Carolina Weather Group

By CarolinaWeatherGroup.comScience Natural Sciences

Carolina Weather Group episodes

May 13, 2021 How wireless companies respond to natural disasters [Ep. 363]
After storms and natural disasters, wireless companies you depend on for keeping your cell phones connected will respond with their own resources to restore connectivity.
Companies like Verizon Wireless deploy specialized storm response teams to get communities reconnected as soon as possible.
Diana Alvear is a communications manager for Verizon Wireless and joins the Carolina Weather Group to explain how her company utilizes fleets of trucks, generators, and satellites to reestablish wireless service in an impacted region. The teams respond in the wake of hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, and other natural disasters.
Wireless companies may decide to quickly establish temporary wireless towers - such as those powered by generators and attached to the back of a truck - while engineers and technicians make repairs to the permanent network.
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23 min
May 07, 2021 If it weren't for Brad, we never would have known. [Ep. 362]
It's a live*, open might night here on the Carolina Weather Group.
Among the headlines:
- An EF-1 tornado damages a York County, South Carolina farm. WCNC Charlotte's Brad Panovich visited the turkey farm to conduct his own storm survey.
- An astounding 30-mile EF-2 tornado in Abbeville and Greenwood counties in South Carolina.
Plus we answer your live* questions and comments about all things Carolinas weather.
Our guests this week, from WCNC Charlotte, Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich, and meteorologist Chris Mulcahy.
Comment with your live* thoughts and questions to become a part of tonight's show.

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*By pure definition, podcasts aren't live. So obviously this was live when it originally aired. Join us for future live shows by subscribing to your YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmhGiYbMDccQcdSjpf87nGg

Archival shows mentioned during this podcast:
From the archive: April 16, 2011 tornado outbreak: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKJOWQnys8Y
From the archive: Weather-decision support at PGA Tour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD0YuCz1k4E
From the archive: Carolina's radar problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySo45gwvIx8
1 hr 15 min
May 02, 2021 Dan reflects on Cullman tornado (Ep. 361)
Dan Whittaker, is a storm chaser and panelist on the Carolina Weather Group. On April 27, 2011, Dan had left his home in North Carolina to chase what would become a historic tornado outbreak across Alabama and the South.
In this bonus conversation with his fellow panelists, Dan recounts his storm chase through Cullman, Alabama, where he recorded video of an EF-4 tornado. That same tornado, with max winds of 175 mph, also traveled through Morgan and Marshall during its 47 mph journey on the ground. At its widest point, the tornado was a mile wide.
Across Alabama, there were 62 tornadoes that killed 352 people.
On this tenth anniversary of the historic tornado outbreak, the Carolina Weather Group also talked with James Spann. Spann, who is the chief meterologist of ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, Alabama, and the host of the weather podcast Weatherbrains, was on the air that day tracking the deadly storms across his state.
WATCH THE INTERVIEW WITH JAMES SPANN: https://youtu.be/OkJFCWnxTSc
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33 min
April 28, 2021 James Spann on April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak: 10 years later [Ep. 360]
When 62 tornadoes hit the state of Alabama on April 27, 2011, it killed 352 people across the state.
James Spann, who is the chief meteorologist at ABC 33/40 in Birmingham and the host of the Weatherbrains podcast, looks back at the tornado outbreak that leaves him shaken 10 years later.
Spann was on the air during this once-in-a-lifetime event broadcasting to his audience throughout Alabama. A skycam operated by his television station recorded one of the most devasting tornadoes of the day: The EF-4 tornado that came through Cullman, Alabama. That same tornado, with max winds of 175 mph, also traveled through Morgan and Marshall during its 47 mph journey on the ground. At its widest point, the tornado was a mile wide.
To tell the story of April 27, 2011, one has to recognize that there were two distinct waves of widespread severe weather in Central Alabama. The first wave of severe storms moved through during the early morning hours across northern portions of Central Alabama in the form of a Quasi-Linear Convective System (QLCS). This intense line of thunderstorms produced not only widespread damaging straight-line winds in the areas of Moody, Pell City, and Riverside, but numerous strong tornadoes.
The second wave, which began with the Hackleburg EF-5 tornado, involved numerous supercell thunderstorms which produced deadly long-lived, strong to violent tornadoes across the northern two-thirds of Central Alabama. Widespread and catastrophic damage was sustained in several locations.
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26 min
April 22, 2021 10 years later: April 16, 2011 Carolina tornado outbreak [Ep. 312]
10 years ago a Carolina tornado outbreak claimed 24 lives and injured over 300 people in North Carolina.
This week, we're revisiting our 2020 conversation with the National Weather Service forecasters who issued the life-saving warnings, the storm chasers who relayed the vital storm reports, and the television meteorologists who relayed the information to the public.
SUPPORT THE CAROLINA WEATHER GROUP: https://patreon.com/carolinaweathergroup
42 min
April 15, 2021 April 2020 Carolina Tornado Outbreak: A lookback [Ep. 359]
On the anniversary of one of the worst tornado outbreaks in Carolina history, we take a look back at the setup and resulting tornadoes.
Our guest this week is John Quagliariello, the warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Columbia, South Carolina.
On April 13, 2020, there were 77+ tornadoes across the entire Southeast.
For John Q and his colleagues, they found themselves in the middle of the 4th largest tornado outbreak on record for South Carolina stretching from the overnight hours of April 12th through the morning of April 13.
In the four offices that cover South Carolina, there were 36 tornadoes that touched down, including 28 total in South Carolina.
John's office alone, which covers the Midlands of South Carolina and the Central Savannah River area of Georgia, saw 8 tornadoes, including 5 EF3's, 2 EF2's, and 1 EF1.
Unfortunately, there were 77 injuries and nine fatalities with the 36 tornadoes in South Carolina. Seven of those injuries and two of the fatalities occurred with the EF3 that struck Livingston, SC in our forecast area.
SEE MORE DATA ANALYSIS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/bd495963f64b47c0a1b1b9690e57387c
SEE OUR 2020 ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION AFTER THE STORM: https://youtu.be/EANms8HL22Q
31 min
April 08, 2021 Understanding severe weather: A 101 introduction [Ep. 358]
Spring weather in North Carolina and South Carolina means the risk for severe weather including thunderstorms and tornadoes. This week the Carolina Weather Group chats with Trisha Palmer, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Greenville-Spartanburg, to understand the risk from damaging wind, hail, and floods in the Carolinas.
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20 min
April 04, 2021 Blue Ridge Parkway closure map now live (SPECIAL)
A new feature on CarolinaWeatherGroup.com will help you get outdoors safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our "Parkway Map" updates daily to show you which portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia are open to traffic.
Whether you're looking to take a day trip, a weekend, or an extended vacation, the new map will allow you to plan ahead and avoid those pesky barriers.
SEE THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY CLOSURE MAP: https://carolinaweathergroup.com/is-the-blue-ridge-parkway-open-closed/
The map comes as North Carolina has received more than 100 applications for conservation projects this year, an increase environmental groups say was driven by the spike in public demand for access to trails, parks, and natural areas during the pandemic.
North Carolina State Director for The Conservation Fund Bill Holman said proposals also include projects to protect and restore floodplains, which can buffer communities from flooding, and stream restoration efforts to protect drinking water.
He added that last year, more North Carolinians spent time outdoors than ever before.
"In 2020, almost 20 million people visited North Carolina State Parks," said Holman. "That's a record."
Holman points out the more than $76 million in requested funding far surpasses the $13 million available from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund.
Holman noted that before the 2008 recession, the state spent around $150 million on conservation projects, but that amount has decreased steadily in the past decade. He said he hopes state lawmakers funnel more money into the fund, which has bipartisan support.
Fred Annand - director of conservation resources with The Nature Conservancy in North Carolina - said climate change has added another layer of urgency to the state's conservation efforts.
"As we see sea-level rise having an impact on our shorelines," said Annand, "as we see natural areas slowly disappearing, and the importance of - again, connectivity - of giving wildlife an avenue to seek a higher gradient."
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 crisis has presented challenges for those working to preserve and protect natural areas. Annand said it's uncertain how the pandemic will affect long-term conservation goals.
"Trying to meet with landowners safely and to negotiate transactions, and to determine where matching funds will come from as well," said Annand, "that certainly has impacted our work."
In addition to reducing air and water pollution and improving soil quality, research shows protecting land also has economic benefits. One Harvard study found land conservation modestly increases employment rates, likely by creating new jobs in tourism and recreation industries.
Special Thanks to Nadia Ramlagan, of the Public News Service - NC, for the broader context in this report about the interest in expanding the state's state park options.
8 min
April 01, 2021 A conversation with Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz [Ep. 357]
Tonight a new conversation with Glenn Hurricane Schwartz, who has been the chief meteorologist at NBC10 Philadelphia for a quarter of a century.
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33 min
March 25, 2021 Avoiding turbulence ✈️ Inside NOAA's Aviation Weather Center [Ep. 356]
NOAA's Aviation Weather Center (AWC) delivers consistent, timely, and accurate weather information for the world airspace system. This team of meteorologists is in charge of tracking and forecasting atmospheric conditions related to air travel. The next time you're flying and the pilot diverts to avoid turbulence to keep your flight smooth, you can thank the data and forecasts from this arm of the National Weather Service.
This week's guest is Jonathan Leffler, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, NOAA Aviation Weather Center.
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33 min

About Carolina Weather Group

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The Carolina Weather Group is a weekly talk show broadcasting each week from the Carolinas. The show is dedicated to covering weather, science, technology, and more with newsmakers from the field of…