A STORY ABOUT JAMES SPANN: He has been around a long time and totally immersed in weather. I first met him right after he came to Birmingham to be the meteorologist at one of the TV stations on Red Mountain. It so happened that the National Weather Service Office at that time was located not […]
What is the difference between the forecast terms “partly cloudy” or “partly sunny.” Well, you tell me. I think it is more or less a personal opinion. However, it became a sticking point between a couple of forecasters at the old National Weather Service Birmingham office at Birmingham Airport. I was involved and I did […]
As promised, here is a list of cities that were too hot again today, maybe I should say “way too hot.” This has been a hot weather event to remember forever, not just in the Desert Southwest and other parts of the West, but also in the Midwest and East and even parts of the […]
Another reason I often say that, “LIGHTNING IS FRIGHTENING” Yesterday, a bolt of lightning struck a Boy Scout’s camp in New Hampshire. Nearly two dozen scouts were injured–all of them hospitalized. I have had several close calls with lightning in my life so that is why I try to head for the hills in a […]
This is another feature I love to do. I hope I am not being overbearing. As I mentioned several weeks ago, I absolutely will not post these when there is heavy weather traffic on this Blog. After all, that is what the ABC 33/40 Weather Blog is all about–to keep everyone posted about changing weather […]
As promised, I am going to write a series of stories of some of the off-beat incidents in my 32 years of work at the U.S. Weather Bureau (later named National Weather Service) all in the Birmingham office. We had some good times and trying times and yes a few times of silliness in the […]
MESOSCALE DISCUSSION 0927 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 0505 PM CDT SAT JUN 01 2013 AREAS AFFECTED…NCNTRL AL…MIDDLE AND ERN TN THROUGH ERN KY CONCERNING…SEVERE POTENTIAL…WATCH UNLIKELY VALID 012205Z – 012330Z PROBABILITY OF WATCH ISSUANCE…20 PERCENT SUMMARY…LINE OF MULTICELL STORMS FROM NRN AL THROUGH ERN KY WILL POSE A MODEST RISK FOR ISOLATED STRONG […]
The Famous Brent Tornado–40 Years Ago There will always be tornadoes in Alabama as well as in all states of the good old USA. All we can do is stay alert and be ready to go to a safe place when one happens. Enough of that… During my 32 years in the U.S. Weather Bureau, […]
A Good Way to Never Shiver Again It was a quiet day at NWS at 11 West Oxmoor Road. That is until the mailman came by. He delivered us a thick 11×14 brown Kraft envelope. We opened it and it was about a 10-page document from some gentlemen who said they were local engineers. They […]
JB’s JOURNAL / 5/17/13 An Illegal Weather Term Called Severe Clear This is the strange story of an illegal weather term that was coined by a brave Birmingham pilot who owned his own small airplane and he was only licensed to fly VFR (Visual Flight Rules) instead of IFR (Instrument Flight Rules). He owned a […]
Well, well, I am finally getting around to starting this little project that I had promised months and months ago. Bill Murray has been after me lately to get it underway. This feature will not be every day and I promise to not post it when we have busy weather days and I will also […]
12:45 PM NOTES: …rain increasing across Alabama and Mississippi again …Moderate rain now between Birmingham and Montgomery and also all across Central Mississippi …that is one reason the National Weather Service/Birmingham extended the Flash Flood Watch through tomorrow …no severe thunderstorms mixed in with any of this–in fact none at all …100,000 homes/business still without […]
. . .at least not in Alabama. Lots of wintry weather over the Northern USA but lets enjoy our weather a bit with this list of official noon temperatures here in Alabama: …49 in Haleyville …48 Gadsden …57 Tuscaloosa …54 Birmingham …56 Calera (NWS at Shelby Country Airport) …63 Auburn …66 Montgomery …67 Greenville While […]
Yes, another coastal Nor’Easter only a week after Hurricane Sandy that played havoc in the area only a week ago. These reports are from official weather reporting stations as of mid-afternoon: Central Park, NY…temperature 34, wind chill 23, visibility 1/4 mile, heavy snow, gusts to 21mph LaGuardia Airport…steady snow, visibility 1/2 mile, north wind gusts […]
Our long time friend, mentor, and charter Weather Factory member, J.B. Elliott, passed away on May 11, 2015. Click HERE to read James' tribute.
