Slight Chance of Science

This hurricane season in the Atlantic ranks fourth for the most named storms in a year since 1950. Meteorologist Catherine Maxwell along with Dr. Stephanie Zick, Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech who specializes in tropical meteorology, dive into why we saw an uncharacteristically above average El Niño season.

Chief meteorologist Brent Watts and the team's resident snowman, meteorologist Leo Hirsbrunner, discuss the factors at play this winter and what could be ahead in terms of storms and snow.

Fall has arrived! Meteorologist Payton Major chats with Dr. John Seiler, a forestry professor at Virginia Tech and tree physiology expert, to find out when we can expect fall colors to arrive and how drought could be stressing out trees.

Dr. Tina Dura, Assistant Professor of Natural Hazards at Virginia Tech, joins the podcast to discuss one of the largest earthquakes to impact the US. Meteorologist Payton Major dives into what's happening underneath the surface in the Pacific Northwest, where the Cascadia Subduction Zone has been building up tension for over 300 years.

NASA Ambassador Tony Rice joins the podcast with updates on what's causing those lines of lights in the night sky, the rarity of the Blue Supermoon, and setting expectations on what you'll see during the upcoming fall solar eclipse.

The biggest wildfires in the modern era are producing the worst air quality in decades across the United States. Chief meteorologist Brent Watts looks into the unhealthy air quality it's creating as well as the impacts on wildlife, where birds may suffer the most.

Guests: Dan Salkovitz – Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and Haley Olsen-Hodges – Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center.

Paul Walsh, CEO, N.A. at Meteomatics, joins chief meteorologist Brent Watts to showcase new developments in groundbreaking drone technology now being used to gather weather data around the world.

Meteorology students at Virginia Tech take to the road again this summer for the annual Hokie Storm Chase. Meteorologist Catherine Maxwell will join their 2-week journey and provides us with a sneak peak of what they can expect plus memories and history of past storm chases.

Meteorologist Catherine Maxwell tags along with Ferrum College at Smith Mountain Lake chatting about the process of how to gather the data to ensure our water is safe for our communities.