WeatherBrains

Tonight's show is dedicated to a deep dive into avalanches!  Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is Dr. Ethan Greene from Colorado Avalanche Center.  He's also served as the Director of the NW Pacific Avalanche Center.  We will cover a basic understanding of avalanches, the geographic responsibility of the Colorado Avalanche Center, launch of forecasting avalanches and how they try to prevent avalanches during the off-season.  We will examine how they prepared in this work with the citizens of Colorado and who they collaborate with make this happen.  Dr. Greene joined CAIC as the Director in 2005.  He grew up in Boulder and learned to ski when he was three. He has worked with snow and avalanches since 1990. He worked as a ski patroller (Big Sky Ski Resort) and as a backcountry avalanche forecaster (Utah Avalanche Forecast Center). He studied meteorology (B.S., University of Utah), mountain weather and snow-drift formation (M.S., Colorado State University), and snow metamorphism and microstructure (Ph.D., CSU). In 2016, he received the Bernie Kingery Award and a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Utah. Ethan has published a variety of articles and has been a member of national and international working groups on snow, weather, and avalanche topics. Ethan lives in Leadville with his wife and two children.  Thanks for joining us tonight, Dr. Greene!
Also joining us as Guest Panelist is Mark Staples.  He is Director and Avalanche Forecaster at the Gallatin National Forecast Avalanche Center in Boseman.  Mark, welcome to WeatherBrains!
Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: [email protected].
Upcoming AMS Annual Meeting in Houston (03:30)
Basic definition of an avalanche (08:00)
What do their field technicians do and what instrumentation do they use?  (18:30)
How the avalanche watch/warning process works (24:00)
Biggest clients in avalanche forecasting (37:00)
How does the public get avalanche forecast information?  (42:00)
Canadian collaboration on risk communication (47:00)
Communicating to young people about avalanche dangers (53:30)
Smaller avalanche outbreaks vs major events (01:17:00)
FAR and POD metrics vs avalanche warning metrics (01:19:00)
The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:27:20)
This Week in Tornado History With Jen (No segment this week)
E-Mail Segment (No segment this week)
and more!
Web Sites from Episode 1044:  
Alabama Weather Network
Avalanche.Org
Picks of the Week:
Dr. Ethan Greene - Avalanche Explorer
James Aydelott - Impactful snow ahead for Oklahoma and southern Kansas this upcoming weekend
Jen Narramore - Out
Rick Smith - Out
Troy Kimmel - 9 rules for using Forecast Models
Kim Klockow-McClain - Out
John Gordon - Avalanche search and rescue training in Tahoe
Bill Murray - Out
James Spann - NOAA/NWS Space Weather Prediction Center Radio Communications Dashboard
The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore, John Gordon, and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.

Tonight's Guest WeatherBrain is Canadian meteorologist Ken MacDonald.  He started his career way back in 1975, and has been an instructor, a forecaster, and a researcher.  He is the former Executive Director of Environment Canada.  Our second Guest WeatherBrain James Abraham is a veteran meteorologist with almost four decades of experience who has forecasted in British Columbia, the U. S. East Coast and even was former and first Director of the Canadian Hurricane Center.  Ken and James, welcome to WeatherBrains!
Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: [email protected].
Environment Canada basics (08:00)
Modernization process at Environment Canada (14:00)
Reformatted warning polygons (19:00)
Recurring issues with zone forecasts (22:30)
Canadian meteorology employment/recruiting (28:30)
Details of 18 month internship after initial hire (34:00)
Canadian Hurricane Center (35:00)
The Perfect Storm of 1991 (48:00)
Total number of TV meteorologists in Canada (53:00)
Death of linear television (56:30)
Research efforts across Canada (01:06:00)
Most difficult places to forecast meteorology in Canada (01:09:30)
2025-26 Canadian winter highlights (01:10:30)
The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:14:00)
This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:16:45)
E-Mail Segment (01:18:00)
and more!
Web Sites from Episode 1043:  
Alabama Weather Network
Canada's weather warning system has changed. Here's how.
Meteorologist Occupational Training Program
Picks of the Week:
James Aydelott - The OCS/Mesonet Ticker
Jen Narramore - Jen shoutout on X
Rick Smith - Out
Troy Kimmel - Foghorn
Kim Klockow-McClain - Foghorn
John Gordon - NWS Juneau on YouTube
John Gordon - Juneau, Alaska buried under 80+ inches of snow
Bill Murray - Out
James Spann - CIPS Analog-Based Severe Probability Guidance
The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore, John Gordon, and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.

Our Guest WeatherBrain couldn't make it tonight, so our panel holds a homegrown episode to kick off 2026.  Discussions include storm-based vs county-warnings, public storm reports, and a deep-dive into fundamentals of modern-day radar.
Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: [email protected].
Severe storms possible on Friday in Deep South 1/9/26 (05:00)
Storm-based warnings vs county-wide warnings (26:00)
Pete Wolf Charitable Foundation (38:00)
Helping the general public with radar interpretation (48:00)
Public storm reports and how often they are used in NWS warnings (53:00)
MPING (57:30)
NWS app is needed (59:00)
Protecting people living in mobile homes during severe weather (01:06:00)
Threats-In-Motion (TIM) (01:08:00)
Threat Confirmation Defined (01:14:00)
Social media AI engagement farms (01:16:00)
The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:22:00)
This Week in Tornado History With Jen (No segment this week)
E-Mail Segment (01:24:00)
and more!
Web Sites from Episode 1042:  
Alabama Weather Network
Picks of the Week:
James Aydelott - Out
Jen Narramore - WeatherBrains 224
Jen Narramore - WeatherBrains 998
Rick Smith - The Annual Lightning Report 2025
Troy Kimmel - US Drought Monitor From 2000-2025
Kim Klockow-McClain - Foghorn
John Gordon - Extreme Temperatures Around The World
Bill Murray - Out
James Spann - AEM Releases 2025 U.S. Lightning Report
The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore, John Gordon, and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.

On WeatherBrains this week this our annual year-ender episode with Greg Carbin.  Greg needs no introduction; tonight we look back at 2025's notable weather events, and what the meteorology community has learned in the past year.  Greg has presented his "Year-in-Review" presentation to the NWA Annual Meeting every year since 2004. His professional society memberships have included the NWA, AMS, International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), and Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Greg currently serves as Chair on the NWA's Professional Development Committee.  
Thanks for joining us this week for this year's WeatherBrains finale!
Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: [email protected].
Looking back at 2025 (11:45)
2025 Gulf Coast snowstorm (19:30)
Legendary meteorologist Chuck Doswell passes away (21:00)
17 tornadoes in Alabama in 2025 (42:00)
Mid-May tornado outbreak near St. Louis (53:00)
July 2025 Texas flooding tragedy (55:30)
Remnants of Typhoon Halong cross Alaska (01:05:30)
Dr. Neil Frank 2021 interview clip/Rewatch Episode 819 for entire interview (01:14:30)
The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (01:11:05)
This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:13:00)
E-Mail Segment (No segment this week - Happy New Year!)
and more!
Web Sites from Episode 1041:  
Remembering former KHOU-11 TV chief meteorologist Dr. Neil Frank
Alabama Weather Network
Picks of the Week:
Greg Carbin - Ensemble QPF Tracking
James Aydelott - Tulsa, OK record high temperature graphic
Jen Narramore - Ethan Mok on X: Zion, IL fake AI tornado damage
Rick Smith - Out
Troy Kimmel - Foghorn
Kim Klockow-McClain - Foghorn
John Gordon - Tom Niziol on X: Wind-driven seiche on Lake Erie
John Gordon - Tom Niziol on X: 80 mph wind gusts at Buffalo, NY
Bill Murray - James Spann speaks with FOX Weather's Bob Van Dillen
James Spann - Aaron Rigbsy on X: Tree damage video associated with a blizzard
The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore, John Gordon, and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.

On WeatherBrains this week are two special guests.  Friend of the show and WeatherBrains veteran Mark Sudduth is the owner of HurricaneTrack.com and has over three decades of experience documenting landfalling hurricanes and other high impact weather events.  He founded the Hurricane Intercept Research Team, which pioneers the use of unmanned camera systems to safely capture severe weather.  Welcome to the show!
Last but certainly not least is our second Guest WeatherBrain Bruce Thomas.  He's the President of WeatherCall and is the former spokesman of Midland Weather Radio and is a former broadcast meteorologist.  He covered the 1997 Jarrell, TX tornado and has even worked with the Red Cross.  Bruce, it's great to have you on the show.
Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: [email protected].
Mark's major projects in 2025 (08:00)
2025 Hurricane season's overall unexpected lack of activity (13:30)
Launch of Mark's new podcast (18:00)
Self-appointed Mayor of Weatherville (47:00)
What is WeatherCall and where is it going?  (53:00)
AL/MS are the most dangerous places on Earth for tornadoes (01:08:00)
Turning the page to 2026's very early hurricane season predictions (01:19:00)
Jobseekers, watch what you post on social media!!! (01:30:00)
The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (No segment this week)
This Week in Tornado History With Jen (No segment this week)
E-Mail Segment (01:24:00)
and more!
Web Sites from Episode 1040:  
Alabama Weather Network
WeatherCall
Picks of the Week:
Bruce Thomas - Fire photo from Yuma, Colorado
James Aydelott - Tule Fog over California's Central Valley
Jen Narramore - 144 MPH Wind Gust On Wednesday One Of The Strongest Ever Recorded in Wyoming
Rick Smith - Out
Troy Kimmel - StormReady
Kim Klockow-McClain - Out
John Gordon - Ice Tsunami
Bill Murray - Out
James Spann - Foghorn
The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Troy Kimmel, Bill Murray, Rick Smith, James Aydelott, Jen Narramore, John Gordon, and Dr. Kim Klockow-McClain. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating podcast about weather.