WeatherBrains 516: Tootsie Pop Fast Ball
WeatherBrains Episode 516 is now online (December 7, 2015). If you are crazy about weather, this is THE netcast audio program for you!
Tonight’s Guest WeatherBrain is a suggestion of loyal listener, George Chisenhall. He has been a meteorologist for over 40 years, including the past 31 years on television in Columbia. He is on vacation this week and is joining us from his family’s place in the mountains. Jim Gandy, welcome to WeatherBrains.
Gandy assumed the position of News 19 Chief Meteorologist on December 31, 1999. In 1974, Jim graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Meteorology. He continued his education from 1992 to 1997 by doing postgraduate work in Atmospheric Science at the University of South Carolina. His first job was with the Center for Storm Research in Houston, TX. In 1975, he went to work at WREG-TV in Memphis, TN, as the first meteorologist ever to appear regularly on television in that city. Jim moved to Oklahoma City in 1977 to join the meteorology staff of KTVY-TV (now KFOR-TV). Five years later, he joined the consulting firm WeatherData, Inc. in Wichita, KS, where he served as Director of Technical Operations, providing weather forecasts for the Kansas State Network.
In June, 1984, Jim joined WIS-TV in Columbia as Chief Meteorologist. During his 14-year tenure, he became well known for his forecast of Hurricane Hugo, his coverage of the 1993 superstorm, and the Lexington County tornado outbreak in 1994. Jim was awarded the American Meteorologist Society’s Seal of Approval for weathercasting in 1985 and in 2009 became a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) becoming the first CBM in the Columbia area. The State newspaper named Gandy Best TV Weather Forecaster in 1993, and “Columbia Metropolitan Magazine” named him Best TV Weather Personality for five consecutive years. The South Carolina Broadcasters Association presented the Masters Award to Jim in 2004. The award has only been given to 12 South Carolina broadcasters and he was the first meteorologist to receive the award.
In 1998, Jim joined Gannett Television, where he worked as a meteorological consultant with the weather staffs of the company’s 22-station broadcast group.
Gandy is a member of the American Meteorological Society, the National Weather Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union and the Planetary Society. In an effort to bring the science of meteorology to schools, Jim has taught a course called Weather Science for Teachers through the Center for Science Education at the University of South Carolina.
Recently Jim partnered with the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University and Climate Central to develop a program called Climate Matters. The program is presented during the weathercasts to explain how and why our climate is changing. Jim received the 2013 Award for Excellence in Science Reporting by a Broadcast Meteorologist for Climate Matters. In addition, Climate Matters has its own webpage on the WLTX website. Jim started a blog to write about weather and climate which has the original title of Weather and Climate Matter. The blog is viewed worldwide and attempts to make weather and climate understandable.
Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:
- Extremes: 86 at Lake Forrest, CA, and -3 at 4 miles SE of Gould, CO
- Warm in the East
- Temperatures not too extreme across Lower 48
- Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice
- and more!
Our email bag officer brings you the latest in incoming messages from our listeners.
From The Weather Center:
WeatherBrains 101: This week we take a look at a different type of weather station, one that images the sky providing visual weather reports as well as other readings. The professor unboxed and installed the station from BloomSky and give you a peek into what it does and what kind of station this is.
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 516:
Florida State University Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science
Hurricane Diane, 1984, Summary
James Spann’s editorial on Climate Change
To subscribe to the brand new SkyWritings, an email newsletter from the WeatherBrains gang, click HERE.
Picks of the Week:
Jim Gandy – South Carolina Flood
Nate Johnson – Gets the fog horn!
Brian Peters – Regional Radar Composites from NWS
John Scala – Meet the Pilots Who Risk Their Lives to Change the Weather
Kevin Selle – NOAA Recap of 2015 Hurricane Season
James Spann – updraft, a forecasting toolkit for iPad
Aubrey Urbanowicz – EarthSky Review of 2015 Hurricane Season
SkyDavers Blog – The Fog Bank
The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Nate Johnson, Bill Murray, Dr. John Scala, Aubrey Urbanowicz, Rick Smith, Kevin Selle, and Brian Peters. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating netcast about weather.
WeatherBrains is a proud affiliate of NetAtmo Weather Stations.
Easy to install and affordable. Get your’s today!
You can monitor your data on iOS 4 or higher, Android 4.0 or higher, or a Windows Phone 8.0 or higher.
Category: WeatherBrains
About the Author (Author Profile)
Brian Peters is one of the television meteorologists at ABC3340 in Birmingham and a retired NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist. He handles the weekend Weather Xtreme Videos and forecast discussion and is the Webmaster for the popular WeatherBrains podcast.Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
