WeatherBrains

A weekly podcast for people who love weather. A team of meteorologists discuss current weather events and hot topics involving meteorology.

WeatherBrains is a science podcast hosted by The Weather Company, with 100 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

The Weather Company hosts WeatherBrains, a science show with 100 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  WeatherBrains

  WeatherBrains 1077: You Got A Pulse?

  Sep 9, 20261h 52m

  This week's WeatherBrains episode is all about "The Next Big Thing" by Meteorologist Rob Marciano. Our Guest WeatherBrain for tonight's episode is an award-winning meteorologist with more than two decades of experience covering some of the nation's biggest weather stories. His career includes positions at major networks such as CNN and ABC News, and he now serves as a Senior Meteorologist at CBS News. He has recently written a book entitled "The Next Big Thing". The Panel also discusses Rob's journey from his weather-obsessed childhood to his rise to a network meteorologist. Rob Marciano , welcome to WeatherBrains! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: email@weatherbrains.com. Bill Murray is back! (08:30) Rob's childhood and early interest in weather (10:30) Cornell University's meteorology program (22:00) Rob's experience with 2005's Hurricane Katrina (39:00) Reporting on the 1999 Moore, Oklahoma F5 (50:00) Changes in broadcast meteorology and lasting present-day issues in the field from Rob's perspective (01:05:00) AI: Bringing back the art of forecasting? (01:11:30) Rob's new book "The Next Big Thing: Innovations for a Better, Smarter, Stronger Tomorrow" (01:14:00) Harnessing lightning: How does this benefit society? (01:23:30) The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:32:30) This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:34:00) E-Mail Segment (01:35:30) Sneak peak at future WeatherBrains episodes! (01:44:00) and more! Web Sites from Episode 1077: "The Next Big Thing: Innovations for a Better, Smarter, Stronger Tomorrow" by Rob Marciano and James Trefil Alabama Weather Network Picks of the Week: Rob Marciano - Surfers gather at The Wedge in Newport Beach to take advantage of the massive waves Rob Marciano - "The Next Big Thing: Innovations for a Better, Smarter, Stronger Tomorrow" by Rob Marciano and James Trefil James Aydelott - Tornado Watch in Hawaii James Aydelott - Text of Tornado Watch in Hawaii Jen Narramore - The 1936 Gainesville Tornado Rick Smith - College football Week 1 heatwave forces game changes as temperatures top 100 degrees Troy Kimmel - NTSB Media Briefing 2 - Miami, FL Runway excursion accident involving a B-767-300 cargo airplane Kim Klockow-McClain - Out Bill Murray - Foghorn John Gordon - Hurricanes in Hawaii James Spann - James Spann on X: Impressive waterspout this morning at Pensacola Beach The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore, John Gordon, and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.

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  WeatherBrains

  WeatherBrains 1076: Big Blue H

  Sep 1, 20261h 47m

  This week's WeatherBrains episode is all about hydroplaning and why it happens. Guest WeatherBrain for tonight's episode is the Assistant Director of the Vision of Maintenance for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Discussing a national hydroplaning project with the panel in the episode, she has over two decades experience in transportation and is a friend of the field. Randi Feltner , thanks for joining us! Joining us as Second Guest WeatherBrain is very special guest Zion Powell . He's pursuing his dream to become a meteorologist with an emphasis on mesoscale weather events. He's currently a senior at Salisbury State in Maryland majoring in meteorology and geoscience. He was selected as a NOAA Lapenta Intern for 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky where he worked on a national hydroplaning campaign. Zion , welcome! We are excited to have Guest WeatherBrain and WeatherBrains veteran Alan Sealls joining us tonight. A 16-time Regional Emmy Winner, he's now the president of the American Meteorological Society and has had a legendary career in the field. He earned his degree in meteorology at Cornell and earned a Master's Degree at Florida State University. He is a professor at the University of South Alabama. Alan , welcome back! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: email@weatherbrains.com. Tropical Storm Eduard forms in the Gulf (01:00) Record heat for Alabama football's home opener? (02:30) Zion's early background in weather (09:30) All about Salisbury State's Atmospheric Science program (11:00) What is the William M. Lapenta Scholarship? (12:00) Randi's early background and path to second in command at KDOT (13:30) Experiences during 2021 Mayfield, KY tornado (19:00) "Wet Lanes, Don't Hydroplane" (24:00) Role of tire pressure and speed in hydroplaning (26:00) Complicated nature of getting national hydroplaning statistics (47:00) What is spectrum allocation? (01:02:45) AMS Annual Meeting 2027 in Denver (01:04:00) All about the AMS and its history (01:08:00) The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:22:45) This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:25:00) E-Mail Segment (01:27:00) Sneak peak at future WeatherBrains episodes! (01:34:00) and more! Web Sites from Episode 1076: 2027 AMS Annual Meeting Alabama Weather Network Picks of the Week: Zion Powell - Zion Powell on Instragram Zion Powell - Zion Powell on TikTok Randi Feltner - Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Alan Sealls - National Severe Weather Archive Display James Aydelott - Tulsa Hits 102F Jen Narramore - Out Rick Smith - Out Troy Kimmel - NOAA boosts weather data collection capabilities with new Mesonet contract Kim Klockow-McClain - Principal Saved 900 Students Before His School Was Washed Away in Nepal John Gordon - Monstrous Flash Flood & Debris Flow l Johnson Canyon, UT 7/16/2018 Bill Murray - Out James Spann - Basics of the Arizona Monsoon and Desert Meteorology The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore, John Gordon, and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.

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  WeatherBrains

  WeatherBrains 1075: One Hundred and Something

  Aug 25, 20261h 54m

  This week's WeatherBrains episode is all about the July 2025 flooding tragedy in Texas. Our Guest WeatherBrain for tonight's episode is Dr. JJ Gourley . An Oklahoma native, he's a senior research hydrometeorologist at NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory . He manages an interdisciplinary team there that is developing the FLASH product, which is a flash flood forecasting product that Dr. Garley will discuss on this week's episode. He's won the Department of Commerce's silver medal award, as well as the AMS Journal of Hydrometeorology Editor's Award. He's also authored over 160 Paraview Journal Articles. He's even written a radar hydrology textbook! Welcome to tonight's show, Dr. Gourley! Our Guest Panelist tonight is Dr. Keri K. Stephens from the University of Texas at Austin . She's the George Christian Centennial Professor. With over 25 years of interdisciplinary research experience, Dr. Stephens' expertise includes organizational communication, mobile technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), crisis and disaster communication, infrastructure communication, and health communication. In her professional service, Dr. Stephens currently serves on the National Weather Service NOAA Central Texas Integrated Warning Team and on the Executive Advisory Council of the Schreiner University Institute for Hazard Risk and Readiness. Dr. Stephens, thanks for joining us tonight! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: email@weatherbrains.com. Oklahoma heat trivia from NWS chat (04:30) Dr. Gourley's hydrometeorology background (9:00) Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor System (MRMS) (13:00) FLASH project (13:30) Meteorological setup leading up to July 2025 Texas floods (17:30) Area creeks around Camp Mystic that became major players (29:00) Process determining approximate lead time before event (34:30) Warn-on-Forecast System ( WoFS ): From experimental to operational? (36:30) Combining organizational communication and disaster studies (42:30) Lessons learned about public safety infrastructure in the wake of post-flood hearings (58:00) Protocol for severe/winter weather warnings at campgrounds/RV parks (01:16:30) Turn Around, Don't Drown! (01:29:00) The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:38:15) This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:40:30) E-Mail Segment (01:42:30) Sneak peak at future WeatherBrains episodes! (01:44:00) and more! Web Sites from Episode 1075: NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory Alabama Weather Network Picks of the Week: Dr. JJ Gourley - Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts Dr. Keri K. Stephens - Texas Institute for Hazard Risk and Readiness (TIHRR) - Schreiner University James Aydelott - Tornado video in France James Aydelott - Tornado video in France - Secondary Angle James Aydelott - More absurd footage of the tornado in Pomas, France James Aydelott - Exceptional video of the tornado that struck the area around Carcassonne! James Aydelott - Strong tornado in France, north of the Pyrenees Jen Narramore - University Archives and West Florida History Center Rick Smith - IEM (Iowa Environmental Mesonet) Severe Weather Products Troy Kimmel - United States Power Outage Map Kim Klockow-McClain - WoFS-FLASH coupled forecasts for the July 2025 Texas Hill Country Flash Flood Disaster Kim Klockow-McClain - Hydrometeorological Analysis of the July 2025 Texas Hill Country Flash Flood Disaster Kim Klockow-McClain - Indiana Governor Calls for NIPSCO to be Investigated Over Power Outages After Gary Storms John Gordon - Photo from Mike Olbinski: Moonbow Bill Murray - Out James Spann - ENSO: Recent Evolution, Current Status and Predictions The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore, John Gordon, and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.

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  WeatherBrains

  WeatherBrains 1074: EFU Clusterblank

  Aug 18, 20261h 45m

  This week's WeatherBrains episode is all about the Enhanced Fujita scale and the path toward implementation. Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is the EF Committee Chairman. He's the master instructor at the NWS Operations Training Unit, and he's the Team Lead in NWS forecasters course development. He's also acting Director of the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program at the National Institute for Standards of Technology, and he currently chairs and cofounded the Standards Committee on estimating wind speeds of severe storms within the American Society of Civil Engineers. Jim LaDue , welcome to WeatherBrains! Tonight's Guest Panelist is the Founder and CEO of Climavision. Climavision is a weather technology company that provides critical gaps in radar coverage, and improves forecast accuracy. He brings in more than 30 years of advanced weather observation predictive modeling, work spanning dual polarization radar, mobile and satellite enable systems, and the forecasting models that turn raw observations into sharper forecasts. Chris Goode , thanks for joining us! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: email@weatherbrains.com. Jim's early background in weather (09:00) ASCE (American Society for Civil Engineers) (11:30) Who decided to update the Fujita scale in the early 2000s? (14:30) EF Scale Subcommittee (21:30) Bill under construction to improve assessment of tornadoes (33:00) Behind the scenes with other ways to rate tornadoes in new EF Scale (37:30) Re-analysis process in a civil and organized fashion (46:00) Damage exposure simulations in the future? (50:00) EEC (Enterprise Electronics Corporation) (01:00:30) X-Band vs C-Band radars (01:03:30) Benefits of Climavision high resolution radar and how it improves the warning process (01:05:30) Relationship between Climavision and NWS (01:08:00) Phased array radar - when will it happen and what about major radar gaps? (01:15:00) The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:23:45) This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:26:45) E-Mail Segment (01:29:00) Sneak peak at future WeatherBrains episodes! (01:32:00) and more! Web Sites from Episode 1074: Tornado Archive Climavision Alabama Weather Network Picks of the Week: James Aydelott - Okie James on Facebook: Plume from oil/gas tank fire caused by lightning strike Jen Narramore - 7 dead from historic flooding in Indiana Rick Smith - Norman microburst timelapse Troy Kimmel - Foghorn Kim Klockow-McClain - Hurricane Lala Hawaii Damage John Gordon - NASA Ocean Current Simulation Bill Murray - Out James Spann - Foghorn The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore, John Gordon, and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.

  ListenShow Notes
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  WeatherBrains

  WeatherBrains 1073: Chicken Inbreeding

  Aug 11, 20261h 43m

  This week's WeatherBrains episode is all about Hawaii. Joining us tonight as Guest WeatherBrain is the Chief Meteorologist at Hawaii News Now . She has given over 15 years of service and has provided trusted coverage for the Hawaiian Islands including tropical cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, and other natural disasters. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Atmospheric Ocean Science at San Fransisco State University. Jennifer Robbins, welcome to WeatherBrains! Tonight's Guest Panelist is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM) at the NWS office in Honolulu. He works Statewide with a wide variety of partners and earned his Bachelor of Science in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Michigan in 1998. He started at NWS Marquette MI in 1999, and has worked with the NWS Honolulu since 2006, and the WCM since 2017. John Bravender , thanks for joining us tonight! Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: email@weatherbrains.com. Jennifer's early weather background (10:00) John's early weather background (15:30) What exactly is it like to forecast for the State of Hawaii? (18:00) Difficulties forecasting with Hawaiian microclimates (20:00) Employee organization at NWS Honolulu (25:30) Torrential rainfall and major flooding in Hawaii caused by Kona lows (33:00) What exactly is a Kona low? (42:30) What happened to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center? (49:00) 1992's Hurricane Iniki (50:00) Introduction of chickens to Hawaii in the wake of Hurricane Iniki (53:30) Fire weather threats and how it has changed in recent years (58:30) Tsunami risks and concerns in Hawaii (01:07:45) Warning protocol in the State of Hawaii regarding tsunamis and severe weather (01:19:30) The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:25:30) This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:27:30) E-Mail Segment (01:29:00) Sneak peak at future WeatherBrains episodes! (01:31:30) and more! Web Sites from Episode 1073: Hawaii News Now First Alert Weather Honolulu, HI NWS Forecast Office Alabama Weather Network Picks of the Week: John Bravender - Homeowner's Handbook to Prepare for Natural Hazards James Aydelott - Okie James on Facebook: In 1936, the start of a truly hideous stretch of never-seen-since Summer weather in Tulsa Jen Narramore - Dyer County Historical Society Rick Smith - Out Troy Kimmel - Out Kim Klockow-McClain - Population structure and hybridisation in a population of Hawaiian feral chickens John Gordon - LoriGraceWX Monsoon Photography Bill Murray - Out James Spann - Proposed changes to WPC's Excessive Rainfall Outlook The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore, John Gordon, and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.

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