WeatherBrains 564: Kevin Is Smoking Something

James Spann | November 8, 2016 @ 4:15 am

WeatherBrains Episode 564 is now online (November 7, 2016). If you are crazy about weather, this is THE netcast audio program for you!

Tonight’s Guest WeatherBrain #1 is currently a forecaster for the National Weather Service at Blacksburg, VA. His interest in remote sensing and drone technology was piqued during his time spent at NOAA/NESDIS “flying” GOES weather satellites. During his time outside of the weather office, Mike is an avid mountain biker and self-professed “bird nerd”. Michael Sporer, welcome to WeatherBrains!

Tonight’s Guest WeatherBrain #2 has been the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service Office in Charleston, SC for 8 years, and has been in the NWS for 25 years. He has been a Lead Forecaster in Tampa and a SOO at CRP. Ron Morales, welcome to WeatherBrains.

Tonight’s Guest WeatherBrain #3 is an Unmanned Systems Atmospheric Scientist at Cherokee Nation Technologies (CNT), working in support of the NOAA UAS Program Office. Prior to that, John worked in various positions, supporting the NASA Natural Environments branch in development of the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, the University of Alabama in Huntsville as a research meteorologist, and the Von Braun Center for Science and Innovation as a consultant meteorologist. John Walker, welcome to the show!

Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:

Extremes: 91 at Lake Elsinore, CA, and 12 at Mount Washington, NH
Extra-Super Moon coming on Monday the 14th; last one wa in 1984, next one in 2034
And we have an audio note from Tarmo, our Estonian correspondent
The future of the use of drones in covering severe weather
Drought issues
Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice
and more!

Our email bag officer takes a look at the incoming messages from our listeners.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: Clouds come in a variety of flavors with most classifications coming from the height of the clouds. In the lower troposphere, there are two types of low clouds known as cumulus and stratus. In this edition of WeatherBrains 101, we take a look at these two types of clouds and their differences.

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 564:

To subscribe to the brand new SkyWritings, an email newsletter from the WeatherBrains gang, click HERE.

Picks of the Week:

Nate Johnson –

Bill Murray –

Kevin Selle – Kevin’s post about weather forecasts from Facebook

Rick Smith – The Weather Has A Vote!

James Spann – Evolving the National Weather Service

Aubrey Urbanowicz – EOSDIS Worldview

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

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Category: WeatherBrains

About the Author (Author Profile)

James Spann is one of the most recognized and trusted television meteorologists in the industry. He holds the AMS CCM designation and television seals from the AMS and NWA. He is a past winner of the Broadcast Meteorologist of the Year from both professional organizations.