Tag Archives: weatherbrains

Emergency communications, Ham radio, SKYWARN, Weather

WeatherBrains podcast features amateur radio’s role in the weather enterprise

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This blog’s author, Jay Farlow, W9LW, joining the WeatherBrains podcast Jan. 7, 2019, via Google Hangouts from his office/radio shack at home in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

A popular, weather-related podcast recently recorded an episode devoted to the role of amateur (ham) radio in the weather enterprise, especially storm spotting. WeatherBrains is a long-running, well-respected podcast hosted by Alabama broadcast meteorologist James Spann. It recorded the ham radio podcast January 7.

Ham radio has been deeply involved in the National Weather Service’s (NWS) SKYWARN® program since its inception, according to research done by Brian E. Smith, the warning coordination meteorologist at the NWS Omaha/Valley weather forecast office (WFO) in Nebraska. During the infamous Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965, a tornado did F4 damage in northern Toledo, Ohio. Afterward, a ham who was also a meteorologist in the Toledo office of what was then called the U.S. Weather Bureau — Merle Kachenmeister, WA8EWW — organized ham radio operators in his area to report severe weather to the Toledo office via radio. This is considered the birth of the SKYWARN program, according to Smith.

WeatherBrains episode number 677 is available for viewing or listening on the the podcast’s website. Listeners can also access the audio-only version on their mobile devices via their favorite podcast apps.

The author of this blog was one of the guests who WeatherBrains invited to discuss ham radio. Other guests included Jeff Stapel, W8SWX of the Muskegon, Michigan SKYWARN organization and Rob Macedo, KD1CY, who is both the Section Emergency Coordinator of the ARRL Eastern Massachusetts section and director of operations for the VOIP Hurricane Net.

During the show, I mentioned several resources that might be valuable to audience members. For your convenience, I’ve listed them below:

  • ARRL, the national association for amateur radio®: This website contains a wealth of information about amateur radio, what hams do, and how to become a licensed ham radio operator.
  • The tornado outbreak of Aug. 24, 2016: This page on the website of the NWS northern Indiana WFO includes the radar rotation tracks I showed during the podcast, as well as other information about how the outbreak affected my home area.
  • ARRL Ham Radio License Manual: This book contains all the information you need to pass the exam and get your ham radio license, so you can join other storm spotters on the air.
  • Storm Spotting and Amateur Radio: This book is a valuable resource for anyone who is interested in either storm spotting or how to use ham radio while spotting. It includes information on resources, training, equipment, safety, storm spotter activation procedures and more.
  • Allen County (Ind.) SKYWARN Net Operations Manual: This PDF document discusses in great detail how the hams of the Fort Wayne and Allen County, Indiana area organize their SKYWARN net — i.e. on-air conference call — during severe weather events.

A couple resources I didn’t have time to get into regard equipment (although Rob mentioned some price ranges). Below are links to some equipment options you might consider, if you’re thinking about getting into ham radio:

  • Baofeng UV-5R handheld radio: Available on Amazon for only $25, this will get you on the air. Like any handheld radio, its geographical range is limited, but as long as you’re close enough to what hams call a “repeater” station, you can talk to people dozens of miles away.
  • AnyTone AT-778UV Mobile radio: Available on Amazon for $130, this radio mounts in your vehicle and connects to your vehicle’s 12-volt poser source. It transmits with 25 watts, versus the 5 watts of most handheld radios, enabling you to communicate while farther from the repeater station. It requires an external antenna, sold separately. Antenna options include those with temporary magnetic mounts and those that can mount more permanently on a trunk lid without drilling holes.

The “big three” brands of ham radio equipment are Icom, Kenwood and Yaesu. Their radios, while well respected, tend to be priced higher on the new market than the Chinese brands above. Note, however, that there’s a large market for pre-owned radios. These can be obtained through some dealers (who take trade-ins), at ham radio flea markets and through online auction sites.

SKYWARN, Weather

I’m a storm spotter, not a storm chaser!

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Well-known tornado researcher Dr. Chuck Doswell
Well-known tornado researcher Dr. Chuck Doswell

I can’t count the number of times I’ve gone out of my way to make sure people know I’m not a storm chaser. I’ll very likely stop doing that, however, in part because of something I heard renowned tornado researcher Dr. Chuck Doswell say this week on a podcast.

It’s well known that the behaviors of some storm chasers have created a negative image of the hobby. We frequently see stories of chasers taking risks that we might consider unacceptable, driving recklessly and/or causing traffic problems. It’s this negative image that made me want to distance myself from the chaser community.

This week, however, Doswell posited that there’s real value in storm chasing, even for (perhaps especially for) storm spotters.

“I’ve never had a problem with spotters who want to be chasers. In fact, I think it’s a great idea,” Doswell said on episode 635 of “WeatherBrains,” the weather podcast hosted by Alabama television meteorologist James Spann.

“Every time I go out (as a chaser), I see something I’ve never seen before,” Doswell continued. “If you’re just an ‘ordinary spotter,’ the number of storms that you would see in any given year is fairly small, unless it’s just a fantastically busy year in your neighborhood that year. But, as a chaser, you can sample more storms. If I’m out for two weeks, I’ll probably see 20, 30 different storms. And of those, maybe some fraction will be supercells and some fraction of those will produce tornadoes. But every year, then, I see a fairly large sample of storms. So, I’ve been doing this for more than 45 years, and so I’ve seen a lot of storms, and I’m still seeing things that I’ve never seen before.”

“So, chasing and spotting are not necessarily opposed to one another,” Doswell added. “I would recommend anyone who’s a serious spotter to go ahead and chase, if for no other reason than to expand their vocabulary of storms.”

WeatherBrains panelist Rick Smith, who works as warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Norman, Oklahoma, agreed. “The best spotters, I think, are the ones that are kind of the hybrid chasers and spotters.”

Doswell and Smith make an interesting point. There’s only so much a storm spotter can learn by looking at photos and video. Seeing the real thing in person would logically make it easier for a spotter to later recognize important storm features as a storm approaches the spotter’s home jurisdiction.

So, I hereby discontinue my previous efforts to distinguish myself from storm chasers. In fact, I’m seriously thinking about asking one of the accomplished chasers I know if I can go along on a chase sometime. Heck, if I ever have the spare cash, I might even buy a seat on a well-regarded storm chasing tour, like those offered by Tempest Tours (some of which Doswell himself leads) or the College of DuPage (which allows anyone to easily register as a student for that single class).

One thing you won’t see me doing is trying it on my own. Numerous experts in the field extolled the dangers of solo chasing, as did Dr. David Call of Ball State University during the recent Central Indiana Severe Weather Symposium in Indianapolis.

But perhaps in the future, you’ll hear me saying, “I’m a storm spotter and sometimes a chaser,” rather than the statement in the title of this blog post.

SKYWARN

A chat with the creator of the weather podcast genre

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For 11 years, Alabama broadcast meteorologist James Spann (ABC 33/40, Birmingham) and several of his friends in the weather enterprise have produced a weekly podcast (internet talk show) called WeatherBrains. It was the first in what has become a group of weather-related podcasts that are jointly celebrating the first-annual National Weather Podcast Month in March.

The weather brains normally record WeatherBrains on Monday evenings. Audience members can watch the discussion live on YouTube, watch it later on YouTube or download the program as an audio recording for listening at their convenience.

W9LW’s Ramblings had chance to talk to Spann about the show that started the weather podcast genre and now has an audience in the tens of thousands. Watch the 14-minute interview on YouTube or read it below. The transcript includes a few helpful notes and hyperlinks.

W9LW’s Ramblings: What prompted you to get into the podcast business? Continue reading →

SKYWARN

Learn more about weather via podcasts

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If you’re interested in learning more about weather and the weather enterprise – especially while driving, exercising or doing anything else when you might listen to music or an audio book – a number of weather-related podcasts might be worth your time.

A podcast is basically a radio talk show that you can play on a web browser or download to a portable device like a smartphone or mp3 player for playback at your convenience. Some smartphone apps will automatically download a podcast’s new episodes when they become available. Several interesting podcasts are devoted to weather and often cover topics related to severe weather. Below, I list a few I’ve listened to and found to be worth my time.

WeatherBrains

WeatherBrains is the granddaddy of weather podcasts. It has been producing a weekly panel discussion for more than 10 years. Led by well-known, Alabama TV meteorologist James Spann, the WeatherBrains panel includes other broadcast meteorologists and a National Weather Service meteorologist. The panel routinely invites guests who are experts on various weather-related topics. Find more information at www.weatherbrains.com or search for “WeatherBrains” on the Stitcher or iOS podcast app or on YouTube.

Tornado Talk

Two radio meteorologists who work for a company that provides audio weather services for radio stations created a weekly podcast called, “Tornado Talk.” Episodes have focused on a number of historic tornadoes as well as more recent outbreaks, like the one in Indiana and Ohio Aug. 24, 2016. Because this podcast is produced by radio professionals, it should be no surprise that the production quality is very high. Of all the podcasts to which I listen, “Tornado Talk” sounds the most like a documentary that you might hear on a public radio station. Learn more at www.tornadotalk.com. This podcast is also available on the iOS podcast app, Stitcher and Google Play.

Carolina Weather Group

Don’t let the title of this podcast fool you. It is not solely about weather in the Carolinas. Like WeatherBrains, this is a weekly panel discussion with several regular panelists. Panelists include two TV meteorologists, a commercial meteorologist, a storm spotter (who is also a ham, with call sign KD2AYM) and a college meteorology student. Like WeatherBrains, the Carolina Weather Group tackles a different weather-related topic every week, usually with a guest, and some episodes focus on severe weather. Learn more at www.carolinaweathergroup.com. Search for the Carolina Weather Group on YouTube and Google Play. I am not able to find recent episodes on the iOS  podcast app.

Weather Junkies

Two fairly recent graduates of the meteorology school at Pennsylvania State University host this weekly podcast. One is a TV meteorologist and the other is a graduate meteorology student. Like the other podcasts, the Weather Junkies invite a guest each week (often a fellow Penn State grad) to talk about a weather-related topic. Learn more at www.theweatherjunkies.com. Search for Weather Junkies on YouTube, SoundCloud, iOS podcast app, Stitcher and Podomatic .

Storm Front Freaks

This weather podcast launched in 2016. It is produced biweekly. Two of the regular panelists have meteorology degrees. Another is working on a degree. Others are storm spotters (like me) and storm chasers. Two of the panelists (also like me) are licensed amateur (ham) radio operators: Marc Johnson, KD0TCR and Mark Massaro, KD8RIS. Johnson’s bio indicates that he’s active with his local SKYWARN group. This podcast endeavors to be less technical than others and therefore more approachable to amateur weather enthusiasts. Like WeatherBrains, it includes a recorded educational segment. Learn more at www.stormfrontfreaks.com. This podcast is available on the iOS podcast app, Stitcher, Google Play and Tunein.

Weather Hype

Two graduate students joined the weather podcasting world in 2016 with this offering. Both have particular interests in social sciences and weather communication. They bill their program as “a podcast for casual weather conversation,” and an avenue to discuss important weather-related stories and educate listeners “in a very informal, unstructured way.” They occasionally involve a guest, but most episodes are just the two of them, presenting in a style that’s unique among the podcasts on this list. Learn more at www.weatherhypepodcast.com. Search for Weather Hype on Google Play and the iOS podcast app.