Across the Sky

Hurricane season has arrived and all signs are pointing to a very busy year. Dr. Mike Brennan, the director of NOAA's National Hurricane Center, joins the Lee Weather Team this week to discuss everything you need to know for the 2024 season. Brennan and the team break down the number of storms expected and the reasons why this season is expected to be particularly active. They also discuss the sci...

Summer travel season is here! This week, The Weather Channel's Jen Carfagno joins the team to share her weather coverage travel stories.  Hurricanes and snowstorms can be harrowing and bring their own set of challenges, but she also shares her more comforting travel stories to Punxsatawney each year for Groundhog Day. We want to hear from you! Have a question for the meteorologists? Call 609-...

Summer is just around the corner, and with it comes the anticipation of beach days, barbecues and, unfortunately, the potential for extreme weather. In this episode of Across the Sky, meteorologists Sean Sublette, Matt Holiner and Joe Martucci discuss the summer weather outlook for 2024, from the bustling Jersey Shore to heat-weary Texas.  We delve into the complexities of forecasting seasona...

Tornado history goes beyond path lengths and EF ratings. Since 2016, Jennifer Narramore — owner and co-founder of Tornado Talk — and her team have been bringing forward tornado survival stories from the last 70 years. Whether the stories come from massive super outbreaks or isolated storms, their first-person interviews with those who were impacted are a vivid reminder of how tornadoes...

You can't talk about air travel without talking about weather. That's why all major airlines employ their own team of meteorologists. But what are their specifc responsibilities and how do they help get the planes where they need to be? David Dillahunt, the chief meteorologist at Southwest Airlines, joins the podcast to explain how he and his team support the daily decisions on air traffic —...

As severe storm season nears its peak, we tackle some persistent myths about lightning and why they have continued for so long.   Meteorologist and lightning expert Chris Vagasky joins the team to explain why no place outside is safe during a thunderstorm and what lightning detection notifications on your weather app are really telling you. He also discusses lightning mitigation technolo...

Negative stories about climate change come at us every day, but there are positive stories bubbling up that illustrate the innovations being made to slow the pace of the warming climate and conserve the environment. In honor of Earth Day, CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir joins the podcast to share some of those stories from his travels. He also discusses what made him shift his career f...

How you get weather information is changing and changing fast. First came newspapers, then came television, but increasingly, people are getting their forecasts on digital platforms, including news websites, social media, and weather apps. With explosive growth in this sector, some meteorologists have chosen to focus on digital exclusively. In this special collaborative episode, the Lee Weather Te...

Colorado State University, one of the premier organizations behind hurricane seasonal forecasting, has issued its most aggressive April hurricane outlook on record — with 23 named storms forecast for the 2024 Atlantic season. Alex DesRosiers from Colorado State joins the team this week to talk about why this season is expected to be so active. He also discusses his research that looks deeper...

After the warmest winter on record in the United States, trees are budding and blooming early in much of the country.  What does that mean for pollen and allergy seasons now and in the future?  And how does that impact fruits like peaches, cherries, and apples later in the season? Theresa Crimmins from the National Phenology Network at the University of Arizona joins the team to explain...

Special Edition of "Across the Sky" It's our FIRST special edition episode and it's for a very timely guest.  College basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy (aka KenPom) comes on the podcast to talk about his wildly popular basketball analytics website . Why is he on? He's a meteorologist! Ken explains how he made the seamless transition from understanding statistics in meteorology to applying t...

Thunderstorms, hurricanes, and heatwaves all impact how electricity is generated and how it gets to your home. But not all weather impacts it equally.  Plus, as renewable energy continues to scale up, how is high-precision weather forecasting going to ensure reliable power to homes and businesses? Meteorologists Jeff Mock and Erin Guidry Hurd from Dominion Energy in Virginia join us to talk a...

Of all the seasons, spring is the most volatile. Warm, quiet conditions can quickly change to cold and windy. Thunderstorms and tornadoes can be followed by piles of snow. With the spring equinox occurring this week, the Lee Weather Team has pinpointed the 10 most important things you should know about spring weather. What is a red flag warning? What weather conditions cause pollen levels to rise...

We're less than a month away from the astronomical event of the year, the 2024 total solar eclipse. Seeing a total solar eclipse is a truly awe-inspriring experience and you don't want to miss this one, because there won't be another visible in the United States until the mid 2040s. To get you prepared, NASA Ambassador Tony Rice joins the podcast this week with everything you need to know about th...

Thunderstorms and winter storms get top billing when it comes to air travel delays.  But what else should you be looking for when planning a flight or waiting at the airport? Rob Eicher from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University tells us what commercial air travelers should know about the types of weather that disrupt travel the most, both before and during a flight.  From tornadoes to tu...

Late February and early March is usually when ice cover peaks on the Great Lakes. But there's not much this year. In fact, ice levels are at or near record lows. In a warming world, is this the new normal? Physical Scientist Bryan Mroczka joins the podcast this week from the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab to give perspective. Bryan shares the history of ice cover on the Great Lakes an...

Computer weather models are the biggest tool meteorologists use to forecast the weather. But why are there so many, which one is the best, and why aren't they all better? On this week's episode, the weather team digs deep into the world of computer weather modeling, also known as numerical weather prediction. The team discusses how it all started and how it's advanced over time. They also break do...

Mike Witcher had been working as a broadcast meteorologist in Knoxville, Tennessee for more than a decade. Then, in 2023, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He created East TN Weather  and became his own weather media company for local residents.  Mike is a part of a very small, but emerging sector of meteorology. Entrepreneurs who want to inform the public of what's going on...

Each year, The American Meteorological Society's Annual Meeting is the ultimate gathering for the weather community. Researchers, forecasters, and storm chasers alike come together to share their work, network, and try to solve some of meteorology's greatest challenges.  The 104th AMS Annual Meeting just wrapped up in Baltimore, Maryland. Two members of the Lee Weather Team, Meteorologist Sea...

In order to predict how the weather will change, an accurate picture of what's happening now is needed. While current conditions at the surface are well known thanks to weather stations, there are significant gaps in the data higher up in the atmosphere. Unmanned aerial vehicles, better known as drones, could help fill in those gaps significantly. Dr. Jamey Jacob from Oklahoma State University is...

Weather and cars do not get along. Each year, about 21% of car crashes in the United States involve adverse weather conditions, resulting in thousands of injuries and deaths. We can't prevent bad weather, but new technology is being developed to keep drivers safer. Dr. Scott Mackaro, the head of Insights and Innovation for Vaisala Xweather, joins the podcast this week to talk about road weather da...

According to NOAA and NASA, 2023 was the hottest year on record, as greenhouse gases from fossil fuels continue to increase. Renewable energy sources are scaling up, but how fast is the transitioning happening, and what are the roadblocks? Andrew Dessler from Texas A&M joins the team to talk candidly about energy solutions to climate change. We want to hear from you! Have a question for the me...

The month of January is often considered the most depressing of the year. The holidays are over, credit card bills are coming due, and the days are short and cold. While many suffer from the winter blues, for some it's a more serious condition known as seasonal affective disorder or SAD for short. Jasmine Wilson with the Ascension Medical Group joins the podcast this week for an in-depth discussio...

2024 has arrived, but we can't start a new year without looking back at the previous year. There was plenty of weather to talk about in 2023. The United States saw a record number of billion-dollar weather disasters, so picking the biggest weather stories of the year was not easy. Ten events stood out to our meteorologists the most though. The team discusses each one from the beginning of the year...

This week marks the official start of winter, arguably the most polarizing season of all. While some enjoy the spirit of the holidays, others bemoan the short, cold days. While some love the sight of fresh snow on the ground, others dread having to break out the the snow shovels and ice scrapers again. Regardless of how you feel about winter, there's a lot of weather to talk about, so this week th...