WeatherBrains

Tonight's show is heading across the pond to talk tornadoes in Great Britain and Ireland. Also a hot topic is the severe weather event on 12/9 across the Southern U. S.

Our first Guest WeatherBrain is a damage site investigator for TORRO. She's been an active member of that organization for 17 years. TORRO's most productive area of research involves members conducting tornado damage site investigations. Originally a satellite design engineer, she is an enthusiastic amateur meteorologist who tutors students in math for a living. Obsessed with both hiking and tornadoes, tornado site investigations provide an ideal opportunity to combine her interests. Although she lived in Ohio for 18 months as a teenager, she is yet to witness a tornado, though she did have practice in taking shelter in the basement when the tornado sirens went off. She lives in Hampshire with her husband. Sarah Horton, it's an honor to have you on the show!

Tonight's Second Guest WeatherBrain is a Senior Weather Risk Manager at DTN. He has worked in the organisation (formally MeteoGroup in Europe) for over 23 years, as both a shift forecaster and a line manager. Paul has been a member of both TORRO and the Royal Meteorological Society since the early 1990s, having been interested in weather since an early age. Paul is currently Head of TORRO – the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation. He has been storm chasing in the USA 19 times and has witnessed many severe storms and tornadoes. He lives in Reading with his partner Helen (also a meteorologist), and their young daughter, Alana. Paul is a Chartered Meteorologist, as awarded by the Royal Meteorological Society. Paul Knightley, thanks so much for dropping by tonight.

Also joining us as Guest Panelist is show regular SOO Kevin Laws from the NWS Birmingham. He's been busy doing storm surveys the last couple of days after the weekend's severe weather across the South. It's always a pleasure to have you stop by, Kevin.

Last but certainly not least, joining us tonight as Guest WeatherBrain No.3 is the long team lead forecaster at the NWS Nashville TN. He's warned there since 2011 and next year marks 20 years of service in the NWS. He received his Bachelors Degree in Meteorology at Texas A&M and his Master's Degree from Mississippi State. He specializes in radar and warning operations. Sam Shamburger, it's an honor to have you on tonight!

Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: [email protected].

• 12/9/23 Middle TN tornadoes/analysis (08:45)
• Components/comparison of a damage survey in US vs UK (21:00)
• 12/10/21 vs 12/9/23 (27:00)
• Why doesn't the general public take Severe Thunderstorm Warnings seriously? (38:00)
• What is TORRO? (01:01:00)
• Differences in European tornadoes vs North America (01:02:00)
• Waterspout events in UK (01:14:45)
• Scale for tornadoes developed by TORRO/T-scale (01:20:00)
• Notable Great Britain/Ireland tornado events (01:23:00)
• What is the RMS and how can you get involved? (01:39:30)
• The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:43:58)
• This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:46:16)
• National Weather Round-Up
• E-Mail Segment (No segment this week)
• and more!

Tonight's show is all about fire warnings and wildfire forecasting.

Our first Guest WeatherBrain is the Science and Operations Officer with the NWS Norman.  He's previously worked in Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland and Tulsa NWS.  He recently received the Charles L Mitchell Award for his years of work in fire weather forecasting.  Todd Lindley, thanks for joining us tonight.

Second Guest WeatherBrain is the Deputy Fire Management Chief of the Oklahoma Forestry Services.  He's responsible for both fighting fires on the ground as well as prescribed fire management.  He's also part of the Northern Rockies Incident Management Team One.  Drew Daily, thanks for being a part of the show.

Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: [email protected].

• What is a Deputy Fire Management Chief?  (09:10)
• NWS Fire Weather Program (13:30)
•  Current state of fire prediction (17:45)
• What are fuels and how do we acquire that information and account for it?  (23:00)
• Red Flag Thread Index (27:00)
• Role of media in wildfire preparation and awareness (36:00)
• Invasive species/Red Cedar and fire threat (40:00)
• Outside variables for controlled burns (45:30)
• Diurnal range of energy release component (58:00)
• Satellites and wildfire detection (01:02:00)
• What is column collapse?  (01:30:00)
• The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:41:27)
• This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:43:30)
• National Weather Round-Up (01:49:30)
• E-Mail Segment (01:45:30)

Tonight's first WeatherBrain is the suggestion of listener Edward Shaw and is a previous alumni of the show.  He's a professor in the Department of Geography at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg.  He is a native of Roanoke Virginia and studied environmental science as an undergraduate before completing his graduate work through the Department of Geosciences at Mississippi State.  Dave Carroll, welcome to the show.

Our second Guest WeatherBrain is an associate professor of geography and meteorology at Ball State University in Muncie.  He received his meteorology degree with honors from Penn State and an advanced degree in geography from Syracuse University.  David Call, welcome to the show.

Also stopping by as our Guest Panelist is Stephanie Zick, an assistant professor and core faculty member for Virginia Tech's B. S. meteorology program.  She's a tropical weather expert as well as numerical weather prediction and model forecast verification expert who joined Virginia Tech University in 2016.  Thanks for joining us!

Tonight will be a Thanksgiving week homegrown show with the regular panelists.

Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: [email protected].

Tonight we will be discussing the Weather Pods Disaster Relief Telethon being held this Saturday, November 18th benefitting the American Red Cross.  Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is a former broadcast meteorologist for Birmingham's CBS 42 and now works in higher education.  It's an honor to have you on the show tonight.  Ashley Gann, welcome to WeatherBrains.  Also stopping by as Guest Panelist is the proprietor of the Chaser Chat weather podcast.  Gabe Harber, welcome to the show.

Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain needs no introduction.  He grew up in Central Florida.  He's a TV meteorologist and hurricane specialist.  He was previously the chief meteorologist for WTVJ-TV in Miami where he became well-known for his excellent coverage of 1992's Hurricane Andrew, and subequently became Director of Meteorology for WFOR-TV, and a hurricane analyst for CBS News in New York City.  He currently works for Fox Weather in NYC.  Bryan Norcross, it's an honor to have you on the show tonight.

Tonight's show is the idea of friend of the podcast Jeremy Bower.  Tonight's Guest Panelist has appeared on several previous WeatherBrains episodes and is an accomplished photographer.  He won 2nd place in the 2022 AMS Weatherband Photo Contest.  He owns JRB Storm Photography and is employed by the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources.  Jeremy Bower, welcome back.  Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the NWS Omaha since 1988.  He worked directly under the legendary Dr. Ted Fujita as a graduate student at the University of Chicago.  He's celebrating his upcoming retirement at the end of this month.  Brian Smith, welcome to WeatherBrains.

Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain served as the WCM at the NWS Seattle from 1977 until 2018, specializing in decision support and enhancing forecast systems.  He's remained active in emergency preparedness in retirement and has served on various committees.  He teaches at the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center and provides weather support for major events.  He graduated from Oregon State University in Atmospheric Science.  Ted Buehner, welcome!

Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is a long time weather warrior and legend in the meteorology field who is retiring from television. For two decades, he worked as chief meteorologist for WKRG-TV in Mobile, AL. Born in New York, Sealls holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Cornell University and Florida State, respectively. He worked at television stations in Georgia, Wisconsin, and Illinois before settling in Mobile in 1999.  Alan Sealls, it's an honor to have you on the show tonight.

Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain reports the weather on Good Morning Kansas and Good Morning KAKEland.  He attended the University of Kansas.  Before joining KAKE-TV in 2013, he worked across Indiana and Kansas with a lot of forecasting experience with lake effect snow and tornadoes.  He holds a CBM from the AMS and an NWA seal-holder.   Frank Waugh, welcome to the show tonight.  Also joining the show tonight is WAKE-TV Multimedia Producer Lester Rowe.  He's also a filmmaker and has participated in numerous film festivals.