WeatherBrains 999: I'm Muting As Fast As I Can

Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is a veteran meteorologist at Bluewater Forecasting in Montgomery, Alabama.  He's got almost five decades of experience in the field, and formerly served as the Chief Meteorologist at WSFA-TV in Montgomery for 34 years, before transitioning to radio.  Rich Thomas, welcome to WeatherBrains!  Brooks Garner of FOX 35 TV in Orlando also stops by to discuss the tornado that made a direct hit on their studios on March 10th, where he covered the tornado live on air and warned his viewers, and in this case, his co-workers!  Brooks, thanks for hanging out with us.  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].

• Tornado hits FOX 35 TV studio in Orlando (06:30)
• Strong unexpected tornado hits Orlando in area that wasn't outlooked/forecasted for severe weather (12:00)
• Disc jockey/radio, and improving communication skills in order to transition to broadcast meteorology (25:45)
• Looking back at April 3-4, 1974 tornado outbreak (32:00)
• Major changes in broadcast television in the last 35 years (38:00)
• March 1st, 2007 Enterprise tornado analysis/When do we send children home from school during severe weather threats? (45:00)
• 4/27/2011 modeling analysis/Morning QLCS (47:00)
• Looking back at 2004 Hurricane Ivan's second landfall on Gulf Coast with same name (58:30)
• A day in the life of Rich Thomas (01:00:30)
•  NWS layoff rumors (01:35:30)
• The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:15:40)
• This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:18:20)
• E-Mail Segment (01:20:15)
• National Weather Round-Up
• and more!

Web Sites from Episode 999:

Midland Weather Radio

Rich Thomas on X

Rich Thomas Weather Network

Picks of the Week:

Bruce Jones - "The New Richmond tornado of 1899: A modern Herculaneum" by Anna P Medley and Michael G Corenthal

James Aydelott - Where Have the EF5s Gone? A Closer Look at the “Drought” of the Most Violent Tornadoes in the United States" by Anthony W. Lyza, Harold E. Brooks, and Makenzie J. Krocak

Jen Narramore - Tornado Hits Fox 35 Orlando on X

Rick Smith - Out

Troy Kimmel - Everything Weather App by Cory Mottice

Kim Klockow-McClain - Super Tuesday Tornado Outbreak of February 5-6, 2008

Bill Murray - Foghorn

James Spann - National Hurricane Center Products and Services/Update for 2025 Hurricane Season

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. K