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WeatherBrains 217: Discussing Warnings

| March 23, 2010 @ 11:45 pm | 1 Reply

WeatherBrains Episode 217 is now online (Mar. 23, 2010). If you are crazy about weather, this is THE netcast audio program for you!

Our guest panelist for tonight’s show is Richard Lewelling, Radio Broadcast Meteorologist for The Weather Channel. Ask anyone who knows Richard and you will find out that Richard Lewelling he has a passion for the weather. Since Richard was a child growing up in the Mississippi Delta, he was always fascinated with weather, watching severe weather moving across the wide open spaces. As a teenager, Richard moved to Northwest Florida and experienced nature’s fury first hand with the hurricanes that raked their across the state in the 80’s and 90’s. It was after Opal that he decided to help others before severe weather strikes.

Richard is a native of Clarksdale, Mississippi, but he calls Northwest Florida home. He began his radio career at WZEP Radio in De Funiak Springs, FL, where he worked doing weather, including hurricane coverage, before moving to Atlanta to become a member of The Weather Channel family. Richard is a ham radio operator, call sign KG4EFQ, and is actively involved in Skywarn operations across the Southeast. He enjoys music, long walks on the beach, storm spotting, the computer, and spending time with his wife, Teresa, his dog and his 6 siblings.

And our special guest WeatherBrain is Kevin Scharfenberg, Severe Storms Coordinator for the National Weather Service. Kevin is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He has worked for CIMSS and the NSSL. In his current position, he keeps up with the NWS severe weather verification statistics and reports them to Congress and he is helping to redefine the warning process. He has worked on some fascinating projects such as dual polarimetric radar, VORTEX2, boundary layer radars, and WDSS-II to name just a few.

Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:

  • Flooding in Fargo but they are escaping a record flood
  • Snow survey stands at 13 percent
  • Some snow in Oklahoma and Missouri from the latest storm
  • 56 tornadoes so far this year in the US but only one fatality
  • 80 or better in southern California
  • and more!
  • Our email officer (EMO), Kevin, wades through the email bag to recap the numerous incoming items.

    From The Weather Center:

    WeatherBrains 101: Our in-house professor continues his look at the view from space with an explanation of the second most used type of satellite view, the visible image. What makes this one useful and what are the drawbacks? Listen to this second part of a three part series to get the story.

    TWIWH: Bill Murray looks back at the week of March 24th. 1948 saw the first effective tornado forecast in Oklahoma.

    Listener SurveyListener 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 217:

    The Weather Channel

    National Weather Service

    Office of Climate, Water, and Weather Services

    Mike Smith Enterprises

    COMET Modules

    Alaska weather Blog

    Picks of the Week:

    JB Elliott – No Pick – gets the fog horn!!

    Richard Lewelling – World Agricultural Outlook Board

    Bill Murray – National Cherry Blossom Festival

    Brian Peters – Rivers seen from Space

    Kevin Scharfenberg – Fan Group on Facebook

    Kevin Selle – Earl’s Model Skew-T Web Page

    James Spann – Steve Jobs in food

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

    Category: Pre-November 2010 Posts

    About the Author ()

    Brian Peters is one of the television meteorologists at ABC3340 in Birmingham and a retired NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist. He handles the weekend Weather Xtreme Videos and forecast discussion and is the Webmaster for the popular WeatherBrains podcast.

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