WeatherBrains Episode 1054 is now online (March 30th, 2026). If you are crazy about weather, this is THE podcast for you!

Tonight’s Guest WeatherBrain is a legend in the Weather Enterprise and is the quintessential Tornado Master.   Dr. Howard Bluestein is a Professor Emeritus and George Lynn Cross Research Professor in the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma.  He recently retired after spending more than 48 (WOW!) years as a meteorology professor at OU.  Dr. Bluestein remains active in research and storm chasing, and for decades he pioneered the use of advance mobile doppler radar systems to study severe storms and tornadoes.  He’s also a renowned author and photographer, and some of his works have been placed in museums across the world.  Dr. Bluestein, welcome to WeatherBrains!

Our email officer Jen is continuing to handle the incoming messages from our listeners. Reach us here: email@weatherbrains.com.

• How did Dr. Bluestein enter the field of meteorology?  (07:00)
• Harold Edgerton 1957 photo of Milk Drop Coronet (18:00)
• Waterspout chasing in airplanes (28:00)
• GATE June-September 1974 (GARP Atlantic Tropical Experiment) (29:30)
• Conditional Instability of the Second Kind (CISK) (33:00)
• Using an optical theodolite to track storm soundings (50:30)
• W-Band radar vs KA-Band radars (55:00)
• Chasing 1984’s Hurricane Diana (01:05:00)
• Dr. Bluestein’s phenomenology and key scientific breakthroughs through scanning technology and storm chasing (01:06:00)
• Using RaxPol (Rapid X-band Polarimetric Radar) data to accurately rate tornadoes (01:14:00)
• Mentorship of OU graduate students and lasting impacts of the program (01:18:30)
• Boundary-layer physics: Is the problem of Tornadogenesis solved?  (01:27:30)
• The Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice (No segment this week – stay tuned!)
• This Week in Tornado History With Jen (01:38:30)
• E-Mail Segment (No segment this week – stay tuned!)
• and more!

Web Sites from Episode 1054:  

“The Architecture of Clouds” by Dr. Howard B. Bluestein

Alabama Weather Network

Picks of the Week:

James Aydelott – Supercell Easter Egg Photo

Jen Narramore – Tupelo, MS F5 Tornado – April 5, 1936

Rick Smith – NOVA Tornado! Original Broadcast 1985

Troy Kimmel – Founding USA Today Editor Jack Williams passes away

Kim Klockow-McClain – NSSL VORTEX USA

John Gordon – Kona Storms Flood O’ahu

Bill Murray – Out

James Spann – Storm ready: NOAA’s new mobile radar fleet bridges gap between research and weather safety

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.