll 2.0.

The Drink of Nate Johnson, Cheerwine!

NOAA Release on mPing app

Ping Project

NSSL Web Page

Picks of the Week:

JB Elliott – Lightning pic from the rim of the Grand Canyon

Nate Johnson – Time Lapse of World Change

Bill Murray – Rarity: Tornado Drought or Tornado Surplus

Brian Peters – Gets the Fog Horn!!

Kevin Selle – Mount Washington Observatory

James Spann – Forecast for the Future

The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like JB Elliott, Nate Johnson, Bill Murray, Kevin Selle, and Brian Peters. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating netcast about weather.

Our guest WeatherBrain was supposed to be Tim Ballisty, Editorial Meteorologist for The Weather Channel. However, due to technical difficulties, we were unable to connect with Tim via Google+.

The result is an open show with lots of banter among the WeatherBrains gang! And on a variety of topics in the field of meteorology.

Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:

Our email bag officer is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: We’re coming up on the start of a couple of different weather season. June first is the start of the hurricane season for the Atlantic Basin. And with the start of the summer months, we also enter the primary lightning season. So this week we take a look at an often studied, fascinating aspect of nature – lightning.

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 380:

National Weather Service Employees Organization release about furloughs in NWS

Picks of the Week:

Nate Johnson – Precipitable Water Plots

Brian Peters – National Lightning Safety Institute

Kevin Selle – Italian tornado video

James Spann – Spann’s pictures

The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like JB Elliott, Nate Johnson, Bill Murray, Kevin Selle, and Brian Peters. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating netcast about weather.

Listener Mike Toliver of Harrisonburg, VA, recommended tonight’s guest WeatherBrain. Aubrey Urbanowicz is the 5 pm meteorologist at the ABC affiliate in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, WHSV-TV Channel 3 in Harrisonburg, VA. Aubrey is from Wallingford, CT, and she attended East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN. She received a Bachelors of Geosciences degree from Mississippi State with a concentration in Broadcast Meteorology. She worked for Chili’s for nearly 12 years where she had the opportunity to travel the country training employees and opening restaurants. It was after being caught in all four Florida hurricanes of 2004 and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita of 2005 working for Chili’s that Aubrey found her calling into weather. She pursued her degree while living in Johnson City, TN, and eventually interned at WJHL in the Tri-Cities.

Aubrey loves to travel, hike, run, and just about anything outside or in the mountains, as well visit friends and her youngest brother Andrew in Johnson City, TN.

Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:

Our email bag officer is AWOL again, but this time we hear from him using the magic of pre-recorded segment. And Kevin plans to sue for non-payment of the rights to “He’s Out.”

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: Unraveling the mysteries of the near-time environment of tornadoes. A daunting task to say the least. So why not use some stick figures to do it? Well, a project at Texas Tech has done just that, but they call the instruments “stick-nets.” This segment of 101 has the low down on just what stick-nets are.

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 379:

WHSV-TV Channel 3

Hurricane Francis 2004

Local Weather Data on WHSV

Picks of the Week:

Brian Peters – Video of Hailstorm

Kevin Selle – Environmental Visualization Lab Flooding Image
WxSat app

James Spann – Hurricane on Saturn

Aubrey Urbanowicz – picture of smoke funnel below

The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Kevin Selle and Brian Peters. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating netcast about weather.

Picture of smoke funnel:

Tonight’s Guest WeatherBrain is back for his third appearance on the show. He appeared on Episode 248 and Episode 219. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Georgia. He is a good friend of the podcast. He is Dr. John Knox.

Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:

Our email bag officer decides to work on his thesis leaving the show high and dry related to emails. Come back next week for a full rundown.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: Did you like the movie “Twister?” Did you know that the idea for it actually came from a project at NSSL involving TOTO? Listen in this week as the 101 segment takes a look at TOTO, the movie from 1996, and some of the techniques that are being used today to gather data in, around, and within a tornado.

TWIWH: Bill Murray looks back at the week of April 22nd.

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 378:

University of Georgia

University of Georgia Geography Department

Dr. John Knox biography

ABC 3340 Bobblehead Giveaway Teaser video

Bobblehead Reveal video

Meteorology: Understanding the Atmosphere

SkyDaver Blogspot

Picks of the Week:

JB Elliott – Lenticular Cloud over Mt. Hood

Dr. John Knox – Athens, GA, Weather

Bill Murray – Central Alabama NWA Chapter

Brian Peters – Gets the Fog Horn!

Kevin Selle – Gets the Fog Horn! Then picks Yahoo iOS Weather App

James Spann – Convective Season Parameters and Indices

The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like JB Elliott, Nate Johnson, Bill Murray, Kevin Selle, and Brian Peters. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating netcast about weather.

This week’s Guest WeatherBrain, Seth Binau, is a suggestion of listener John McCoy from a famous tornado town, Xenia, OH. He has been the Science and Operations Officer at the NWS Office in Wilmington, OH, for the past three and a half years. His prior NWS positions include a Meteorologist Intern in Aberdeen, SD, a Journeyman Forecaster in the Twin Cities, and a Senior Forecaster in La Crosse, WI. He was born and raised in Upper Sandusky, OH, and attended Iowa State University where he received his BS in Meteorology in 1999. At his current position in the NWS, he manages the office’s science and training program and is beginning his 15th year in the NWS. He is married, with two children, ages 10 and 6. His interests outside of weather include traveling, outdoor sports and activities, and being a Dad!

Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:

Our email bag officer is ambidextrous at handling the incoming messages from our listeners.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: There are some changes coming to the hurricane program of the US National Weather Service. One of the biggest will be the expansion in time of the Tropical Weather Outlook. Be sure to listen to the 101 segment to get up to date on the changes coming for 2013.

TWIWH: Bill Murray looks back at the week of April 15th.

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 377:

Wilmington, OH, NWS web site

NWS Furlough News

Service Assessment of June 29, 2012, Derecho

NWS Wilmington, OH, Facebook presence

New Weather Radar in DFW Area (also Kevin’s second pick)

Picks of the Week:

JB Elliott – Calgary, Alberta, Lightning Display

Nate Johnson – Looking for Volunteer Weather Observers

Bill Murray –

Brian Peters – Retirement of the Name Sandy from Hurricane List

Kevin Selle – News is Bad for You

James Spann – SPC Experimental Forecasts

The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like JB Elliott, Nate Johnson, Bill Murray, Kevin Selle, and Brian Peters. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating netcast about weather.

Lee Sandlin is a journalist and essayist who was born in Wildwood, Illinois, and grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. He briefly attended the University of Chicago and Roosevelt University before leaving school to travel and write. He lives in Chicago.

He has written feature journalism, historical studies, and music reviews on opera and classical works — mostly for the Chicago Reader, where he was also for many years the TV critic. More recently, he has become a frequent contributor to the Wall Street Journal.

His essay “Losing the War,” first appeared in 1997, subtitled “World War II has faded into movies, anecdotes, and archives that nobody cares about anymore. Are we finally losing the war?” It has been on university reading lists and praised in blogs of both anti-war activists and neocon crusaders. A segment was adapted for broadcast by the public radio show “This American Life” and anthologized by its host, Ira Glass, in a 2007 collection, “The New Kings of Nonfiction.”

“Saving His Life,” his biography of his father-in-law, a Russian emigre who grew up in China, was recently published in a limited edition by Sherwin Beach Press. The Distancers (2004) chronicles the American Midwest of several generations, as reflected in the history of a single house. His most recent work is “Wicked River,” a narrative history of the Mississippi River in the 19th century. An exhaustive survey of his other interests can be found on the Enthusiasms page.

Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:

Our email bag officer is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners and is happy to see more email messages.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: So Superstorm Sandy created quite a stir for a number of reasons. One of those factors concerned the dropping of hurricane warnings since Sandy went non-tropical as she was headed toward shore. Well, the controversy may not be over, but there are some changes being made that may keep that sort of thing from happening again.

TWIWH: Bill Murray looks back at the week of April 8th.

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 376:

Release on Hurricane Definition Changes

Storm Kings on Amazon

Lee Sandlin’s web site

Picks of the Week:

Nate Johnson – Houston Chronicle article about Dated Storm Protection

Bill Murray – Gets the Fog Horn!!

Brian Peters – Joplin Tornado NWS Service Assessment

Kevin Selle – Digital Meteorologist article

James Spann – Feedly – a Better Reader

The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Nate Johnson, Bill Murray, Kevin Selle, and Brian Peters. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating netcast about weather.

Tonight’s Guest WeatherBrain is no stranger to the WeatherBrains crew. This friend of the podcast is a leading social scientist that has made a name for herself in the weatherworld. She is a Research Professor with the Social Science Research Center (SSRC) at Mississippi State University. Dr. Laura Myers serves as Principal Investigator on a Department of Homeland Security grant concerning regional disaster response planning; through this grant, she will develop regional emergency planning networks on the Gulf Coast of the United States. Dr. Myers holds a doctorate in criminology from Florida State University, and her publication and training areas include disaster management and planning, criminal justice education, criminal courts, criminal justice ethics, criminal justice administration, and cultural diversity. Her publications can be found in the Journal of Business Continuity and Emergency Planning, the Journal of Criminal Justice Education, and the Prison Journal, among others. Dr. Myers’ latest textbook on criminal justice will be her third book published in this field.!

Our guest panelist is from Waco, TX. Conley Isom works for KXVV-TV. Conley grew up in the Fort Worth area and was fascinated with weather at an early age. It was the hail storm of May, 1995, that made him want to become a TV meteorologist. He took that passion to Texas A&M University where he received his B.S. in Meteorology. While in college, Conley had the opportunity to storm chase and loves to track severe storms.

Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:

Our email bag officer is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners, so keep Nate busy by piling on those emails.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: Admit it – the field of meteorology has almost as many abbreviations and acronyms as the U. S.Government!! One of those that you run into often is MOS, not to be confused with the 12,000 variations of carpeted green “moss” in the woods. There is much that goes into creating the MOS table that many of us refer to, so this episode takes a look at what comprises MOS.

TWIWH: Bill Murray looks back at the week of April 1. This week in weather history included the Super Outbreak of Tornadoes on April 3rd and 4th, 1974.

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 375:

Mississippi State University Social Science Research Center

Center for Advanced Public Safety, University of Alabama

Meteorological Development Lab

Skydaver’s Blog

National Tropical Weather Conference

Picks of the Week:

Conley Isom – Texas Storm Chaser web page

Nate Johnson – 53rd Anniversary of First Weather Satellite Images
Dark Sky Forecast

Bill Murray – Analysis of Tri-State Tornado of March, 1925

Brian Peters – Weather Message – software to help with siren activation

Kevin Selle – Snow when to hold ‘em

James Spann – Article about James Hansen leaving NASA

The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Nate Johnson, Bill Murray, Kevin Selle, and Brian Peters. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating netcast about weather.

Our guest WeatherBrain is Greg Nordstrom. He was born in Hollywood, CA, and grew up in Los Angeles, CA, until he was almost 12 years old. After a brief stop in Raleigh, NC, he moved to Arlington, VA, in 1992. Greg always had a strong interest for weather, especially hurricanes, but a year later when the Superstorm of 1993 hit, his interest became a passion. The pressure dropped to 28.53″ at his house during the height of the storm! He enjoys studying all types of weather from Nor’easters to tornadoes, but my favorite is hurricanes. In his opinion, there is nothing that can compare to the power of a hurricane! He has been very fortunate to have experienced some of the strongest hurricanes of my era, and his ultimate goal is to chase 100 hurricanes before he dies. He loves being a part of a great university like Mississippi State with an excellent department!

In his spare time, Greg loves to watch sports including Raiders, Lakers, UCLA, and the Dodgers. He loves forecasting, historical weather, photography, videography, traveling to the Florida Keys, and, of course, storm chasing ALL types of weather any chance I get! If you ever see him storm chasing, stop him and say hello.

Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:

Our email bag officer is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners but submits an audio version since he is off doing something else.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: You hear all kinds of phrases when you are avidly watching the weather. One of those phrase you may have seen is “dew point depression.” So what is that and what meaning does it hold for weather enthusiasts?

TWIWH: Bill Murray looks back at the week of March 25th. The week features a tornado event in Talladega County, AL, that involved four deaths in mobile homes.

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 374:

Greg’s bio at MSU

Mississippi State University Geosciences Department

Greg Nordstrom’s video of Ike

1935 Keys Hurricane

Mississippi State Severe Weather Symposium

Bad Weather Brewery

Greg Nordstrom on Twitter

Picks of the Week:

Bill Murray – Gets the Fog Horn

Greg Nordstrom – tropmet.com

Brian Peters – Summary of Hurricane Ivan

Kevin Selle – Weather Story from The Verge

James Spann – Kapooya-Autotune Remix

The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like JB Elliott, Nate Johnson, Bill Murray, Kevin Selle, and Brian Peters. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating netcast about weather.

This week’s Guest WeatherBrain needs no introduction. Tonight’s marks his entrance into the WeatherBrains three time Brain club, an accomplishment only endured by a small group of brave and foolish souls. But all kidding aside, he is one of the legends of our industry. Tonight, we welcome back the man, the myth and legend, Dr. Chuck Doswell.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: Having just completed a long and technical rundown on the dual polarization upgrade to NWS Doppler radars, we now turn to something less technical (red less boring!!) – and that is weather folklore. This week we take a look at a couple of folklore sayings and explore their validity.

TWIWH: Bill Murray looks back at the week of March 18th.

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 373:

Picks of the Week:

Nate Johnson – Delorean Electric car

Kevin Selle – Smart Phone anemometer

James Spann – New enhanced SPC mesoanalysis page

The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like JB Elliott, Nate Johnson, Bill Murray, Kevin Selle, and Brian Peters. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating netcast about weather.