WeatherBrains Episode 1078 is now online (September 14th, 2026). If you are crazy about weather, this is THE podcast for you!
This week’s WeatherBrains episode is all about Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Weather Guys”.
Our Guest WeatherBrains for tonight’s episode are some of the smartest people in the weather enterprise. Dr. Jonathan Martin joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1994. He won the Edward Lawrence Teaching Award in 2016 by the AMS. He’s authored 90 papers and has helped publish several books including a biography on British meteorologist Reginald Sutcliffe about inventions on modern weather systems. He was named by Princeton Review as one of the nation’s top 300 professors. Dr. Martin, welcome to the show!
We are honored to also have on the show Dr. Steven Ackerman. He was the Director of CIMSS (The Cooperative Institute of Meteorological Satellite Studies) for over a decade. He was Vice Chancellor of Research and Graduate Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He’s won many awards as public service medals and is very involved with leadership initiatives. He’s won the Exceptional Public Service medal and is very involved with the student body. Dr. Ackerman, welcome to WeatherBrains!
Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: email@weatherbrains.com.
- Tuscaloosa, AL hits record high of 101F on 09/14/26 (01:15)
- Ridge going nowhere anytime soon! (01:30)
- What is “baratropic”? (10:45)
- Revolution in access to data over the decades (17:30)
- Advice to meteorology students who are soon entering the workforce (20:00)
- Relationship between PBS and Wisconsin (21:30)
- Development of “Weather Guys” (26:00)
- Dr. Ackerman’s and Dr. Martin’s recommended weather apps (38:00)
- CIMSS: What it is and when it started (46:00)
- The Next Big Thing in weather satellites? (50:00)
- CubeSat constellations (01:02:00)
- The future of radio? (01:10:30)
- Correlation between specific weather and El Niño ENSO phase (01:20:00)
- The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (No segment this week)
- This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:26:00)
- E-Mail Segment (01:27:00)
- Sneak peak at future WeatherBrains episodes! (01:31:30)
- and more!
Web Sites from Episode 1078:
UW Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
CIMSS (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies)
Picks of the Week:
Dr. Steven Ackerman – Volcanic Eruption of Anak Krakatau
Dr. Jonathan Martin – Atlantic hurricane season peak: no storms and a record hurricane delay
James Aydelott – Out
Jen Narramore – The Northeast Georgia History Center
Rick Smith – Out
Troy Kimmel – Disney College Program participant killed in lightning strike; Good Samaritans recount rescue attempt
Kim Klockow-McClain – NASA CubeSat to Test Miniaturized Weather Satellite Technology
Bill Murray – Out
John Gordon – Jeremy Perez on X
James Spann – James Spann on X: Auburn Football lightning delay on September 12th
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.
