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...
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! 🌮🌪🌩
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…
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/…
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.
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.
An example of popular media reporting on early @MonWeaRev content, a note on "The effects of diminished pressure on #cooking" in the April 1900 issue resulted in a brief newspaper article in Virginia, MN, with the headline "Cook Books Are Useless.#MWR150
bit.ly/MWR150
bit.ly/MWR150
February 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
An example of popular media reporting on early @MonWeaRev content, a note on "The effects of diminished pressure on #cooking" in the April 1900 issue resulted in a brief newspaper article in Virginia, MN, with the headline "Cook Books Are Useless.#MWR150
bit.ly/MWR150
bit.ly/MWR150
Check out this wonderful page @ametsoc created to celebrate 150 years of @MonWeaRev. It features the Historical Review @EloquentScience and I wrote about the journal's rich history and legacy and includes a link to share your MWR story. #MWR150
ametsoc.org/index.cfm/ams/…
ametsoc.org/index.cfm/ams/…
February 9, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Check out this wonderful page @ametsoc created to celebrate 150 years of @MonWeaRev. It features the Historical Review @EloquentScience and I wrote about the journal's rich history and legacy and includes a link to share your MWR story. #MWR150
ametsoc.org/index.cfm/ams/…
ametsoc.org/index.cfm/ams/…
#OnThisDay in 1838, Cleveland Abbe was born in a brick home at number 7 Dutch Street in lower Manhattan. He would go on to become the most famous—and celebrated—meteorologist in America, if not the world, helping lay the foundation for modern #weather forecasting. #TodayInHistory
February 9, 2025 at 10:05 PM
#OnThisDay in 1838, Cleveland Abbe was born in a brick home at number 7 Dutch Street in lower Manhattan. He would go on to become the most famous—and celebrated—meteorologist in America, if not the world, helping lay the foundation for modern #weather forecasting. #TodayInHistory
If you watched the news today, you may have heard of William Belknap, who served as secretary of war from 1869 to 1876. In addition to being impeached and tried after leaving office, he ultimately oversaw the predecessor of @nws, established 151 years ago today. #TodayinHistory
February 9, 2025 at 10:05 PM
If you watched the news today, you may have heard of William Belknap, who served as secretary of war from 1869 to 1876. In addition to being impeached and tried after leaving office, he ultimately oversaw the predecessor of @nws, established 151 years ago today. #TodayinHistory
Today marks the anniversary of @NWS, established on Feb. 9, 1870. Read more about the creation of the nation's weather service in the excerpt of my book, Too Near for Dreams, in the Jan/Feb issue of Weatherwise. #ThisDayInHistory #History
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
February 9, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Today marks the anniversary of @NWS, established on Feb. 9, 1870. Read more about the creation of the nation's weather service in the excerpt of my book, Too Near for Dreams, in the Jan/Feb issue of Weatherwise. #ThisDayInHistory #History
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
Looking forward to being the first speaker in the Winter 2021 @umclasp Seminar Series. I'll be discussing Cleveland Abbe and his connection to @UMich where he studied and taught during 1858-60. Hope to see you there!
events.umich.edu/event/80416
events.umich.edu/event/80416
February 9, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Looking forward to being the first speaker in the Winter 2021 @umclasp Seminar Series. I'll be discussing Cleveland Abbe and his connection to @UMich where he studied and taught during 1858-60. Hope to see you there!
events.umich.edu/event/80416
events.umich.edu/event/80416
A bit of inaugural weather history: 60 years ago today, on Jan. 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated following a storm that brought nearly 8 inches of snow to Washington, D.C., and “threatened to turn the whole momentous occasion into a farce,” according to Time magazine.
February 9, 2025 at 10:05 PM
A bit of inaugural weather history: 60 years ago today, on Jan. 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy was inaugurated following a storm that brought nearly 8 inches of snow to Washington, D.C., and “threatened to turn the whole momentous occasion into a farce,” according to Time magazine.
To celebrate #AMS20201 @ametsoc is offering a 25% discount for members and nonmembers in their bookstore. It's the perfect time to order a copy of my book, Too Near For Dreams! Use coupon code: AMSBOOKS2021
bookstore.ametsoc.org/catalog/book/t…
bookstore.ametsoc.org/catalog/book/t…
February 9, 2025 at 10:05 PM
To celebrate #AMS20201 @ametsoc is offering a 25% discount for members and nonmembers in their bookstore. It's the perfect time to order a copy of my book, Too Near For Dreams! Use coupon code: AMSBOOKS2021
bookstore.ametsoc.org/catalog/book/t…
bookstore.ametsoc.org/catalog/book/t…