WeatherBrains 235: Doctor Negative

WeatherBrains Episode 235 is now online (July 27, 2010). If you are crazy about weather, this is THE netcast audio program for you!

Tonight’s Guest Panelist has been in the television weather business since 1994. Patrick Hammer is the morning meteorologist at the ABC affiliate in Minneapolis /St. Paul – KSTP. He was born in San Francisco, worked in Albuquerque, Seattle, and San Francisco but moved to the Twin Cities for the weather extremes there. “Fog at the coast, sunny inland” gets a little old!! according to Patrick.

Bernie Rayno is our guest Weather Brain and an Expert Senior Meteorologist and Afternoon Forecast Manager for AccuWeather, Inc. Bernie was born in Beaver Meadows, PA, a town 45 minutes south-southwest of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. His interest in meteorology was sparked early – he was bitten by the weather bug in kindergarten and soon developed an interest in snowstorms.

While growing up, Bernie kept a log of current weather maps that he copied from A.M. Weather, a PBS show he watched religiously. His devotion to the weather soon gave him the reputation among friends and family as someone to turn to for the latest weather forecasts. Bernie graduated from Hazleton Senior High School in 1985, and from Penn State University in 1990 with a B.S. in Meteorology. While at Penn State , he achieved first place in the junior forecasting contest, first place in the senior forecasting contest, and in the top ten percent of the 1989-1990 National Collegiate Forecasting Contest.

Later in 1990, Bernie began his career at AccuWeather as a severe weather monitor. He was promoted to morning lead Western weather forecaster in December 1991, then transferred to AccuWeather’s International Department in September, 1994. Bernie’s role in AccuWeather’s radio and television broadcasts steadily increased through the 1990s. Based on his skills and experience, he was promoted to Afternoon Manager of Forecasting Operations in January, 2000. He then took over responsibility of video broadcasting a few months later and in late 2005, moved to his current position, Executive Producer of Video Broadcasting. Bernie’s broadcast duties have ranged from numerous appearances on national Networks such as NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX NEWS, CBN and MSNBC to performing radio interviews to appearing on streaming video on AccuWeather.com.

Throughout his AccuWeather career, Bernie has established himself as an integral part of the company. He has received six AccuWeather yearly awards, been named forecaster of the month seven times, and has achieved the title of Expert Senior Meteorologist, the highest title within the Forecasting Department.

When away from AccuWeather, Bernie is an avid television watcher; History Channel, Discovery Channel and of course, ESPN are examples of his favorite channels. Bernie relaxes by working out 5-6 times of week and participating in sports. However, his sport activity has decreased dramatically since reaching the age of 35!!! Bernie’s love of his life, his golden retriever, Packer, was named after his favorite football team, The Green Bay Packers. Bernie considers himself one of the few experts in men’s tennis and makes the annual trip to New York City for the U.S. Open. He is a huge Andre Agassi fan and claims to know everything about him, well almost everything!

Bernie’s family includes an older sister, Dierdre, and a twin brother Steve. Luckily, Steve and Bernie are fraternal, not identical twins. Bernie attributes his success to his mother, Mary, who inspired him to always follow his passion.

Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:

Our mail bag has been getting some attention and Kevin puts it in perspective.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: Summer time and the Bermuda High is strong. So what does Bermuda have to do with a high? Listen in to the latest WeatherBrains 101 for the answer to an interesting question!

TWIWH: Bill Murray looks back at the week of July 27th.

Listener Surveys: Okay, we continue to drive this topic into the ground, but we really do like to hear from you. Many thanks to everyone who has taken the time to fill out the Listener Survey. The survey takes just a minute or two to complete and provides us with an opportunity to learn where you are and hear your thoughts and comments on the show. Click here to take the survey.

Web Sites from Episode 235:

Accu-Weather

Picks of the Week:

Dr. Tim Coleman – Micro Data Logger

JB Elliott – Gets the Horn without a Pick

Bill Murray – Vermont Public Radio “Eye on the Night Sky”

Brian Peters – Wind Shear Analysis for the Atlantic

Kevin Selle – Stormy Skies, Big Picture from Boston.com

James Spann – iPad app – Flipboard

The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like JB Elliott, Kevin Selle, Dr. Tim Coleman, Bill Murray, and Brian Peters. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating netcast about weather.

Category: Pre-November 2010 Posts