Are You Cirrus? | A Weather Conversation

hello it is OUR first podcast
we've made we have made it

kind of been planning this
for a little while yeah having

issues with how to start right
hi how are you you don't have

to go into the first graphic
that need to be something big

I'm used to it you know came
to light coming on in a green

screen and monitors and weather
graphic and now your first

alert forecast in this is --
this is just us yeah looking

about whether to welcome to are
you serious are you serious I

think we should clear the air
too because there's people even

here yeah that we had to teach
what a service cloud what is

right we're doing a little play
on words so are you serious

yeah are you serious theorists
iCloud thirty thousand feet

in the air yeah made of ice
crystals but beautiful sunny

Dennis or you Sears and it was
your idea actually my wife's

there she's working thank you
to Italy for the U.

yeah and the US great
it's conversation whether

conversation or maybe just
conversation some days I don't

know between you all in us
and I'm excited to see where

this goes me too we don't know
what we're doing this is new

we've had a little training
with the OTC they're asking

does my ex but and I think it's
really cool sort of how this

whole thing got started yeah
-- we've been talking about a

podcast doing a podcast in men
hurricane in his and U.

N.

I.

inde for most of the day we're
together on what we call the

bank -- little inside story
about ma'am stands for big blue

water that's the big monitor
when we're not doing whether

the green screen whether the
band the big blank monitor

and so the day of in you and
I were together on the bam for

a large chunk of the day and
I've often said it's kinda like

television magic we were just
kind of completing each other's

sentences and had the same
train of thought on what we're

going to talk about next and
just sort of a natural flow and

it just felt good that was one
of those things we didn't plan

that either ended at all ages
happen we're like oh let's try

this out and it yeah I mean it
paid off people even messages

saying really love the tag
team aspect there so maybe that

some will do in the future I
will tell you that Ian was one

of those work kind of got the
creative flow in juices going

for us no doubt and I think
this is kind of up a birthing

story to the podcast itself so
really excited for not only us

to talk but to get questions
from some of the comments that

I got that they get to what
about for like each episode

we do like a question of the
week hello maybe that way they

can answer the question you
can answer the question so I

thought of one for the first
week and this can be for people

viewing get home this could
be for you this could be for

me where did your interest in
weather began all inter arma

literally for as long as I can
remember -- I've never and you

know I I totally understand
kids and make kids all wanna

be a firefighter policeman
and a doctor and a nurse and

a teacher they can always go
through it yeah I have always

been fascinated by whether it's
all of ever wanted to do yeah

I kind of changed it I want to
do I never originally wanted

to do TV I want you know like
a classic teenager lamb would

be a storm chaser and then it
kind of evolved to be in the

meteorology teacher or maybe
teaching at a college level

-- but there was a story that
my grandmother always told me

-- I was really young we lived
out in the country outside of

Charlotte and she had a big
garden and it was a typical

summer day in the Carolinas
hot humid and so we were out

in the garden and we were
picking vegetables and I was

maybe two or three could just
barely walk and sudden summer

storm blew up like we always
do so she grabbed everything

ran up to the house thinking
I was right behind her we got

to the porch she turned around
and there's little three year

old Jamie pouring down in his
face and I'm just like looking

at the clouds thunder and
lightning -- that's kind of

my first memory and glimpse
of my obsession with awesome

yeah mine was a fear yeah I
was terrified of alarms and I

just remember anytime there was
severe weather always watching

the TV twenty four seven local
meteorologists mom worked in

the business still does and I
just kind of grew up major key

Vidor I was like okay these
people are helping me that fear

can turn into the fascination
a little bit later age but

there is always something about
weather and it's still mind

blowing to me that think like
we're predicting the future

yeah with all the goals we
do are sometimes when we get

home yeah it was so close to
getting it right but it's just

crazy to me to see how much
it's involved too yeah and

I'm sure we can do a whole
episode on that down the road

-- yeah -- but yeah I would
love to know too if people are

watching their fascination with
whether you could comment on

our Facebook you too but love
to see that a lot of times it

goes back to a specific event
I know big time events -- for

me it was again in Charlotte
obviously I knew but -- being

in a junior high school in
Charlotte when hurricane Hugo

hit yeah -- and at the time you
know this was nineteen eighty

nine so there wasn't as much --
you know today you know we'll

we'll talk about hurricane for
a week before he even thinks

about it there was really
in Charlotte at least there

wasn't much mention of Hugo and
impacts that for inland until a

little bit the night before and
I distinctly remember watching

my mentor on television at the
time saying yes more gonna be

windy and rainy and that was
about it yeah little did we

know that it was going to be a
hundred mile per hour gusts in

the worst storm in the history
of the Carolinas as far as you

know damage and especially in
the Charlotte area which is you

know rarely gets that kind of
impact so that was what really

solidified it -- for me sort
of nail in the coffin Hugo

yeah this is this is what I'm
doing that's awesome and also

to when we were brainstorming
this podcast were kind of like

all right we're gonna have
whether trinkets here basically

that we're gonna bring again
we have some of our books that

we had in classes we have a I
brought this one for you and

I'm really gonna let you borrow
this this is the backyard

weather folklore so you hear
a lot of like -- woolly worm

back to get it back is a big
thank you but it basically

grades a plus minus you're
looking for that we can post

at some point I love your first
home -- yes this lightning

photograph it's technically the
first photograph ever taken of

lightning -- and it was given
to me by a classmate in grad

school as always the Charlotte
as a graduation gift and always

had it with me always kept
it I was like you know what

I hope I'll bring that in to
add to the set looks little

changed up to or something
I'm sure that all kind of

but we were talking about and
you said something that was

really really spot on in a
way it's kind of concerning

to being in the business it's
usually one storm that gets

people's interest potentially
also one storm can get people

to finally pay attention yeah
which is what this whole week

has been about was severe
weather awareness whether we're

three yeah so severe weather
awareness week we do this

for people to prepare now yep
that's the biggest thing that

we can tell you yeah -- because
you need to be prepared always

yeah -- and it doesn't we're
sort of in a in a interesting

little part of the country's
for severe weather seasons go

I've been here sixteen years
now we've had some springs in

classic severe weather season
jump just been like one after

the other after the other
after the other in tornadoes

and severe thunderstorms will
have others where it'll be

absolutely nothing so it's
not like Oklahoma or Kansas

where you have really defined
you know three months severe

weather season where just about
all of that happens -- ours is

kind of strong out and spread
out and some springs you get

it some springs we don't we
actually end up when you look

at the numbers actually get
most of our severe weather

reports early to mid summer --
dozers kind of those typical

isolated pop up storms blew
down some trees knock some hail

in a couple spots rarely do
you get a significant tornado

but we have had significant
tornado outbreaks in the past

all of them have happened in
the spring yeah -- so what

you know it's just one of
those things I was almost like

hurricanes around here you
know the one season to season

three seasons go by you get
nothing then you get slammed

interesting too because when
I moved to the Carolinas you

said it best it's kind of like
split there was always that

second severe weather season
the Kentucky and Indiana and

Ohio valley but it would never
was to the intensity of the

Carolina second severe weather
season in fact I was looking

at some the climatology in for
severe weather awareness week

one of the questions we asked
was all right which month on

average has the most tornadoes
for South Carolina at one point

it was September September
because of hurricane retains

yeah you forget about it but
like that is just another

intricate part of it right now
I think April's leading over

the past twenty five years but
still September is about the

same on average in it to win it
all because of tropical storms

and hurricanes in it as we've
seen many times it doesn't have

to be directly involved in yes
a lot of times you know with

our storm comes up from the
Gulf Florida panhandle kind

of rides up on ninety five new
Tory is twenty to producers

or this area so you know it's
not like it's just shuts down

after the spring were always
in the every month of the year

we've had letters every single
month of the year in this part

of this the country in the
Carolinas so I would kind of

dive into on severe weather
awareness week because we made

some really good promos that
you kind of did in the middle

teaching a little bit more
than we normally do yeah to

get people prep because I feel
like we're in a weather smart

like most markets you have
to kinda dumb it down anyway

in a fashion I feel like here
you don't really have to do

that people understand caper
storm fuel if they understand

energy the one thing that most
people and you may get this

to the risk of severe weather
still something we're trying

to find tune they have the
slight the marginal the in hand

with this just is so bad that
is really bad in its in its

classic government for you this
isn't so basically what we're

talking about here is the storm
prediction center -- it's a

branch of the National Weather
Service or branch of no --

-- and their job every single
day of the year is to outline

parts of the country for the
risk of severe weather which

is very tough to do very tough
to do in these are absolutely

brilliant scientist but as
often the case scientists are

not the best at communicating
yeah what they're trying to

forecast so their risk levels
start at marginal which is the

lowest goes what you're like
okay yeah goes to slight which

then goes to enhance which goes
to moderate and then the worst

is high well if you ask anybody
on the street which sounds

worse you're going to get a
lot of different answers and

hands to make sound worse than
high or worse than moderate

but marginal and slight --
kind of interchangeable --

there were some studies done
specifically a couple of years

ago the stated to us that this
is not really clear language

to convey especially to the
general public -- so that's

when we started flipping it
simple plain simple that's kind

of my my motto for life just
keep it simple one five one low

risk high very high risk and
extreme and I think it's been

replicated well again and it's
not just us on the broadcast

meteorologists all across
Canada we're kind of the Guinea

pigs I thought about this yeah
yeah right they come out with

some then we have to get it and
it be based off them we get the

reaction okay then I'm confused
right and it's kind of a work

in progress because there's
just much more the meteorology

the just us we have a B.

H.

and we have a government we
have we have so many facets

of it but I do think the level
one to five has helped yeah

a lot because we have three
minutes -- you get a forty

three minutes and that's a
good day yeah that's you know

is there something big coming
we got three minutes maybe

three to half of its or any
role in it so we don't have

a lot of time to explain and
break down to that level one

through five well sort of the
broadcast way of simplifying

-- that risk I'm glad you
brought that up because --

cal was kind of looking back
as we were getting ready for

this week at the numbers that
we've had in a marginal risk

of the level one it's literally
almost every day all the time

in this may to August you're
pretty much in a level one

risk almost everyday yeah level
two we get frequently yeah --

specially spring summer you
get into level three a little

more than usual you may get one
two three the cashier -- and

then a level for -- we always
call it the kiss of death seems

like since you've been here
for sure every time we get a

level for it kind of ends up
being in the big nothing burger

I went into that too and I
don't know I would love to dive

into it or maybe someone that
maybe our storm chaser friends

or whatever it seems like to
every time that we have a level

four there's always another
moderate or level four out to

the west gate what typically
happens is if they have a big

day in the Deep South in our
day is usually less active yeah

I can't confirm that that's
absolutely true you you suck so

much energy in the atmosphere
and that's what a feels like

here and it's just you can't
replenish it yeah exactly

exactly and then -- the level
five the high risk yeah that's

sort of the that's the holy
grail for storm chasers dreaded

for everybody else because
they are fairly rare -- as far

as level five house days that
we've had in the Carolinas

specifically this area -- going
all the way back to nineteen

eighty two so basically forty
one years we've had a level

five risk only three times
-- the first was March twenty

eighth nineteen eighty four
that was the worst tornado

outbreak in South Carolina
history -- there was a tornado

here in Orange County just
north of Conway that one and

I did a lot of damage was an
EF two of the big tornadoes

that day work Bennettsville
Lumberton Laurinburg in fact

Bennettsville most of the
city of Bennett's bill was

destroyed it was to E.

F.

four tornadoes literally back
to back in the second one

this still blows my mind --
holds the record as one of the

largest one eight as in the
Carolinas two and a half miles

wide two and a half mile wide
tornado that's a plain store

yeah in in Bennettsville you
know this but not Oklahoma

City not Dallas not Wichita
Kansas does a massive tornado

-- tremendous amounts of damage
from that then continued all

the way into eastern North
Carolina -- a ballot don't

remember the exact numbers
but I think around fifty five

deaths -- in the Carolinas
and thousands and thousands

of injuries from that tornado
outbreak -- the other high

risk level five day that we
had here was March nineteen

ninety one -- most of the
tornadoes without when we're

kind of back off to the west
mainly across the Midlands into

North Carolina and then most
recently April two thousand

eleven -- we had a high risk
-- that extended countdown into

or county the rest of the area
was under a level four so all

of us were under level four or
five -- that April two thousand

eleven outbreak was mainly in
North Carolina I think there

were about thirty deaths there
-- but we ended up with six

tornadoes in Georgetown county
that day -- three or four and

Robson county under lumber
ten I think we had one here in

Orange County -- we were kind
of on the tail end of that

outbreak -- then it really
exploded in North Carolina

but -- if you see us talking
about a level five yeah it's

it's about to get real well
and you need to take you need

to take them all seriously
but thankfully we don't get

too much and keep in mind too
we we've kind of all this the

storm prediction center has
done a great job and saying

all right we're more confident
now in issuing a day six area

to watch day seven area to
watch so you may even now see

a first alert from us almost
a week at that would be a big

event but we had one recently
but six days okay Hey we're

gonna watch this and then of
course we sort of say okay this

is more west yeah and start
but this is what this podcast

is great for yeah get into the
nitty gritty because the weeds

and we would never be able
to talk about this you would

never get your seven day record
temperatures for that phone

and in kind of leading into our
severe weather seasons and how

we don't always have big ones
-- we have the ingredients in

place a lot -- but it's rare
that there's ingredients a

hundred percent overlap each
other so when the winner in

in the spring around here we
have just incredible amounts

of wind energy yeah Collins a
wind shear when almost every

system that comes through what
we're lacking is the heat and

the humidity in the summer
we get the heat and humidity

but the atmosphere is still
getting used to all this up in

the atmosphere in the summer
is usually dead still yeah you

know you have all the fuel but
you don't have the winds here

you don't have the wind speeds
in the atmosphere so in the

summer we can get severe storms
but they blow up they blew down

some trees put a little hail in
the collapse on their dime in

the winter would you have all
that wind shear but not fuel

a lot of times will get more
of a fast moving line of gusty

downpours so you know every
once in awhile though you'll

get both your battle and if
you'll you'll get all the the

wind shear and that usually
does happen as we head into

this time of year and that's
something that I think it's

interesting because for the
summer time in the attic Easter

when moving here was Seabreeze
storms that sea breeze in

the summer can enhance -- yes
storms like crazy it was never

used to that at all so just
to see that that's another

ingredient there for this small
sliver about a month when it

takes place you can also add
fuel to the fire now will tell

you the big key to this is you
can have too much of one thing

in fact we've seen some of this
work there's been way too much

when she -- -- yeah are there's
been waiting you have Cape off

the roof -- that storm feel
the rooftop but you don't have

everything else yeah it's it's
a little delicate balance in

a lot of times in the summer
we have caper storm fuel Cape

for the weather geek convective
available potential energy

which is basically looking at
which is basically the amount

of energy or not or fuel in
the atmosphere a lot of times

in the summer but we will get
just a tremendous amount Cape

is analysts are some numbers
out here just to get geeky

okay since this is our first
podcast so let's say it's a

normal day in July it's ninety
two degrees and humid your Cape

is probably going to be two
thousand three thousand with

Jules per kilogram joules per
kilogram yeah get into the --

into the scientific equation
for that later -- yeah Jules

per kilogram so blessed as
a two thousand that the out

of the standard summer yeah
sure around here sometimes

I've seen days around here
were up around five thousand

yep which is just an extreme
amount of fuel and instability

in the atmosphere on this on
a winter day though -- we have

a storm system coming through
we may be looking to get two

or three hundred he -- but
on those days when it is hot

four thousand five thousand
literally everywhere gets a

storm storms blow up all over
the place or to those days

were just summer afternoons
were just rains everywhere

and it honors and just kind
of goes on forever because

literally the entire atmosphere
goes up you want a little bit

less the kind of focusing to
individual storms to get that

severe weather not to mention
to another ingredient that

most people would not know
about except our weather geek

friends -- there's ingredients
called a cap or negative

energy yeah so basically this
holds back all your potential

energy until something breaks
through yeah so there's been

many days these are the worst
days as a forecaster when the

potential of severe weather
is there and all you have to

do is break what we call the
Catton and it doesn't happen

and you're looking at partly
cloudy skies and no storms

yeah it's the worst forecast
ever and this is where this

old book right over here comes
in handy because I'm I'm old

school you know I was talking
about my grandmother she you

know she knew how to read the
leaves and and that will be

warm and everything else and
and I've always thought and

always believing I kinda like
it in the summer when we'll

get maybe seven or eight days
where it's just oppressively

hot no an oppressively humid
and we have that cap in place

-- and you build up that energy
yeah you just build it each and

every day and then eventually
usually after a week sometimes

maybe ten days you'll have
one of those days where the

storms DJIA's explode yeah I
mean and absolutely go crazy

one of those days -- most
recently -- July fourth then

you have here is a horrible day
for it but we have been just

miserably hot miserably humid
leading up to July fourth and

that was the day that the cap
broke and we got eight inches

of rain in north myrtle and
lightning strikes and lightning

fires everywhere that's the
cat breaking and that was

also the day where I remember
forecasting forty percent sixty

percent to eighty percent and
sit on the beach it's like

alright we'll be able to and
all it took was one store

get one double oh that entire
system and it literally went

the rest of the day I'm just
fed off each other and exploded

off each other for the for the
rest of them just so everyone

knows I was soaked on the beach
welcome back to the card just

to get back into I think a lot
of people work yeah because

I was waiting for the flyover
right yeah and then apply for

that and not that much time at
all no I don't know how we are

in time I can only assume that
we're slowly running out yeah

but I do want to push forward
to where we can really geek

out of talking about future
severe weather season in next

episode will do that but I also
want to ask at a preference for

typical day evening and morning
for broadcast it changes a lot

what's a typical day like for
Jamie -- Jamie gets in about

one thirty in the afternoon
and first thing I do when I

get in it's kinda get a feel
for what's going on even even

at home I do a quick to help
me out you know couple coffee

and I'm checking the forecast
models and check things out

and just kind of getting a feel
for it -- get here one thirty

start building graphics fine
tune the forecast -- start

building the graphics that you
see every night the newscast

now I'm in that goes all the
way up until I'm on the air

-- you know radio updates in
your personal Facebook and

doing all of that so it's a
it's a busy day some days got

meetings -- the keep things
busy and then do the newscast

home for a quick dinner at
six thirty seven o'clock and

then back then it's the nights
that I like I'm an early to

bed kind of guy yeah but the
nights at eleven o'clock news

my favorite time to be here
that's when I get back from

dinner until eleven o'clock
the bosses are gone nobody

knocking on your door are you
listening six there's there's

nobody bugging you that's when
I like going out the business

side of emails and and kind of
get things ready and whatever

project that we're working on
so yeah I'm same way except for

your schedule for flip you come
in and it's kinda like alright

let's prepare the morning show
was like all right go go go go

go go go until seven yeah and
then it's no one's here until

nine right you're relaxing
you're getting ready for the

noon -- so it's one of those
things where I come in you

said one thirty for you and
I'm about I'm trying to think

two thirty AM Hey Hey my alarm
goes off at one thirty and

which had to go up earlier with
the baby yeah you know I adore

you -- but if I had the chance

if you were in love you so
much -- we probably switching

in a heartbeat soon testing I
love what I'm hearing I love

morning shows yeah I love to
do the morning show interject

I've always I've always gotten
up early always go to bed

early under the title in my
hand not all come down with

the dates but so getting up
at two thirty to come into

work now I love it well maybe
this blows up the podcast

tag team bring a fifth man in

unlike going hopefully our
bosses are listening with

us since the natural part
got it right what these guys

do it now I do want to save
for anyone that is watching

on Facebook or YouTube or I
don't even remember where all

this is going to be posted we
are going to answer some of

those questions so if you're
watching this and you say

okay I have a question about
the weather that I want Jamie

you're more than likely jaman
answer just because you've

been some some eggs will be
about the Carolinas once we

reach outside of the Carolinas
I don't know we may do that

and we made to the -- to blow
this thing up I hope so we're

going big but you can ask that
on our Facebook comment we're

going to kind of keep that in
mind we may not answer there

because that will be content
for us they told us we have to

fill twenty five thirty minutes
so we'll save it for that so

easy peasy which I think we've
already done I know I was told

that we are you're right I
mean that's how casual this is

expecting a particular bones
yeah -- yeah we're done how did

we end up podcast thanks for
watching the services grabbed

her YouTube channel you too
listen wherever your favorite

podcasts are found hello and
then like some cruel outro

music maybe I don't know if we
have that -- so what's coming

up we're talking about let's
do this real quick okay we're

gonna show yeah we're gonna try
to get some gas on yeah I got

a couple of really translate
that -- we think you're just

going to be really fun for you
-- and again there's questions

and comments if you want to
know like the inside baseball

stuff now happens love it more
walls of WBF news yeah whatever

we're gonna talk about whatever
yes what we do honestly and we

enjoyed this a lot I'd rather
be doing this in some of the

other things so a lot coming
your way I think next week

we're gonna talk about winter
weather how winners ban and a

lot of it lack of winter and
what we can expect maybe for

severe weather season yeah the
talk about that so this was

are you serious now we are one
what is even us we made it but

keep counter upsets down we'll
do all right got it one thing