𝚂𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝙿𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛
@seanpotter.com
Certified Consulting Meteorologist ★ Certified Broadcast Meteorologist ★ Science Writer and Weather Historian ★ Husband and Dad
My latest Retrospect covers the Jasper #tornado of 1927—photographed by 16-year-old Lucille Handberg who went on to attend the State Teachers College in St. Cloud (now @stcloudstate.bsky.social my alma mater) making her the 1st #stormchaser to attend that school: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/CD8K2...
July 24, 2025 at 3:11 AM
My latest Retrospect covers the Jasper #tornado of 1927—photographed by 16-year-old Lucille Handberg who went on to attend the State Teachers College in St. Cloud (now @stcloudstate.bsky.social my alma mater) making her the 1st #stormchaser to attend that school: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/CD8K2...
Thanks to @ametsoc.org for featuring me in the April issue of BAMS with a quote from my Clear Skies Ahead podcast interview on how I came to write my biography of Cleveland Abbe.
Listen to the podcast at: blubrry.com/clear_skies_...
Get a copy of my book at: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Listen to the podcast at: blubrry.com/clear_skies_...
Get a copy of my book at: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
May 22, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Thanks to @ametsoc.org for featuring me in the April issue of BAMS with a quote from my Clear Skies Ahead podcast interview on how I came to write my biography of Cleveland Abbe.
Listen to the podcast at: blubrry.com/clear_skies_...
Get a copy of my book at: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
Listen to the podcast at: blubrry.com/clear_skies_...
Get a copy of my book at: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
For anyone interested in reading my Retrospect column about the St. Louis tornado of 1896–mentioned in the Forbes piece by Dr. Shepherd–this link should take you to the full text:
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/THT9Q...
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/THT9Q...
The St. Louis Tornado of 1896 still ranks as the 3rd deadliest tornado in U.S. history. My breakdown of this week's tornado in St. Louis and how it compares to that one. And why such a difference in fatality numbers. Hint: Thank you NWS.
www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...
www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...
How The 2025 St. Louis Tornado Compares To A Historic One In 1896
An EF3 tornado was on the ground in St. Louis for at least 8 miles with a path up to a mile wide. How does it compare to the Great Tornado of 1896?
www.forbes.com
May 18, 2025 at 4:15 PM
For anyone interested in reading my Retrospect column about the St. Louis tornado of 1896–mentioned in the Forbes piece by Dr. Shepherd–this link should take you to the full text:
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/THT9Q...
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/THT9Q...
A great writeup on why we need a well-funded and fully-staffed NWS. Without weather radars, models, and warnings, we might as well be back in 1896, when a devastating tornado on May 27 cut a 10-mile path of destruction through the heart of St. Louis, killing 255 people and injuring 1,000 others.
My Friday evening thoughts on why the National Weather Service is so vital. Tornadoes struck St. Louis today. Imagine that scenario without NWS radars, models, and warnings. I think my last sentence of this article says it all.
www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...
www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...
St. Louis Tornadoes Highlight Weather Service’s Life-Saving Mission
Tornadoes striking densely-populated St. Louis is a reminder of why the National Weather Service is so vital even as they struggle with understaffed offices.
www.forbes.com
May 17, 2025 at 12:20 AM
A great writeup on why we need a well-funded and fully-staffed NWS. Without weather radars, models, and warnings, we might as well be back in 1896, when a devastating tornado on May 27 cut a 10-mile path of destruction through the heart of St. Louis, killing 255 people and injuring 1,000 others.
Confused about the difference between a severe weather watch vs a warning? Just think of it in terms of... tacos! 🌮🌪🌩
April 28, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Confused about the difference between a severe weather watch vs a warning? Just think of it in terms of... tacos! 🌮🌪🌩
On this anniversary of the sinking of #Titanic, I spoke with @wgem.com in Quincy, Illinois, about the role weather and other environmental factors played in the disaster on that clear, calm, and bitterly cold night in the North Atlantic 113 years ago. www.wgem.com/2025/04/15/t...
Titanic: The science behind the disaster
A likely thermal inversion the night of April 14, 1912 may have created a superior mirage. This would have led to a false horizon, potentially masking icebergs in the distance.
www.wgem.com
April 15, 2025 at 4:54 AM
On this anniversary of the sinking of #Titanic, I spoke with @wgem.com in Quincy, Illinois, about the role weather and other environmental factors played in the disaster on that clear, calm, and bitterly cold night in the North Atlantic 113 years ago. www.wgem.com/2025/04/15/t...
Reposted by 𝚂𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝙿𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛
Inspired by my earlier thoughts today, a childhood bee sting, and something a colleague Paul Walsh said, my weekend thoughts in Forbes dot com offers advice for aspiring scientists right now. And perhaps for seasoned ones too.
www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...
www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...
Passion or Pragmatism - Advice For Aspiring Scientists Right Now
As the research and federal landscapes shift, some students are questioning the viability of scientific careers. Here's some advice.
www.forbes.com
April 12, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Inspired by my earlier thoughts today, a childhood bee sting, and something a colleague Paul Walsh said, my weekend thoughts in Forbes dot com offers advice for aspiring scientists right now. And perhaps for seasoned ones too.
www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...
www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...
I'm honored to be featured in the latest episode of the @ametsoc.org podcast Clear Skies Ahead: Conversations About Careers in Meteorology and Beyond. Check it out! 😎🌪️🌦️❄️⚡
blubrry.com/clear_skies_...
blubrry.com/clear_skies_...
February 11, 2025 at 10:40 PM
I'm honored to be featured in the latest episode of the @ametsoc.org podcast Clear Skies Ahead: Conversations About Careers in Meteorology and Beyond. Check it out! 😎🌪️🌦️❄️⚡
blubrry.com/clear_skies_...
blubrry.com/clear_skies_...
ICYMI here's the @amswxband webinar I recently participated in: "Sharing Scientists' Stories: A Conversation with Meteorologist Biographers." It was great hanging out with Jim Fleming and Jonathan Martin as we discussed our books about meteorologists!
amsweatherband.org/index.cfm/weat…
amsweatherband.org/index.cfm/weat…
February 9, 2025 at 10:07 PM
ICYMI here's the @amswxband webinar I recently participated in: "Sharing Scientists' Stories: A Conversation with Meteorologist Biographers." It was great hanging out with Jim Fleming and Jonathan Martin as we discussed our books about meteorologists!
amsweatherband.org/index.cfm/weat…
amsweatherband.org/index.cfm/weat…
Looking forward to taking part in this upcoming @amswxband webinar with fellow meteorologist biographers Jonathan Martin and Jim Fleming and moderated by Mona Behl!
Join us Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 PM ET. Register in advance at:
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regist…
Join us Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 PM ET. Register in advance at:
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regist…
February 9, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Looking forward to taking part in this upcoming @amswxband webinar with fellow meteorologist biographers Jonathan Martin and Jim Fleming and moderated by Mona Behl!
Join us Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 PM ET. Register in advance at:
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regist…
Join us Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 PM ET. Register in advance at:
us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regist…
A #weather report of “Error, Library, Gumbo, Ensign” might leave you scratching your head, but to a weather observer in 1888 it made perfect sense. To learn more check out my latest feature article in @WeatherwiseMag—"Cracking the Weather Code.
tandfonline.com/eprint/K855QVF…
tandfonline.com/eprint/K855QVF…
February 9, 2025 at 10:07 PM
A #weather report of “Error, Library, Gumbo, Ensign” might leave you scratching your head, but to a weather observer in 1888 it made perfect sense. To learn more check out my latest feature article in @WeatherwiseMag—"Cracking the Weather Code.
tandfonline.com/eprint/K855QVF…
tandfonline.com/eprint/K855QVF…
In my latest Retrospect column for @WeatherwiseMag, I discuss the role weather played in the #Chicago Race Riots of 1919.
The first 50 clicks on the link below get free access from @tandfonline:
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
The first 50 clicks on the link below get free access from @tandfonline:
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
February 9, 2025 at 10:07 PM
In my latest Retrospect column for @WeatherwiseMag, I discuss the role weather played in the #Chicago Race Riots of 1919.
The first 50 clicks on the link below get free access from @tandfonline:
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
The first 50 clicks on the link below get free access from @tandfonline:
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
#OTD 180 years ago painter-turned-inventor Samuel #Morse sent the first official message via telegraph—"What hath God wrought?"—from the U.S. Capitol in #Washington to B&O Railroad's Pratt Street Station in #Baltimore, forever changing how humans communicate.
February 9, 2025 at 10:07 PM
#OTD 180 years ago painter-turned-inventor Samuel #Morse sent the first official message via telegraph—"What hath God wrought?"—from the U.S. Capitol in #Washington to B&O Railroad's Pratt Street Station in #Baltimore, forever changing how humans communicate.
ICYMI—The presentation I presented with @EloquentScience in the #History Symposium at #AMS2023 today on the unexpected humor of @MonWeaRev will be available online soon... In the meantime, read the editorial on which it was based:
journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/…
journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/…
February 9, 2025 at 10:07 PM
ICYMI—The presentation I presented with @EloquentScience in the #History Symposium at #AMS2023 today on the unexpected humor of @MonWeaRev will be available online soon... In the meantime, read the editorial on which it was based:
journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/…
journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/…
February 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Can lessons from weather preparedness be applied to the coming storm that is the caregiving crisis facing America? Find out as I join @paula_span and @BCG's Suchi Sastri in this episode of American Metamorphosis from @atlanticrethink...
x.com/TheAtlantic/st…
x.com/TheAtlantic/st…
February 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Can lessons from weather preparedness be applied to the coming storm that is the caregiving crisis facing America? Find out as I join @paula_span and @BCG's Suchi Sastri in this episode of American Metamorphosis from @atlanticrethink...
x.com/TheAtlantic/st…
x.com/TheAtlantic/st…
Robert C. Abbe, great-grandson of pioneering #meteorologist Cleveland Abbe and grandson of Cleveland Abbe Jr., recently donated letters, documents and other material from his grandfather and great-grandfather to @librarycongress to be part of its Cleveland Abbe Papers collection.
February 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Robert C. Abbe, great-grandson of pioneering #meteorologist Cleveland Abbe and grandson of Cleveland Abbe Jr., recently donated letters, documents and other material from his grandfather and great-grandfather to @librarycongress to be part of its Cleveland Abbe Papers collection.
Three great-grandsons of Cleveland Abbe at the unveiling of his portrait at @artsclubdc, located at 2017 I St. NW in #WashingtonDC, his home from 1877-1907. “For those thirty years he gave character to the house,” Cleveland's son Truman wrote. Now his portrait hangs in its foyer.
February 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Three great-grandsons of Cleveland Abbe at the unveiling of his portrait at @artsclubdc, located at 2017 I St. NW in #WashingtonDC, his home from 1877-1907. “For those thirty years he gave character to the house,” Cleveland's son Truman wrote. Now his portrait hangs in its foyer.
Three generations of descendants of Cleveland Abbe at the recent event honoring him at his former house at 2017 I St. NW in #WashingtonDC, now home to @artsclubdc.
February 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Three generations of descendants of Cleveland Abbe at the recent event honoring him at his former house at 2017 I St. NW in #WashingtonDC, now home to @artsclubdc.
I noticed that @dcpl had several copies of Too Near for Dreams in its collection, but not at the flagship Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library location, which is just two blocks from where I live, so I donated a copy. Check it out—literally!
bit.ly/3PQAif6
bit.ly/3PQAif6
February 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
I noticed that @dcpl had several copies of Too Near for Dreams in its collection, but not at the flagship Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library location, which is just two blocks from where I live, so I donated a copy. Check it out—literally!
bit.ly/3PQAif6
bit.ly/3PQAif6
#OTD 50 years ago, Rapid City was devastated by the second-deadliest flash #flood in U.S. history, killing 238 people and injuring more than 3,000 others. This @USGS map shows the extent of the flooding along with photos of damage. Full version:
pubs.usgs.gov/ha/511/plate-1…
pubs.usgs.gov/ha/511/plate-1…
February 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
#OTD 50 years ago, Rapid City was devastated by the second-deadliest flash #flood in U.S. history, killing 238 people and injuring more than 3,000 others. This @USGS map shows the extent of the flooding along with photos of damage. Full version:
pubs.usgs.gov/ha/511/plate-1…
pubs.usgs.gov/ha/511/plate-1…
Congrats to Ken Graham on his selection as @NWSDirector! On a historical note, Ken is the first head of @NWS to have spent his entire career in the nation's weather service since Willis Gregg, who served as chief of the Weather Bureau from 1934-1938.
February 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Congrats to Ken Graham on his selection as @NWSDirector! On a historical note, Ken is the first head of @NWS to have spent his entire career in the nation's weather service since Willis Gregg, who served as chief of the Weather Bureau from 1934-1938.
I love they way they presented the wind "feathers" back then. They may not be as sophisticated the modern-day wind barbs used on station model plots, but they do have a certain retro look to them.💨
t.co/UeddFeF5mf
t.co/UeddFeF5mf
February 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
I love they way they presented the wind "feathers" back then. They may not be as sophisticated the modern-day wind barbs used on station model plots, but they do have a certain retro look to them.💨
t.co/UeddFeF5mf
t.co/UeddFeF5mf
250 years ago this week, the Washington, DC, area saw its highest unofficial #snowfall totals ever—up to 3 feet—during what has become knows as the Washington and Jefferson #Snowstorm. Entries below are from George Washington’s diary at @MountVernon courtesy of @librarycongress.
February 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
250 years ago this week, the Washington, DC, area saw its highest unofficial #snowfall totals ever—up to 3 feet—during what has become knows as the Washington and Jefferson #Snowstorm. Entries below are from George Washington’s diary at @MountVernon courtesy of @librarycongress.
100 years ago today, people across the country woke up to news of the Knickerbocker Theater disaster in #Washington, D.C., which killed nearly 100 people after a record 28 inches of #snow caused the theater's roof to collapse. Here are a few front pages courtesy of
@ChronAmLOC.
@ChronAmLOC.
February 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
100 years ago today, people across the country woke up to news of the Knickerbocker Theater disaster in #Washington, D.C., which killed nearly 100 people after a record 28 inches of #snow caused the theater's roof to collapse. Here are a few front pages courtesy of
@ChronAmLOC.
@ChronAmLOC.