The Weather and Nature Blog

Fun Facts, Interesting Photos, Great Stories

I am dedicating this blog to share some of the geeky things I have observed and learned about all kinds of weather. I do NOT profess to be an expert on any of these topics. However, with a 40-year career in meteorology, much of it working at the National Weather Service office in Buffalo, NY I do enjoy winter.  In addition, working for The Weather Channel as the National Winter Weather Expert for several years, I became very familiar with covering some of the wildest winter weather across the United States. I want to share some of the amazing information about the workings of our atmosphere and answer questions you might have on "things you see in the sky".  I will probably get a little too geeky at times sharing my enthusiasm about “all things weather” from around the world, so be pateint with me.  I will also touch on other things I see in my daily hikes and saunters through the Appalachian Mountains here in far Eastern Tennessee. 

Please sign in on the "Follow By Email" tab so you can get notices for my latest blogs.  You will receive an email and you need to click on the link to activate it so when I post another article, you will get notified.  This is also my first attempt at creating a blog, so there will likely be errors in navigating this site. Send me comments and suggestions to make it better.  Stay tuned for the next blog, I will give you a hint, it has to do with A LOT of snow !!

Looking down at the "undercast" from high atop Round Bald on Roan Mountain. elevation 5826 ft. We are looking down at the top of the cloud mass, rather than the normal way you might see it, from below the clouds. We will discuss how and why this cloud pattern develops in future blogs. 

As a meteorologist I have always loved to watch the sky and try to figure out what is going on up there in the clouds.  I also have always had an unquenchable curiosity about nature in general, whether its bugs and insects, flowers and trees, rivers and streams or mountains and lakes. For the past decade or so I have been photographing everything I see and I plan to share a lot of those photos with you.

Rime Ice atop Roan Mountain, what is it and how does it form?  We will check that out too.

My first article will come right after this introductory blog. I hope that you will spend some time reading through my posts. Please share them with as many people as you like. I look forward to your comments as well as any suggestions you have to make the blog better and I entertain any topics you would like to hear more about.

Ahhh snow crystals, my favorite winter hobby is to photograph them. We will learn how to photograph snow crystals and why they are 6-sided.