Across the Sky

As summer begins, Kate Marvel from Project Drawdown talks with the team about the solutions already in place to help slow climate change and why the things that worry her the most have nothing to do with the physical science. We want to hear from you! Have a question for the meteorologists? Call 609-272-7099 and leave a message. You might hear your question and get an answer on a future episode! Y...

Thunderstorm season is in full swing across the country and with it comes the threat of lightning. Unfortunately, there’s lots of bad information floating around about this weather hazard. The Lee Weather Team is here to help! This week, the meteorologists debunk the top five lightning myths and share their advice on the best ways to stay safe during a thunderstorm. They also debut a new segment o...

Weather can have a big impact on specific wagers for sports bettors. How does the time of day affect NASCAR races? What about wind direction and speed for golf and football? Does the thinner air of the Rocky Mountains really impact baseball games at Coors Field? Mike Szvetitz from Front Page Bets joins the show and discusses how weather changes the game  — football, baseball, golf, auto racing, an...

The new director of the National Hurricane Center, Mike Brennan, joined the weather team this week for an in-depth discussion on all things hurricanes. From the biggest concerns, the latest forecast and communication improvements, to the impact of climate change, it's everything you need to know as hurricane season 2023 gets underway. We want to hear from you! Have a question for the meteorologist...

The number of billion dollar weather disasters in the United States has jumped in recent years. Lead Scientist on the NOAA quarterly report, Adam Smith, talks about how they arrive at those figures, what types of disasters are most expensive, and what part of the country is most vulnerable. We want to hear from you! Have a question for the meteorologists? Call 609-272-7099 and leave a message. You...

The Lee Weather team goes across the pond to Europe for this episode for a discussion about an unusual type of storm. They look like a hurricane, have nearly the same characters of a hurricane, and now even have names like hurricanes. Called medicanes, they're the Mediterranean Sea's biggest weather beast.  The Lee Weather team speaks to Kostas Lagouvardos, Research Director at the National Observ...

It might not rain or snow in space, but our solar system is pretty active. Auroras are inspiring, but the conditions that cause them can impact our planet and technology. NASA Ambassador Tony Rice discusses space weather, and how bursts of solar energy can impact aviation, agriculture, and the electric grid. About the Across the Sky podcast The weekly weather podcast is hosted on a rotation by the...

It was a remarkable winter in the western United States with phenomenal snow and heavy rain. Now that things have quieted down, UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain joins the meteorologists to discuss what's next. What will happen as all the snow melts? What will this year's wildfire season be like? Will the atmospheric rivers return next winter? It's a deep dive into all things weather and climate...

For many of us, winter snow is an occasional inconvenience. For those living in the Sierra Nevada region of California though, it's a way of life. Placer County stretches roughly 65 miles from the suburbs of Sacramento all the way to the border of Nevada and the shore of Lake Tahoe. Dealing with massive amounts of snow, with few places to move it, is a regular problem here. But this winter was tru...

The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season doesn't begin until June 1, but we're already getting some early indications of what to expect. The first hurricane forecasts of the year are coming out.  In our hurricane season preview, the meteorologists discuss the factors that will impact the number of storms that form this year, including El Nino, La Nina, Saharan dust, and water temperatures. Wonder what n...

During a devastating tornado outbreak in Mississippi March 2023, meteorologist Matt Laubhan guided viewers through the nighttime storms. On this episode of Across the Sky , he talks about the challenges of encouraging people to get to safer locations, the spontaneous prayer that he delivered during live coverage, and the mental health of those that survive severe weather.  Related episodes Stories...

April showers bring May flowers. But when those sprinkles turn into intense downpours, water levels can rise and bring flash flooding. University of Michigan engineering professor Valeriy Ivanov nearly drowned while crossing a flood-swollen river, and in today's episode he talks about how this motivated his work: shortening the time to generate flooding forecasts and translating them into more tim...

Watches and warnings are nothing new for the National Weather Service, but Liz Leitman, a Mesoscale Forecaster at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, made history in February when she became the first woman to issue either a severe thunderstorm or tornado watch. Leitman talks with our meteorologists about the historic moment, how she became interested in the weather, and the importanc...

With the rest of the meteorologists away this week, Sean Sublette talks with Jessica Whitehead, Executive Director of the Old Dominion University Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience, to discuss some of the hidden and subtle ways global warming is sneaking up on us. Hotter weather is just the tip of the iceberg. About the Across the Sky podcast The weekly weather podcast is hosted on a...

While some parts of the country keep experiencing snow and cold weather, particularly in the Midwest, spring is ahead of schedule in other regions. Theresa Crimmins of the USA National Phenology Network talks about how far ahead the Southeast is of normal spring and discusses the complex relationship between temperatures, pollen, and blooms. She also explains how you can become a citizen scientist...

Meteorological spring is here and with that comes turbulent weather as snowstorms give way to damaging thunderstorms. Much of the country has gotten an early start to the severe weather season, with more than 200 tornadoes reported since the first of the year. DaNa Carlis, the Director of the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, is our guest this week. He talks about the mission of his team and...

Maybe you run a business and you're trying to budget for snow removal before winter. Or perhaps your business is facing a lawsuit after someone slips on the ice. This is where forensic meteorology comes into play. Forensic meteorologist Sherilyn Patrick, Director of Forensic Services for WeatherWorks in Hackettstown, New Jersey, is our guest on this week's episode. Patrick talks about her job, the...

Baseball is back with the return of spring training, and this week our hosts talk with Paul Gross, a recently retired broadcast meteorologist who is a weather consultant for the Detroit Tigers. They discuss how weather impacts baseball, from lightning safety rules to the precise timing of a rain forecast, including a dramatic situation in a game between the Tigers and Red Sox. Paul also shared a u...

The NFL season just wrapped with Sunday's Super Bowl LVII in Arizona, and while the weather didn't come into play with the game played in a domed stadium, our guest this week talks about what it's like covering sporting events and the challenges of weather. Kris Budden is a reporter for ESPN and covered San Diego Padres games before moving to her current role covering college football and basketba...

We're still in the middle of winter and much of the nation continues to endure snow, ice and severe cold. So the meteorologists thought back to when they were kids and debated various scenarios that could lead to either a partial or canceled school day. Would you rather have a delayed opening or early dismissal? Or which is better: no school on a Friday or a Monday?  TAKE OUR POLLS! Follow this li...

How does the celebration for Punxsutawney Phil differ from the popular Bill Murray movie "Groundhog Day" and what are some of the gaffes that have happened there over the years? Meteorologist Joe Murgo has covered it in person for more than 20 years and shares his stories about the crowds and dignitaries, including a governor who nearly got his finger bitten off! About the Across the Sky podcast T...

Veteran meteorologist Don Paul of the Buffalo News joins our team to look back at the Blizzard of 2022 in the Buffalo area. Don and the team talk about how it compared to historical blizzards there, and why 47 fatalities occurred despite the accurate forecasts. About the Across the Sky podcast The weekly weather podcast is hosted on a rotation by the Lee Weather team: Matt Holiner  of Lee Enterpri...

2022 was among the 10 hottest years in the global record and each of the last eight years has been one of the eight warmest. This week's episode dives into the details. Nadya Vinogradova-Shiffer, an ocean physicist with NASA, talks about the warming climate’s impact on the oceans and what that means for people living both near and far away from the water. After their conversation with Vinogradova-...

Our guest this week is  Mike Augustyniak , Director of Meteorology for WCCO-TV, the CBS affiliate in the Twin Cities. He joins us to talk about the recent cold weather, what happens at the American Meteorological Society's annual weather conference (the largest in America), how technology is changing forecast communication and — most importantly — cocktails! About the Across the Sky podcast The we...

We feature meteorologist Joe Martucci's work from The Press of Atlantic City in this crossover episode of the Across the Sky podcast. Joe was a guest on Lee Enterprises' sister podcast, Behind the Headlines with host Teri Barr, to talk about his year-long series on increased tidal flooding. Martucci says that schools, restaurants and roads are closing more than ever due to coastal flooding. He sha...