WeatherBrains 997: Merry Go Round of Craziness

Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is a retired Lead Forecaster for the Storm Prediction Center with nearly four decades of Federal service, specializing in severe convective storms and tornado forecasting.  He's a passionate storm chaser, researcher, and an advocate for weather safety.  He co-founded the Electronic Journal of Severe Storms Meteorology and remains an influencial voice in meteorology.  Roger Edwards, it is great to see you!

Also, Bruce Jones joins us to discuss the importance of NOAA Weather Radio and its integration in order to save lives.  Welcome back, Bruce!

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

• Roger's arrival at OU and opening horizons in meteorology (20:30)
• Connections between operations, research, and visual conceptualization (34:00)
• Importance of critical thinking in the science (35:00)
• Importance of growing, building, and passing on knowledge gained in the field of meteorology (40:30)
• Witnessing rapid progress of technology and applying that to visuals in the field (41:50)
• Trade-offs between improving technology and what it can show us and lead to development of theory (49:00)
• May 4, 2003 High Risk (01:01:00)
• Mesonets and scan strategies (01:05:00)
• Storm chaser responsibilities (01:12:00)
• Reduced funding and its impact on severe weather forecasting and research (01:17:00)
• Loss of institutional knowledge and looking forward (01:23:00)
• Memorable shifts at SPC (01:36:00)
• The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:38:19)
• This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:40:15)
• E-Mail Segment (No segment this week)
• National Weather Round-Up
• and more!

Web Sites from Episode 997:

Midland Weather Radio

Roger Edwards on X

Picks of the Week:

Roger Edwards - Al Moller - "The Zen of Weather Forecasting"

James Aydelott - Pro tip: Gravity is a cruel hunter When there is a bare, wind-swept spot with no snow, it might be polished ice.

Jen Narramore - Out

Rick Smith - Jamposium 2025

Troy Kimmel - Experimental Beach Forecast Webpage

Kim Klockow-McClain - Federal agencies can ignore "What did you do last week?" email, Trump administration says

Bill Murray - Foghorn

James Spann - Planetary Defense

The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.