"I know you're trying to get your kids ready for school. Don't worry about it. If the principal gets mad, tell them to call me!" This is the MOST GANGSTER STATEMENT ever made by a TV meteorologist. I've never seen James Spann live. It's apparent that I've missed out on something special.
you have. i’ve grown up with his coverage and he’s not the meteorologist i watch now (only because of his streaming quality) but he’s the one i’d tell absolutely anyone outside of the threat area to watch, if they’re into that kind of thing
I'm certain that a lot of school principals ultimately decided to not get mad at the students for being late because of James Spann. From what I observed; people in Alabama take the weather reports from James Spann at the same level of seriousness that they take their church attendance and Nascar races.
Birmingham native here. James Spann is pretty much a legend. My boyfriend who is from Puerto Rico and didn’t know James a year ago now says, “What’s my boy James saying?” When the weather gets bad 😂
He was my local meteorologist when I was a kid. I got to meet him at an educational program he did at my summer camp. I remember him being very patient and kind.
I'm certain that a lot of school principals ultimately decided not to get angry with their students for being late for school because James Spann ultimately saved many lives during the events of April 27th, 2011.
What makes James Spann so great is he knows every single community in Alabama so he can give street by street information with impeccable accuracy. He was alot of the reason I got into meteorology when he came and visited my cub scout troop in 1992.
I have lived in Oklahoma all of my life. Lived in Moore for 2 of the F5 tornadoes. Gary England is a notch above the rest. What a lot of people don’t realize outside of our area is that Gary England started a program for children about weather safety. He would go to schools and teach them about precautions, how to generally read a radar, the importance of knowing your cross streets, and what to do if mom and dad aren’t home. He has saved so many lives and is definitely a hero around here.
Agreed. I remember his spots for storm safety tips during Saturday morning cartoons when I was a kid. For decades if storms were incoming, my TV's were glued to Channel 9 and his coverage. With all due respect to Spann and the other's, Garry England is the Meteorologist who pioneered what they are doing today, and Oklahoma will never forget him.
My parents lost everything on 4/27/2011 but their lives because they listened to James Spann. That is a day I’ll never forget. I grew up in that house, I can still see it looking back on memories. But the thing that sticks with me is seeing the mobile morgue and first responders bringing out a sweet lady who always had a drink for me as I walked home from school. 😢
Swegle should look up the New Orleans weather man getting upset at the viewers. Its pretty funny to watch. Glad your family was alright. We always get out of dodge when I hurricane comes. Never play with Mother Nature.
I also love how James Spann does not wait for the NWS he calls out the tornado emergency as he sees it. No telling how many lives he and Jason saved that day.
He doesn't do that too often anymore. He explained that on that day the ingredients for violent tornadoes across a wide area were so maxed out that as soon as a tornado touched down it was pretty much destined to become large and violent. He didn't want to wait until official tornado emergencies were issued because it might be too late for some people. His expertise and instinct for communicating danger effectively is legendary to say the least! Side note: Gary England was also famous for issuing his own tornado warnings ahead of the NWS in the early days of doppler radar.
On that fateful day, the parameters were absolutely insane, and he was not taking any chances. He wanted everyone to be below ground because of how powerful the tornadoes can become and very quickly they moved.
@@ericandchocosluss5723 From what I have read up on the February 28, 2012 tornado that hit Branson, Missouri; there were no fatalities. My guess is that aside from it occurring during the "off season" for tourism in Branson (thousands of people visit Branson every year because of the natural beauty of the Ozarks as well as the numerous entertainment venues and museums) and because the people of southwestern Missouri were still traumatized by the EF5 tornado that tore through Joplin, Missouri nearly a year earlier on May 22, 2011.
I'm from Germany and my Dad is a physicist, so he always loved to teach us about the weather when we were kids. I remember watching a news report about a tornado with him and Gary England was featured. My Dad said "Remember him, he is a very important man. He has saved many peoples' lives."
James Spann is one of the most respected people in Alabama, you cannot convince me otherwise. His house was hit by a tornado during an outbreak last year (I believe) and he took a break long enough to call his wife and let her know to get into shelter before going right back to live reporting. I remember listening to his cast during the 2011 outbreak, I was home alone for a large portion of it and he really helped me feel safe while sheltering in the hall closet.
I had to drive home thirty minutes during that outbreak. Seeing strips of destruction all the way home was crazy.. I cried thinking my poor dogs and house were gone. When I got home, both pups were huddled in the bathtub; I just laid and cried with them. To this day, my thirteen year old dog still goes in to the bathroom when he is frightened. 😭
I don't remember a lot about Spann from back when I followed storm chasers years ago... but wasn't he, like, a _reeeeally_ outspoken climate change denier?
Must everything be politicized? I imagine James Spann has the training and experience to view climate change however he wants. If he doesn’t ascribe to the collectives narrative then good for him. It is called thinking for yourself. Yes the climate changes. It isn’t new. The degree to which human beings have effected the change is debatable. It is ok for people to have different views on the subject.
We’re VERY GLAD to have Spann and I’ll hate the day he’s done. Has saved many lives in Bama and some people still give him crap over cutting off Family Feud to cover storms🤦🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
I'm from Birmingham and I will never forget that April day in 2011. James Spann saved so many lives. It was a terrifying day and the destruction was catastrophic. There used to be a facebook group about quotes from James Spann. Hanging in there like a hair in a biscuit, was one of them.
james spann saved so many lives on 04/27/11. we were all glued to him, even if we aren’t in his viewing area. i’m about 2 hours north of him. he even covered a storm heading my way when his area was quiet. he made sure all alabamians were safe.
My house was hit by the Tuscaloosa tornado and it was the eeriest feeling being in the bathtub listening to James spann until the power cut off and hearing the rumble of the tornado getting louder and louder. Fun fact is the only time I’ve ever met James spann was in aspen Colorado in a gift shop when we were on vacation at the same time.
I would be honored to meet James Spann! I'm a Coloradan myself but we do get tornadoes occasionally. And I sometimes look at tornado footage to make sure I'm always prepared. I saw his footage of the Tuscaloosa tornado about a year ago, and I was so impressed at how well he did. wHe seems like the kind of guy every news station should have as their meteorologist. And people, according to copious comments, seem to respect tf out of him.
Jame's house was hit in 2021 by a tornado. He left air for a minute, called his wife on the cell to tell her to take shelter, then went right back on air to continue coverage. He is THAT dedicated. It affected him greatly and understandably so. But he kept on. He takes a lot of responsibility for the loss of life on April 27, 2011, and took it VERY personally. Things to remember: NEVER depend on outdoor sirens. Have multiple ways of getting warnings. Be prepared to take shelter, practice your severe weather plan BEFOREHAND, and RESPECT THE POLYGON!!
Spann the man! A true legend. We lived in Trussville, Alabama during that outbreak. And that large tornado was originally tracking towards there from Tuscaloosa. Thankfully it changed course and spared the area of Trussville. We found debris from it in our yard for several days after. It’s just almost impossible to imagine the size of this tornado if you didn’t see it live on TV as Spann covered it. He’s definitely the GOAT, especially in the state of Alabama!
Dave Freeman made me tear up. I remember being a little kid home alone one night, and we had a horrible storm that looked like it was going to drop a couple tornadoes come through. Not sure the weather man's name but I changed the channel to the weather channel. Lived in an apartment at the time and that weather man calmed me, not sure how or why. Instructed on safest place to go and when the sirens went off I did what he had said. My complex was missed, thankfully, but that weather man had saved at least a few lives as another complex was hit without death. Dave reminds me a lot of that guy and really is the perfect example of a good guide and storm watcher
Dave is an absolute legend in our books here. I grew up watching his forecasts and listening to alerts like this including this specific disaster. I don’t know a single person here who doesn’t absolutely love that man. He’s retired now and I really hope he’s living his best life.
I'm glad to see you mentioned Jason Simpson. That guy is a legend in the making. He was warning Alabama about those tornados and storms almost 3 hours before James Spaan came on the air. He was there for the duration of the event even as a tornado was heading towards his family at Holly Pond. He's a remarkable meteorologist.
@@SimplePhill He was Spann's protege and is really following in his footsteps so well and then some. We would be lucky to have him back in the B'ham market when the sad day comes that James Spann retires. He is serving north AL well right now though!
Jason was awake for so long, I think at the end he was probably running on pure adrenaline. He did a fantastic job in the morning, especially since it was just him running the wall and the radar before Spann came in.
Living in the south, if James Spann talks about weather, you sure as hell listen. I still remember when a tornado hit near his house while he was on air and he took a pause to warn his family. Total professional and agree both he and Gary England are GOAT status.
I remember that! The tornado hit my hometown and passed less than half a mile from my mom at her workplace. I’ll never forget or undervalue his dedication to keeping people safe.
I was a weather forecaster at Scott AFB, IL, in May 1984. A tornado was heading directly at the base, and I asked Mr. Lacina in Base Operations to activate the tornado warning sirens. My bank of phones lit up like a Christmas tree. The base got hit, and it destroyed the main base exchange (BX). 76 cars were damaged or destroyed..but due to the warnings, no injuries. A four star general told me that I likely saved dozens of lives. I have put hundreds of bad forecasts out...certainly my share, but I got that one right...and was nominated for the American Meteorology Societies' Charles Mitchell Award for Technical Expertise. Good stuff.
As long as your right the one time it matters your a hero in my book, all the other close calls and false alarms are all worth it at the end of the day if you save lives when all the chips are on the table.
I live in Central AL and every time we have tornadic weather, I go straight to Spann as he's the only one I trust. I remember April 27th 2011. He was on from early in the morning to very late at night nonstop and I have no idea how he pulled it off. He saved so many lives that day including everyone in my house. The man is truly remarkable.
Thank you for shouting out Dave Freeman. I'm a lifelong Wichitan, and the Greensburg tornado will forever remain a sad core memory. His coverage was lifesaving, and it was later preserved and shown within a memorial exhibit that was sponsored by Wichita State's Ulrich Museum of Art. Lots of memories. Lots of reflection. Thanks.
James Spann ducked off air a few years ago to check on his family when his own house was hit by a tornado. He was only gone long enough to make a phone call and was back on air almost immediately tracking the tornado. The guy is wild. No one compares to how he reports severe weather.
Growing up, I was obsessed with weather and storm chasing. The Weather Channel used to sell VHS tapes about tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. and I LOVED “The Weather Guy” John Hope. He was an interesting man and has a memorable moment of his own, a hurricane named after his daughter and turned out to be one of the more devastating hurricanes, if memory serves. I need to look it up again, it’s been so long. But yeah, he’s my personal OG/legend weather guy. :)
I heard that during the Greensburg tornado, he BEGGED to get on air at one time because he knew how dangerous the situation was, and they finally gave in and put him on air. He was ADAMANT that he broadcast to them because he feared great loss of life. God bless him for his dedication!
#2 gave me full body chills. I can only imagine what a child would have to go through having their tv blasting with winds howling around them. Terrifying stuff
Something tells me that the kids who followed Dave's advice during the Greensburg, Kansas tornado in 2007 are now parents themselves and use his advice with their own children. These meteorologists always know to give advice on air to kids who might be home alone or with a babysitter and no doubt scared to death so they can have a chance of survival. During the El Reno, Oklahoma tornado on May 31st, 2013 Gary England advised any children who were either at home alone or with a babysitter due to their parents being out to dinner or still at work or stuck in the Friday evening rush hour traffic that they needed to put on a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, sturdy shoes, goggles, heavy-duty gloves and helmets to avoid being injured by flying debris on top of also covering themselves with blankets, mattresses or pillows.
I’m an operational meteorologist for the navy and I have so much respect for broadcast meteorologists. They’re the ones that the communities will listen to because they’ve spent so much time building up that trust and familiarity, and honestly 90% of the field (myself included) don’t have the personality and charisma to do what they do. Broadcast Mets are absolutely crucial when it comes to hazard communication and emergency management. Great video!
Wow! I live in a non disaster prone area so I never understood how important meteorologists were in other parts of the country. Then after reading your comment, not only do these guys have to remain calm (and family friendly), but also have to be charismatic? Legends!!!
Coming from the Chicago area, we are very familiar with Bill Kurtis! As well as Lester Holt. For meteorology, you couldn't beat Harry Volkman, John Coleman, Roger Triemstra and Tom Skilling.
Mike Morgan and Gary England saved my life and the lives so of many Oklahomans because of their intelligent and compassionate warning calls. Legends and heros.
James Spann actually saved my family during the Cullman Dead Man Walking tornado, it sometimes amazes me about how good James Spann is. I also once met James Spann last year in 2022 because he came to visit my school.
Having grown up in OKC during the 80s and 90s, Gary England was who we looked to for guidance and comfort during tornado season. He is truly missed on the air.
I grew up in the El Reno - Union City area and if Gary came on the air without the suit jacket that's when it becomes a "Shut up and pay attention" situation.
As dumb college students at OU, we’d watch the storm coverage as a drinking game. “Supercell”, “rotation”, “Chopper 9”, “Fujita scale”, “Doppler”, etc…DRINK! Lol. Probably not good to be plastered when the ‘Nader is in the yard, but when you grow up in OK, you sorta view it as, “Oh well, if I’m gonna die, might as well be trashed”. Gary England is truly a legend, though, awesome dude. No doubt saved many lives in his career.
Don't worry about it JJ, late teens/early 20s is when a lot of people too stupid to live get filtered out in a Darwinian sense via alcohol and brashness. You made it out, didn't you?
Gary England was the proverbial "guiding light" for many people in central Oklahoma who watched Oklahoma City's CBS affiliate KWTV Channel 9 during a severe weather situation. He has this folksy "Southern Gentleman" air about him like former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton that made you feel as though they would be the type of person who would be there for you if you just needed someone to talk to if you had a bad day. If I was a student at the University of Oklahoma and studying meteorology I would have tried to score an internship under Gary as I would be learning from a truly legendary and inspiring meteorologist. However I would be just as content with an internship under either Mike Morgan or Damon Lane. As explained in the video Mike Morgan is the chief meteorologist at Oklahoma City's NBC affiliate KFOR Channel 4 whereas Damon Lane holds the position at the city's ABC affiliate KOCO Channel 5. In an episode of a show on The Weather Channel called "Tornado Alley: Real Time Tornado" which profiled the EF5 tornado that struck Moore, Oklahoma on May 20th, 2013; Damon talked about how he was juggling two roles that day: chief meteorologist and husband. Damon lives in Moore; so this tornado had personally affected him. He was text messaging his wife and urging her to get herself and their dogs into their storm shelter.
James Spann is my local weatherman and he most certainly is the GOAT. We don't even measure how bad a storm is by the colors on the map, we measure how bad it is based on whether or not is jacket is on and if his sleeves are rolled up. Dude has definitely saved more lives than he'll ever know.
Totally agree…. James Spann is the GOAT. We had no power during the afternoon 4/27/11 tornadoes because we had our home hit before daybreak in the first round. But I knew what was coming our way that evening just listening to him on radio because he knows the geography of the entire state so well. He saved my family that day. Sadly we lost 3 friends that day that were sheltering as they should have.. but it was an EF-4 and it was just too strong. We made it through that same EF-4 because a friend called and basically insisted we come to her home where it wasn’t damaged and she had a full underground basement. I call her every year on 4/27 to thank her for that. Jason Simpson moved on to become a chief meteorologist in Huntsville.. so we have two of the best meteorologists in the nation covering our state. Makes tornado season (which is basically November to May) much less unsettling. I don’t know what we will do if he retires. You should have added how the man has t shirts and bobble head dolls! People here love him. He’s written two books, one specifically about this outbreak called “All You Can Do Is Pray” and it’s worth the read though if you’re from here you’ll recognize names, which means I cried through half of it. But he did a beautiful job giving dignity to the victims. He’s said he won’t rest until he knows the names and story of every life lost that day. Absolutely the best pick for number one.
Jason actually quit to stay home in October but yes I agree I love James and you can tell with how hard he's been on himself since April 27 2011 that he has a REAL passion and a real love for the people in his state!!! Y'all are lucky to have someone like him...and I'm so sorry for your losses 💖
@@trekker105 I personally feel like it a couple of things... 1. He just really loves the people in his state and he wants to protect everyone. 2. I think he was just overall traumatized by the event. 3. I think he feels he didn't do enough since they didn't know it was going to be THAT bad. Plus they didn't really predict the morning round of storms which knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people in Alabama which in turn caused alot more deaths than there probably would have been otherwise so I think he feels responsible because he didn't know how bad it would be...
@@trekker105 everything that kpop said above, as well as the fact that he’s been covering the weather in west central Alabama for as long as I’ve been alive (38 years this October). There’s a serious, genuine bond that he has to his community and vice versa. We have so much in-climate weather that he is certainly a shepherd to the people of central and west central Alabama.
6:07 that HAS to be Reed Timmer yelling in the back 🤣 I love that guy so fricken much. His yell is soooo distinct. He’s been yellin like that for decades and still does to this day 💀💀💀
Scrolled through the comments to see if anyone else heard the same thing I did lol. If it’s not him, it’s his doppelgänger. Sounded exactly like him and he had been the same for as long as I’ve known about him lol
I've lived in Moore my whole life, was in elementary school during the 1999 tornado and working at a Moore Public Schools daycare during the 2013 tornado, where we lost one of our kids in Plaza Towers. These meteorologists are held in as high of regard as our football players here, and if you're from OK, you know that's some serious recognition! Gary, Mike, Damon with KOCO, David Payne, all of the amazing chasers, they all have saved so many lives here and I give them credit for mine, too. Thanks for putting this collection together!
I moved to OKC in 2019 and met my wife soon after. Coming from south central Texas I was taught very early by her that these men are heroes and you LISTEN to them no matter what. I trust these meteorologists more than I ever did the ones back in Texas. The weather here is very serious business
I'm a Tulsan and after all the 2019 tornadoes, everyone coined the term "In Trav we trust" haha! OK meteorologists and storm chasers deserve all the respect for the work they do.
i live in el reno and we were 3 miles from the el reno tornado and it was still so loud i can’t believe it. i hold these forecasters in such high regard.
@@evanhodgson4141 I remember that during the May 20, 2013 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma how Damon Lane was trying his best to stay calm on air while covering the storm for Channel 5. Damon lives in Moore and he was juggling two roles on May 20: chief meteorologist and husband. He was text messaging his wife and urging her to get herself and their dogs into the shelter.
James spann is indeed a legend! He has an encyclopedic knowledge of central Alabama, and very often mentions bbq restaurants and local landmarks (such as Wesley’s Boobie Trap, a “famous” strip club in Sumiton) to help people know exactly where the storm is heading. It’s impossible to quantify how much he means to central Alabama.
Oh the day he used the “Boobie Trap” as his landmark I couldn’t help but giggle. But he was dead on, that intersection got hit.. it took the church across the road and the gas station next to it. I was home sick that day and I remember hoping we wouldn’t have to get up and go downstairs (we did. I took photos. Because everyone thinks I’m absolutely silly for putting a helmet on my dog. Dogs are family! And I got her one that looks like a unicorn so it’s even better). You have to find ways to laugh and get through it, especially when you live in places like this where you know tornadoes are common and deadly.
@@elle7768 I’m in Arkansas but remember watching him in 2011, we’d had those storms the day before. I always feel a bit of a dick whenever I put on a helmet, but like hell I’m not going to when James Spann always insists on it!
I have had the honor to meet James Spann on a tour of his studio a couple of years ago. You're exactly right in that he's like a relative. He came into the room as if he'd known us our whole lives, and teased us like an uncle or grandfather would. He is just an all-around wonderful man with an amazing career. I feel safer hearing his voice. It promotes a sort of urgency, but wrapped up with an "It's ok, I've got you" reassurance.
I’ve only known James spann as the weather man, I’m 26 and he’s the only one I’ve ever watched. Came and spoke to our school every year, lived right up the street from me. Nicest guy you’ll ever meet. He’s saved our asses so many times, I didn’t realize how great he was until I moved away for college. I feel sorry for the rest of y’all
James spann really did save lives in Alabama that day, and every day. Including me, and to this day he still blames himself 11 years later after this incident. But he really did save lives that day.
Yes it kills me that he beats himself up so much for all the deaths that day when tbh there wasn't much he could do with how strong those tornadoes were that day and going into major cities as well
One thing he does now is encourage kids (and adults) to put on or keep with them a hardhat or helmet (bicycle, football, baseball) when a significant storm is coming. Many deaths that day were due to people being struck in the head by debris.
I’ve watched the tons of tornado coverage videos at least twice. James Spann and Jason Simpson were the best ever duo on tornado coverage. Not sure they’ll ever have a team like that again. I will never forget the words of James Spann during tornado coverage, I believe, on April 15, 2011. “We’ve been lucky for a long time here.” “Yes, we’ve had tornadoes but not as many as we could and at some point our luck is gonna run out.” Then April 27th happened.
james spann is the best! my grandmother who lives in alabama is a super fan & one year james agreed to come surprise her for her birthday (arranged by her coworkers). he’s just the nicest guy and truly cares about people’s safety.
I am a multi generational Oklahoman, in fact my family was here before Oklahoma was a state. We truly have some of the BEST weather men/women who have saved countless lives. I grew up watching Gary England he had a way to explain what to do kids who he knew where home by them selfs, he would always look into the camera and speak to them directly. These days I am Damon Lane fan, he is able to keep calm while broadcast during tornado coverage which I need. Again I think Oklahoma has some of the best and I am so thankful for each of them who go on air for hours if need be to keep their fellow Oklahomans safe.
Truth. They have saved many lives, no doubt. I have so much admiration for the the great job they do. Born Okie here. Been here all of my life. The most amazing part is the difference between western OK & eastern OK. EASTERN OK IS BEUTIFUL. Green Country. Clear water streams farms, ranches, wooded. Has it all. Hills, Valleys and Clearwater lakes and rivers. Further west you go is red dirt & mud. And flat land for miles. No trees no scenery. But they were & are the farmers and ranchers. Which we depend upon. It takes all kinds to make this world go around. I respect them all. Go to Enid ok and check out the grain elevators. And other places too. We have an amazing place here. We did get the tornadoes as well. But, ...... we will survive. And carry on.
James Spann is the GOAT for sure. Grew up watching him, he's the inspiration that got me into meteorology and wanting to chase storms not for the thrill but for the knowledge. I remember April 27th 2011 very vividly. I lived in Hackleburg, AL at the time. Thats all ill say. Our power was out unfortunately so it was extremely difficult getting weather updates especially since the tornado knocked out our cell tower prior to impacting the town. I want to say that James was live on the air with minimal breaks for a total of 16-18 hours that day.
@Bearded Zeus I didn’t hear about Hackleburg until 3 days later…. I live in a Suburb of Birmingham that got hit. When I finally saw Hackleburg/Phil Campbell I was astonished, no words. Glad you’re alive to tell your story. We got hit twice that day, early morning and that afternoon. I’ve been in the one in 74, 77, 98, 2011. I’ll never forgot them. James is indeed a one of a kind.
Grew up in Alabama in a weather conscious house and james spann was always on the tv...that man has saved so many lives in the state of Alabama, its really a blessing to have him work here
Dave Freeman knew that because it was a Friday night a lot of parents would be out to dinner and as a result their children would be either home alone or with a babysitter and no doubt scared out of their minds. Dave knew that he had to be calm on air and reassure those children that he knew they were scared but if they listened to him they would be okay.
I remember thinking this too (I was a freshman in high school when Greensburg happened) and having a moment of 'oh shit.. This is serious.' I know someone from Greensburg now and I can't even imagine what that must have been like to experience.
@kaitlynnetanner2811 I met a girl in college from Greensburg. She was legit traumatized. Every time there was even a mild storm she'd ask to come over since I lived in a basement apartment.
@@nerdyarlequinz I know I would probably feel similar. The guy I know said he doesn't sleep if it's storming anymore. We had some really bad weather and flooding in Manhattan a couple years ago and it had him so anxious he couldn't even leave his apartment 🙁
I grew up watching Dave and this is so true. We always knew that if he was serious, real shit was going down. I remember one time when they went down to shelter themselves and my whole family immediately looked at each other in an “oh shit” moment before running straight to the basement.
Dan Satterfield was at WHNT in Huntsville AL for many years and we miss him in North Alabama. Dan always gave very specific instructions to any kids who might be at home alone but did it in a calming, reassuring manner. After he moved to Maryland he continued to follow our severe weather on Facebook. I miss Dan!
I remember when they were tornado warnings that Dan Satterfield was to go to guy! Thank you to all you dedicated weather people. That April day was catastrophic.
I will never forget April 27, 2011. I live in Huntsville, Alabama and we weren’t directly affected except for no power for a week, but the whole day was like a movie. I got woken up at 3 a.m. from the tornado siren that is directly next to the side of my house. Then from 7 a.m. on it just kept going off all day. Every time we have severe weather now, I turn on James Spann. He is truly one of the greats.
I also live in huntsville and I was only 7 years old but I very much remember everything about that day or week. Especially since it was soo humid and pretty hot in my house. Since there was no power.
I too live in Huntsville and was at my college classes in the morning that day (got cut short of course and when there was a small break between warnings the college let us go). I was watching Brad Travis and his team at WAFF like a hawk all day and still watch them to this day
In Huntsville too. That was such a scary day! We kept Brad Travis and WAFF on all day. He is an amazing tell it straight weatherman and is always on top of the newest science.
James Spann is indeed the GOAT. I'd put "honorable mention" to just last year when he was covering a tornado on-air as it was hitting his own house. I believe he took a brief moment to make sure his wife (who was home at the time) was okay, then kept going with his coverage.
I think Bill Kurtis also deserves a mention. On June 8th 1966, while studying Law at Washburn University in Topeka, KS, he was working part time at WIBW-TV. He left a class early to fill in for a friend anchoring the 6o'clock news. He stayed on after as severe weather approached Topeka. At 7pm, a cameraman sighted a tornado, with another report coming in seconds later that it wiped out an apartment complex. In a calm, yet commanding voice, Bill told viewers "For God's sake, take cover." The tornado cut Topeka in two, striking numerous neighborhoods, Washburn University, the Capitol building, numerous buildings downtown, toppling trains, and even struck the Topeka NWS office. It caused over $250 million (over $2 billion today) in damage, yet only resulted in 18 deaths. Bill Kurtis stayed on air covering the tornado and aftermath for 24 hours straight. His warning is strongly associated with the Tornado, and helped launch his extremely successful career as a Broadcaster, Investigative Journalist, and Narrator. While I haven't been able to find footage of his coverage, there is at least audio of his warning; and hearing just those 5 words immediately conveys how serious it was.
It's old, but Bill Kurtis calling the 1966 Topeka, KS Ef5 tornado is amazing. He may not have been a true meteorologist, but it still deserves its place on a list like this. It also jump started his career as a journalist.
I have watched the 8-hour-long coverage of James Spann and Jason Simpson working through this horrific day multiple times. I don't know why, something about the reality of it makes it impossible to turn off.
I haven't watched the whole 8 hours, but I've watched the 2-3 hours around and including the Tuscaloosa/Birmingham tornado (or was it 2? It's been awhile) here on TH-cam. But on the day, I was living in Texas and heard about what was happening, and started watching him streaming online. It was so horrific, and he was so calm (as calm as one could be during an outbreak so significant), so fatherly, with so much authority and yet also compassion. I remember him telling his wife to get to shelter. It was such a horrific day, but watching James Spann, you felt like the folks listening to him at least had a chance.
I was in Oklahoma during the 99 Tornado. I lived in Moore at the time. But was hanging out at the Crossroads Mall. Being 16 years old and watching the Tornado come closer and closer was something I'll never forget. Leaving the Mall normally took me 15 mins to get home. It took me over 2hrs. Seeing people just walking around hurt, people hurt in backs of trucks, buildings and homes gone. Finally I was able to find a pay phone to call my parents who had no idea where I was until I called. Thankfully the Tornado missed our home. But fast forward to 2013 and that same neighborhood we lived in back in 99 did not fare well. My parents lived in Norman in 2013. Now I live in Norman and the last few Tornado seasons have been fairly quite compared to years past.
Spann and Simpson were just... incredible on 04/27/11. One or both of them were on the air that day from 3:45 AM until 9 or so, then again for the second wave, from 3 PM until way past sunset. They said they didn't really have time to consider the magnitude of the event until later, and once it became apparent how devastating the outbreak really was... Mr James said he couldn't talk about it for 6 months. To this day he struggles with it. God bless them both.
The 1999 Bridge Creek/Moore storm was also when tons of tornado myths, like staying underneath underpasses, were proven wrong and showed just how deadly they were.
I'm from OK and I believe this is the tornado in which a mother used a belt to hook/tie her young son to the infrastructure of an underpass. The child lived through the tornado passing over them but, sadly, the mother had nothing to anchor herself and she was swept away.
There is another Alabama Weatherman that deserves so huge credit. During the EF4 Smith Station Tornado, Josh Johnson and his crew really stepped up and recognized it was coming before the tornado even happened. While it was happening, they were literally calling street names out down to the smallest of roads that were in the path .
I agree. Given the situation with the sirens that day, the loss of life would have been much worse without the coverage from WFSA. Viewing the devastation afterward, it was amazing to me how anyone in the path of the storm survived.
Hearing that moment of Dave Freeman never fails to make me cry. Imagining how scared those kids must be, especially if they never learned how to deal with a tornado, and knowing that so many of them were able to get to a safe place because of the instructions Dave gave them makes me very emotional.
There's no doubt in my mind that the kids who listened to Dave Freeman during his coverage of the Greensburg, Kansas tornado are now parents themselves and use his advice for their own kids to help them stay safe when a tornado strikes.
Emily Sutton on KFOR in Oklahoma City is of my absolute favorites. She's always calm and informative... the only time I've ever heard her lose it was when Moore got hit in 2013, and she was broadcasting as a mobile chaser. She's definitely worth checking out if you make this a series.
I have a lot of respect for the people at KFOR Channel 4 for the way they stayed on top of the EF5 tornado that devastated Moore, Oklahoma on May 20th, 2013. Mike Morgan providing information from the weather studio, Emily Sutton providing field coverage of the tornado from the Crossroads Mall in Oklahoma City, Jon Welsh for tracking the tornado from the station's helicopter, and Linda Cavanaugh for providing information about the school districts that were in the path of the storm from the news desk. Many people in the Oklahoma City area were pretty sad when Linda Cavanaugh retired from KFOR in 2017; with one viewer who watched a video on the station's TH-cam channel describing Linda as the "Sweet but stern aunt who would have your back in the trenches." The comment was made on a video where Linda was trying to get field reporter Lance West to try and regain his composure as he was reporting live on the scene from one of the places that was hit by the 2013 Moore, Oklahoma tornado: the campus of Plaza Towers Elementary School; where seven children lost their lives.
You’re right. They are 100% heroes. I’m 62 and I remember live weather before Doppler was widely used. Younger folks have no idea what true lifesaving skills these meteorologists bring.
Here in Iowa, we get left out in tornado coverage. 15 years ago, an EF4 tornado hit a Boy Scout camp. Ed Wilson, from WHO-TV13 storm team coverage was aware of this. He's been our go to person, especially The Flood of '93, every tornado, and the Derecho. Ed Wilson, no relation, has been our weather person for years. He grew up an Iowa farm boy. I'm certain he's saved quite a few lives.
@@kaylahall1219 You would have been so proud of the boys. They went into full Scouting fashion and offered first aid and life saving skills to the boys who were injured. A few were touch and go for awhile, but lives were saved because of them. Many took the shirts off their own backs to stop bleeding, others ripped them up to make casts with tree limbs, and tourniquets.
I recently rewatched KTHV's coverage of a tornado moving through the south side of Little Rock on March 1, 1997. It was the first time in state history that a tornado had been tracked on Doppler radar live on television. The way that Ed Buckner handled that stressful situation and used the technology at his disposal to get information out was really impressive. Even more impressive was learning later that he has Tourette's syndrome and his tics tend to get worse while under stress. So any time I look back on Ed's coverage of a major tornado event in central Arkansas, you've just gotta think about how much extra work he was putting in just to be able to do his job-- and he did it amazingly.
Great list here, Jake. I'm really happy you put Dave Freeman on the list because he is a world-class meteorologist. His ability to remain calm and professional during that Greensburg tornado saved lives that night. James Spann is amazing as well. I watched that "marathon" on April 27, 2011 as it was happening and he just kept going. His knowledge of local places in Alabama is amazing.
James Spann is the absolute GOAT. On 4/27/2011, I was watching The Weather Channel’s coverage of the Alabama tornado outbreak from my home in KY, and TWC aired some of the coverage from ABC 33/40 in Birmingham. I was already familiar with Spann from when my family had lived near Huntsville in the early 90’s and our cable carried the ABC affiliate from Birmingham. Spann and his team on that day was impossible not to watch, and I became a huge admirer. He knows every road and landmark in AL, it seems, and his respect for children and desire to teach meteorology to the very young is inspiring-he’s tantamount to a weather evangelist. I live in GA now, and I still watch his severe weather coverage on the ABC 33/40 weather app, anticipating the weather forecast for GA. Someone below mentioned Dick Gilbert of Louisville KY…Gilbert was a helicopter pilot whose primary job was to give traffic reports for local TV/radio. On April 3, 1974-the day of the super-outbreak in the south and midwest-he was in the air and following the EF-4 that cut through the heart of Louisville that afternoon. In an era when weather forecasting and reporting was rudimentary and slow bc of the technology available at the time, Gilbert’s eyewitness reporting was life-saving and he became a local legend. You will find a 4-part account of that day’s tornado on a series of videos uploaded on YT by Louisville’s WHAS Radio-when you have the time, I recommend to serious weather watchers that they listen to the over 4 hours worth of coverage on that and nearby tornadoes. It provides a fascinating glimpse into weather history, forecast history, radio history, and even pop culture history. Search for 1974 Louisville tornado. Great choices for your video!
I've recently watched Mike Morgan's coverage of the 2013 tornado for the first time, and immediately thought. This is some of the best coverage I've ever seen, from the whole team really, but then his advice of an interior closet not being enough really sealed it for me. I then watched his 1999 tornado coverage, and thought again, wow what a good team. Bravo to everyone here. Gonna have to check out the live coverages of the others now.
I grew up watching Dave Freeman constantly during spring. He was always on the mark. His face has been imprinted in my memories. He also seems like a very good dude. We definitely appreciated him here in Kansas.
England and Spann. Both are native sons and have a deep love and connection to their origins. In a sense, these men are warning their "relatives, friends, and neighbors" from a deep-down place at the frontier of meteorological journalism. . Town criers of high tech.. They are valued by their people for what they do. Interesting that you focus their techniques ,motives and emotional energy. Something in their character seems to make them perfect for their respective jobs. Provocative piece of work. Thank you.
a very large portion of students and faculty at the University of Alabama in 2011 owe their life to James Spann. I'm a student here currently and there are some parts on the outskirts of town where you can STILL see damage from that day. It's a day no one who was born and raised in Alabama will ever forget.
I'd love to mention Travis Meyer out of Tulsa OK! Stayed up for nearly 24hrs to monitor a tornado outbreak live, as well as two(? I think) barges going down the Arkansas river in 2019. Crazy year, always loved him for that. He made sure we were safe a knew what was going on!
@@ldowdy9828 I agree. Even though I am from Ohio I still consider Gary England to be the proverbial guiding light for the people of central Oklahoma during tornado season. If I was a student at the University of Oklahoma in Norman and studying meteorology I would want to do an internship under Damon Lane at Oklahoma City's ABC affiliate KOCO Channel 5. Damon lives in Moore, Oklahoma and was personally affected by the EF5 tornado that tore through Moore on May 20, 2013.
Travis Meyer is green country's (north eastern part of Oklahoma) GOAT. Been a weatherman for over 30 years! My childhood is FULL of memories of him on tv. I can still hear him say 'keep it right here and we'll keep you advised'. He has such a calm and clear voice.
James Spann is the GOAT!!! I'll never forget April 27th 2011. I drove right into the F2 that hit Cahaba Heights while I was on my way to work. We have a saying here that if you see James Spann in front of the weather screen and you can see his suspenders then "shits about to get real!" He also had a situation last year when he was covering a tornado outbreak that went through the neighborhood he lives in. He looked down and saw the text from his wife that said that their house was hit. He tossed the coverage over to his weather partner Taylor Sarallo and he walked off screen for about 5 minutes so he could call his wife to make sure she was ok. Then he walked back on screen and went back to weather coverage. James Spann has probably saved thousands of lives during his career and we are lucky to have him.
I've grown up watching James Spann. He's come to be a source of comfort for me when the weather gets dicey. He's often on the air all day, for hours at a time and I'll just watch him, even if it's on the other side of the state from me. He made me interested in meteorology.
James Spaan is a badass. Period. We have great meteorologists in Texas, but just listening to this guy for a couple of minutes, I already know he’s a legend. God bless 🙏
Something tells me that the kids who watched Dave Freeman and followed his advice to keep themselves safe during the Greensburg, Kansas tornado are now parents themselves and use his advice to keep their own children safe. When Gary England was covering the El Reno, Oklahoma tornado on May 31st, 2013 he gave the same advice on air to any kids who were either home alone or with a babysitter and no doubt scared to death.
I lived in Del City at the time of the 1999 Bridge Creek-Moore tornado. Seeing this footage again gave me goosebumps, nausea, and watery eyes. I will never forget his pleas to get underground as long as I live.
Gary England will always be my favorite. I met him in the early 90s at my school. I gained my love of meteorology because of him. I was sad when he retired. In my opinion, he is the GOAT.
Thank you for highlighting the real work of these guys, their core mission--not to tell you to bring an umbrella or put on snowshoes or apply sunscreen, but to really catch your attention and give you the jolt of urgency that is needed for those who aren't grasping the seriousness of the dangers posed by severe weather. I've noted this before, this thing that comes from a true love of their fellow humans--it's not "heroic" to stand in front of a TV camera, but when you hear that depth of love coming out in the form of concerned commands to take shelter, you know they're saying it with the heart of a hero, a father's heart toward all those listening.
I literally watched the reporting of the 2011 tornado that hit Tuscaloosa. I saw it get bigger and bigger on LIVE TV. James Spann is THE BEST in the business. My hat goes off to him for doing this over 4 decades, and still accurate and precise witb his delivery on the weather. Awesome dude, awesome meteorologist. 💯💯💯
Looking at the James Spann clips always remind me when we had a Tornado Outbreak in Central NC. At the time I was Operations Manager of my local radio stations. I followed a Tornado that hit west Raleigh NC and it was on track to head right towards the town I live in. So I headed to the station (it was a Saturday so nobody was in the building) as soon a warnings went up in the listening area we went live on 7 stations. Mainly to warn travelers on I-95. Good thing we did because after the Tornado touched down in town then it crossed I-95. We had several phone calls from people from NY and NJ that was traveling through the area found us on the radio and took our advice and they thanked us for possibly saving their lives because they had no idea what was coming. People in the area talks about our coverage 10 years plus later. Thinking of the lives these guys have saved over the years is amazing!
What a good compilation of tornado coverage! El Reno is still so sad. My storm chaser brother was friends with Tim Samaras. At the funeral, there was an offering of McD's hamburgers. While chasing, food that was left on the dashboard was sucked out of the car by the tornado. These meteorologists are more effective than when I was young. Radar is so much better and the ability to continue getting coverage during an emergency is easier. I remember weather maps literally drawn with crayon & the tv going out with lightning interference. All we had was the radio. This was in the 70's and 80's.
I'm so proud to say that James Spann is MY meteorologist. He got me and my family through the blizzard in the 90s and HUNDREDS of tornadoes. Love you James
James Spann is an Alabama legend. More recently he had a Torndao passing by his house while he was live he called his family directed them to safety and continued to call out the storm to save other people while he watched the tornado rip through his neighborhood on the map
I think there can be 2 GOATs. I watched Gary England, from 1200 miles away, cover the 2013 Moore EF5. I have family in Moore so we had one feed on the TV, one on my computer and another on my tablet. My family was all okay and below ground. Gary's coverage was above and beyond. He saved many lives that day and the day before when a tornado hit the Shawnee area.
I watched Gary England every time the news came on. I watched the entire el reno broadcast in utter awe. I had watched twister probably a hundred times as a kid, every time i seen him in the beginning broadcast i was so happy. Mike Morgan is another brilliant meteorologist. I love how upfront he his like he says. I remember hearing his voice as a baby in the bathtub during a smaller tornado. All I remember was how calming his voice is. Kevin Ogle is a pretty good honorable mention, I don’t really remember much but ive seen my fair share of tornado coverage from his perspective.
Alan Sealls is one of my local meteorologists. He spent 20 years at WKRG in Mobile, AL before moving to WPMI in the same market. Our region doesn’t get too many tornados but he really shines during hurricane season. He breaks down the complex science behind everything for the layperson all while delivering the forecasts in a calm reassuring manner. He went viral on Reddit a few years back for his coverage. Absolutely amazing professional.
You’re right. Alan Sealls is a treasure. I love how he breaks everything down simply and not sound patronizing. He actually won a Pulitzer before he came to WKRG.
13:27 "this will be day that will go down in state history... and all you can do is pray for those people..." I really love and admire James Spann. "All you can do is pray" is my absolute favorite quote from him, and I'm so glad you included this moment because it still sends chills down my back. He really is a GOAT. I bought an autographed copy of his book "All You Can Do Is Pray" in 2021, and you can actually see the indent in the page that the pen made from when he signed the front page of the book, and he wrote 'Always respect the polygons!' On the book as well and I cherish that copy. James Spann really inspires me to learn more about weather and also to just be a good person. I know this comment is all over the place, I just love James Spann and I'm so glad that you included his legendary moments from the 2011 Alabama Super Outbreak.
I lived in Oklahoma for a few college years and I didn’t know the history of Gary England but I recognized his voice from Twister and I had a feeling that he was a pioneer legend. I’m glad I found this video 😊
Spann is the only one I trust for my weather. Hes an amazing person as well as being dedicated to his job. From visiting schools & having weather kids, to doing weather seminars & training spotters, to book tours, he's always on the go around AL. The morning of April 27, our street was hit by the early round. Tornado went on further down the road & killed a friend's mother when tree fell on her as she was trying to leave for work. Nothing could have prepared Alabamians for that horrible day & as he mentioned in this vid, it indeed was an all day event. We don't often get much winter weather here but Spann was one of the few who accurately predicted the March 93 storm. Another day that went down in history here. There are several vids of him from that day if anyone would like to watch. Even with that antiquated technology, he was just as hard working then as now & makes use of all when doing his weather segments. We love Spann here & lucky to have had him all these years!
@@KrissyMeow I was 14 & we were without power for 10 days. It indeed has proven to be the most snow I've ever seen so far! Wish it would snow like that (minus the power outages) again so my grandsons could see it!
I don’t live in Alabama anymore, but I am trained to watch the national weather radar to identify trends in weather patterns and if I ever see something or concern, I check in with 33/40’s TH-cam stream to see if I need to relay some info to my family. He’s one of the only meteorologists that have ever made me feel comfortable during a tornado.
As a truck driver, I went through Greensburg, KS about 2 weeks after the tornado hit. My wife and I got out and went to the temporary hospital that they set up since the original one was lost in the storm. We spoke with a very nice lady who was the director and gave us a tour of the facility. I remember her showing us a photo album of pictures that were taken immediately after the tornado. There were also pictures in there of President George W. Bush’s visit. For a mobile hospital (basically a tent hospital), it was very impressive. There were many large tents that were connected together by these tunnels they had set up. We made a donation to the relief effort and then drove through the rest of what was left of that town. It was literally leveled. We made subsequent visits to Greensburg after that and it slowly but surely rebuilt and came back to life again. It really was quite amazing to see. One thing is certain, the people of Greensburg are resilient! They had a LOT to come back from, God Bless them all.
There was a tent hospital in Joplin, Missouri following the monstrous EF5 tornado that devastated Joplin on May 22nd, 2011 and destroyed St. John's Medical Center. The staff at St. John's was also conducting business in Joplin Memorial Hall.
In 1973, my dad’s childhood home was affected by the Brent Tornado that spread throughout Alabama and into his old hometown of Childersburg. This exact storm is what inspired James Spann to go study meteorology and become a meteorologist.
All my life I’ve grew up around the area of Tuscaloosa and James Spahn was been a staple of our life here, He’s saved countless lives not just in 2011 but all though out his career and that’s something not many people can say. Not just James Spahn but every other meteorologist in no opinion deserve all they praise they get for doing what they do.
Ryan Hall Y'all! His coverage of the long track Mayfield, Ky storm is not only posted here on TH-cam, but he continues to serve Tornado Alley on a regular basis. Thank you, sir. Continued safety in the field.
I absolutely love James Spann he makes me feel so safe and I don't even live in Alabama he's on it...Can watch him for hours ❤And he don't leave the building till every last threat is over ❤
James Spann is an absolute LEGEND in the industry and very well loved and respected in Alabama. I live just north of his viewing area but I try to watch his live casts whenever bad weather hits Birmingham area. I would however like to shoutout Chief Meteorologist Brad Travis from WAFF 48 News in Huntsville, AL. Everyone in his viewing area highly regards him and his team for their amazing work and coverage of severe weather, especially during the April 27, 2011 outbreak. They warn everyone a week ahead of the potential for severe weather and stay on top of it updating the viewing area every single day and make it a First Alert day if the potential is high enough. I've met Brad personally and he's a great guy and very informative and passionate about weather.
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"I know you're trying to get your kids ready for school. Don't worry about it. If the principal gets mad, tell them to call me!" This is the MOST GANGSTER STATEMENT ever made by a TV meteorologist. I've never seen James Spann live. It's apparent that I've missed out on something special.
you have. i’ve grown up with his coverage and he’s not the meteorologist i watch now (only because of his streaming quality) but he’s the one i’d tell absolutely anyone outside of the threat area to watch, if they’re into that kind of thing
I'm certain that a lot of school principals ultimately decided to not get mad at the students for being late because of James Spann. From what I observed; people in Alabama take the weather reports from James Spann at the same level of seriousness that they take their church attendance and Nascar races.
@@michaellovely6601 james spanns weatger reports are taken more seriously than that honestly
Birmingham native here. James Spann is pretty much a legend. My boyfriend who is from Puerto Rico and didn’t know James a year ago now says, “What’s my boy James saying?” When the weather gets bad 😂
As soon as you see that coat come off you best be getting ready to run!
Hearing him give clear instructions to the kids literally gave me goose bumps. What a wonderful thing to have done.
He was my local meteorologist when I was a kid. I got to meet him at an educational program he did at my summer camp. I remember him being very patient and kind.
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as opposed to those "figurative" goose bumps.
that made me emotional tbh, what an insanely thoughtful and important thing to do
"If your principal gets mad, tell them to call me." James Spann shows he's a legend with that phrase alone.
If I was a principal I would call him to thank him for teaching kids about weather and also what to do during severe weather situations.
I'm certain that a lot of school principals ultimately decided not to get angry with their students for being late for school because James Spann ultimately saved many lives during the events of April 27th, 2011.
And since he’s in a different school every day of the week, there’s a good chance he knows that principal.
What makes James Spann so great is he knows every single community in Alabama so he can give street by street information with impeccable accuracy. He was alot of the reason I got into meteorology when he came and visited my cub scout troop in 1992.
And he has so many catchphrases! Respect the polygon!
I have lived in Oklahoma all of my life. Lived in Moore for 2 of the F5 tornadoes. Gary England is a notch above the rest. What a lot of people don’t realize outside of our area is that Gary England started a program for children about weather safety. He would go to schools and teach them about precautions, how to generally read a radar, the importance of knowing your cross streets, and what to do if mom and dad aren’t home. He has saved so many lives and is definitely a hero around here.
Agreed. I remember his spots for storm safety tips during Saturday morning cartoons when I was a kid. For decades if storms were incoming, my TV's were glued to Channel 9 and his coverage. With all due respect to Spann and the other's, Garry England is the Meteorologist who pioneered what they are doing today, and Oklahoma will never forget him.
The man has saved so many lives including those in my family.
❤❤❤
Gary England is such a poor speaker for television, he was painful to hear when I moved into his viewing area.
Wow. This is called a true vocation!
My parents lost everything on 4/27/2011 but their lives because they listened to James Spann. That is a day I’ll never forget. I grew up in that house, I can still see it looking back on memories. But the thing that sticks with me is seeing the mobile morgue and first responders bringing out a sweet lady who always had a drink for me as I walked home from school. 😢
Devastating. I’m sorry you lost her. I’m glad your parents listened.
Swegle should look up the New Orleans weather man getting upset at the viewers. Its pretty funny to watch. Glad your family was alright. We always get out of dodge when I hurricane comes. Never play with Mother Nature.
I also love how James Spann does not wait for the NWS he calls out the tornado emergency as he sees it. No telling how many lives he and Jason saved that day.
haha I noticed that as well. "Tornado Emergency!" the second it touches the ground.
He doesn't do that too often anymore. He explained that on that day the ingredients for violent tornadoes across a wide area were so maxed out that as soon as a tornado touched down it was pretty much destined to become large and violent. He didn't want to wait until official tornado emergencies were issued because it might be too late for some people. His expertise and instinct for communicating danger effectively is legendary to say the least! Side note: Gary England was also famous for issuing his own tornado warnings ahead of the NWS in the early days of doppler radar.
On that fateful day, the parameters were absolutely insane, and he was not taking any chances. He wanted everyone to be below ground because of how powerful the tornadoes can become and very quickly they moved.
@@SwegleStudios can u do branson mo tornado 2 /28 / 2012
@@ericandchocosluss5723 From what I have read up on the February 28, 2012 tornado that hit Branson, Missouri; there were no fatalities. My guess is that aside from it occurring during the "off season" for tourism in Branson (thousands of people visit Branson every year because of the natural beauty of the Ozarks as well as the numerous entertainment venues and museums) and because the people of southwestern Missouri were still traumatized by the EF5 tornado that tore through Joplin, Missouri nearly a year earlier on May 22, 2011.
I'm from Germany and my Dad is a physicist, so he always loved to teach us about the weather when we were kids. I remember watching a news report about a tornado with him and Gary England was featured. My Dad said "Remember him, he is a very important man. He has saved many peoples' lives."
Kudos to your father for giving him credit, he sounds great :)
When did u move here exactly? An wat does physicist got to do with weather?
@@rilynjohnson3297meteorology studies the physics of the earth’s atmosphere, so they have a lot to do with each other. 🙂
@@rilynjohnson3297 Trust me if you study any kind of science or physics you are likely to meet up with weather or atleast how storms work.
Aw that’s so nice
James Spann is one of the most respected people in Alabama, you cannot convince me otherwise. His house was hit by a tornado during an outbreak last year (I believe) and he took a break long enough to call his wife and let her know to get into shelter before going right back to live reporting. I remember listening to his cast during the 2011 outbreak, I was home alone for a large portion of it and he really helped me feel safe while sheltering in the hall closet.
Love listening to James Spann when he gets on Rick & Bubba. He gets me laughing at times.
I had to drive home thirty minutes during that outbreak. Seeing strips of destruction all the way home was crazy.. I cried thinking my poor dogs and house were gone.
When I got home, both pups were huddled in the bathtub; I just laid and cried with them. To this day, my thirteen year old dog still goes in to the bathroom when he is frightened. 😭
I don't remember a lot about Spann from back when I followed storm chasers years ago... but wasn't he, like, a _reeeeally_ outspoken climate change denier?
Must everything be politicized? I imagine James Spann has the training and experience to view climate change however he wants. If he doesn’t ascribe to the collectives narrative then good for him. It is called thinking for yourself. Yes the climate changes. It isn’t new. The degree to which human beings have effected the change is debatable. It is ok for people to have different views on the subject.
We’re VERY GLAD to have Spann and I’ll hate the day he’s done. Has saved many lives in Bama and some people still give him crap over cutting off Family Feud to cover storms🤦🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
James Spann covers my area and I can’t tell you how loved he is around here. He is the most genuine meteorologist there is. He has helped so many.
his passion for what he does is matched only by his charisma and skill
I'm from Birmingham and I will never forget that April day in 2011. James Spann saved so many lives. It was a terrifying day and the destruction was catastrophic. There used to be a facebook group about quotes from James Spann. Hanging in there like a hair in a biscuit, was one of them.
I was born in 2012 so I sadly couldn’t see it.
james spann saved so many lives on 04/27/11. we were all glued to him, even if we aren’t in his viewing area. i’m about 2 hours north of him. he even covered a storm heading my way when his area was quiet. he made sure all alabamians were safe.
That was about three months before I moved to Tuscaloosa, I immediately learned who he was when I got to town. Incredible person!
My house was hit by the Tuscaloosa tornado and it was the eeriest feeling being in the bathtub listening to James spann until the power cut off and hearing the rumble of the tornado getting louder and louder. Fun fact is the only time I’ve ever met James spann was in aspen Colorado in a gift shop when we were on vacation at the same time.
Wow, what are the odds of that?!? That had to have been pretty cool!
just thinking abt being in your shoes is an out of body experience tbh
My Goddess! I bet you still relive that exact moment. I have sympathetic goosebumps.
this comment is better than 75% of movies i've ever watched
I would be honored to meet James Spann! I'm a Coloradan myself but we do get tornadoes occasionally. And I sometimes look at tornado footage to make sure I'm always prepared. I saw his footage of the Tuscaloosa tornado about a year ago, and I was so impressed at how well he did. wHe seems like the kind of guy every news station should have as their meteorologist. And people, according to copious comments, seem to respect tf out of him.
Jame's house was hit in 2021 by a tornado. He left air for a minute, called his wife on the cell to tell her to take shelter, then went right back on air to continue coverage. He is THAT dedicated. It affected him greatly and understandably so. But he kept on. He takes a lot of responsibility for the loss of life on April 27, 2011, and took it VERY personally. Things to remember: NEVER depend on outdoor sirens. Have multiple ways of getting warnings. Be prepared to take shelter, practice your severe weather plan BEFOREHAND, and RESPECT THE POLYGON!!
I always joke with people that the day that the lord Does come calling James spann his headstone is going to say respect the polygon
Spann the man! A true legend. We lived in Trussville, Alabama during that outbreak. And that large tornado was originally tracking towards there from Tuscaloosa. Thankfully it changed course and spared the area of Trussville. We found debris from it in our yard for several days after. It’s just almost impossible to imagine the size of this tornado if you didn’t see it live on TV as Spann covered it. He’s definitely the GOAT, especially in the state of Alabama!
I live in Hoover but I didn’t get hit by it
@@daveshaffer3733 I will personally make a stone memorial that says “respect the polygon” in the event his headstone doesn’t include it.
@@gd2234_ can you include a double box?
Dave Freeman made me tear up. I remember being a little kid home alone one night, and we had a horrible storm that looked like it was going to drop a couple tornadoes come through. Not sure the weather man's name but I changed the channel to the weather channel. Lived in an apartment at the time and that weather man calmed me, not sure how or why. Instructed on safest place to go and when the sirens went off I did what he had said. My complex was missed, thankfully, but that weather man had saved at least a few lives as another complex was hit without death.
Dave reminds me a lot of that guy and really is the perfect example of a good guide and storm watcher
Dave is an absolute legend in our books here. I grew up watching his forecasts and listening to alerts like this including this specific disaster. I don’t know a single person here who doesn’t absolutely love that man. He’s retired now and I really hope he’s living his best life.
I'm glad to see you mentioned Jason Simpson. That guy is a legend in the making. He was warning Alabama about those tornados and storms almost 3 hours before James Spaan came on the air. He was there for the duration of the event even as a tornado was heading towards his family at Holly Pond. He's a remarkable meteorologist.
Jason Simpson was my parents next door neighbor for several years. Guy is super nice, and takes his work seriously.
@@SimplePhill He was Spann's protege and is really following in his footsteps so well and then some. We would be lucky to have him back in the B'ham market when the sad day comes that James Spann retires. He is serving north AL well right now though!
@@kaygee2121 He's back in Alabama. Took over as Chief Meteorologist at WVTM13. He's great.
Jason was awake for so long, I think at the end he was probably running on pure adrenaline. He did a fantastic job in the morning, especially since it was just him running the wall and the radar before Spann came in.
Jason was amazing and I’m not sure how he was still standing by the end of the day.
Living in the south, if James Spann talks about weather, you sure as hell listen. I still remember when a tornado hit near his house while he was on air and he took a pause to warn his family. Total professional and agree both he and Gary England are GOAT status.
I remember that! The tornado hit my hometown and passed less than half a mile from my mom at her workplace. I’ll never forget or undervalue his dedication to keeping people safe.
That is very true and
He is indeed a GOAT
The tornado that hit James spann house on March 25 or 27, 2021 also hit my house.
I Agree
Pretty sure his house has been hit twice on air at this point
I was a weather forecaster at Scott AFB, IL, in May 1984. A tornado was heading directly at the base, and I asked Mr. Lacina in Base Operations to activate the tornado warning sirens. My bank of phones lit up like a Christmas tree. The base got hit, and it destroyed the main base exchange (BX). 76 cars were damaged or destroyed..but due to the warnings, no injuries. A four star general told me that I likely saved dozens of lives. I have put hundreds of bad forecasts out...certainly my share, but I got that one right...and was nominated for the American Meteorology Societies' Charles Mitchell Award for Technical Expertise. Good stuff.
As long as your right the one time it matters your a hero in my book, all the other close calls and false alarms are all worth it at the end of the day if you save lives when all the chips are on the table.
I live in Central AL and every time we have tornadic weather, I go straight to Spann as he's the only one I trust. I remember April 27th 2011. He was on from early in the morning to very late at night nonstop and I have no idea how he pulled it off. He saved so many lives that day including everyone in my house. The man is truly remarkable.
Thank you for shouting out Dave Freeman. I'm a lifelong Wichitan, and the Greensburg tornado will forever remain a sad core memory. His coverage was lifesaving, and it was later preserved and shown within a memorial exhibit that was sponsored by Wichita State's Ulrich Museum of Art. Lots of memories. Lots of reflection. Thanks.
James Spann ducked off air a few years ago to check on his family when his own house was hit by a tornado. He was only gone long enough to make a phone call and was back on air almost immediately tracking the tornado. The guy is wild. No one compares to how he reports severe weather.
Growing up, I was obsessed with weather and storm chasing. The Weather Channel used to sell VHS tapes about tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. and I LOVED “The Weather Guy” John Hope.
He was an interesting man and has a memorable moment of his own, a hurricane named after his daughter and turned out to be one of the more devastating hurricanes, if memory serves. I need to look it up again, it’s been so long.
But yeah, he’s my personal OG/legend weather guy. :)
I heard that during the Greensburg tornado, he BEGGED to get on air at one time because he knew how dangerous the situation was, and they finally gave in and put him on air. He was ADAMANT that he broadcast to them because he feared great loss of life. God bless him for his dedication!
We absolutely LOVE Dave Freeman. I really hope that man is living his best life now.
#2 gave me full body chills. I can only imagine what a child would have to go through having their tv blasting with winds howling around them. Terrifying stuff
Something tells me that the kids who followed Dave's advice during the Greensburg, Kansas tornado in 2007 are now parents themselves and use his advice with their own children. These meteorologists always know to give advice on air to kids who might be home alone or with a babysitter and no doubt scared to death so they can have a chance of survival. During the El Reno, Oklahoma tornado on May 31st, 2013 Gary England advised any children who were either at home alone or with a babysitter due to their parents being out to dinner or still at work or stuck in the Friday evening rush hour traffic that they needed to put on a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, sturdy shoes, goggles, heavy-duty gloves and helmets to avoid being injured by flying debris on top of also covering themselves with blankets, mattresses or pillows.
Happened to me and my brother multiple times during my teen years when mom was at work. Coming from OK here lol
It was a devastating tornado.
I’m an operational meteorologist for the navy and I have so much respect for broadcast meteorologists. They’re the ones that the communities will listen to because they’ve spent so much time building up that trust and familiarity, and honestly 90% of the field (myself included) don’t have the personality and charisma to do what they do. Broadcast Mets are absolutely crucial when it comes to hazard communication and emergency management. Great video!
Don't forget the chasers. They risk their lives to relay info.
Wow! I live in a non disaster prone area so I never understood how important meteorologists were in other parts of the country. Then after reading your comment, not only do these guys have to remain calm (and family friendly), but also have to be charismatic? Legends!!!
Coming from the Chicago area, we are very familiar with Bill Kurtis! As well as Lester Holt. For meteorology, you couldn't beat Harry Volkman, John Coleman, Roger Triemstra and Tom Skilling.
Mike Morgan and Gary England saved my life and the lives so of many Oklahomans because of their intelligent and compassionate warning calls. Legends and heros.
James Spann actually saved my family during the Cullman Dead Man Walking tornado, it sometimes amazes me about how good James Spann is. I also once met James Spann last year in 2022 because he came to visit my school.
Having grown up in OKC during the 80s and 90s, Gary England was who we looked to for guidance and comfort during tornado season. He is truly missed on the air.
I grew up in the El Reno - Union City area and if Gary came on the air without the suit jacket that's when it becomes a "Shut up and pay attention" situation.
Yeah rest in pieces
As dumb college students at OU, we’d watch the storm coverage as a drinking game. “Supercell”, “rotation”, “Chopper 9”, “Fujita scale”, “Doppler”, etc…DRINK! Lol. Probably not good to be plastered when the ‘Nader is in the yard, but when you grow up in OK, you sorta view it as, “Oh well, if I’m gonna die, might as well be trashed”. Gary England is truly a legend, though, awesome dude. No doubt saved many lives in his career.
Don't worry about it JJ, late teens/early 20s is when a lot of people too stupid to live get filtered out in a Darwinian sense via alcohol and brashness. You made it out, didn't you?
Gary England was the proverbial "guiding light" for many people in central Oklahoma who watched Oklahoma City's CBS affiliate KWTV Channel 9 during a severe weather situation. He has this folksy "Southern Gentleman" air about him like former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton that made you feel as though they would be the type of person who would be there for you if you just needed someone to talk to if you had a bad day. If I was a student at the University of Oklahoma and studying meteorology I would have tried to score an internship under Gary as I would be learning from a truly legendary and inspiring meteorologist. However I would be just as content with an internship under either Mike Morgan or Damon Lane. As explained in the video Mike Morgan is the chief meteorologist at Oklahoma City's NBC affiliate KFOR Channel 4 whereas Damon Lane holds the position at the city's ABC affiliate KOCO Channel 5. In an episode of a show on The Weather Channel called "Tornado Alley: Real Time Tornado" which profiled the EF5 tornado that struck Moore, Oklahoma on May 20th, 2013; Damon talked about how he was juggling two roles that day: chief meteorologist and husband. Damon lives in Moore; so this tornado had personally affected him. He was text messaging his wife and urging her to get herself and their dogs into their storm shelter.
James Spann is my local weatherman and he most certainly is the GOAT. We don't even measure how bad a storm is by the colors on the map, we measure how bad it is based on whether or not is jacket is on and if his sleeves are rolled up. Dude has definitely saved more lives than he'll ever know.
Totally agree…. James Spann is the GOAT.
We had no power during the afternoon 4/27/11 tornadoes because we had our home hit before daybreak in the first round. But I knew what was coming our way that evening just listening to him on radio because he knows the geography of the entire state so well. He saved my family that day. Sadly we lost 3 friends that day that were sheltering as they should have.. but it was an EF-4 and it was just too strong.
We made it through that same EF-4 because a friend called and basically insisted we come to her home where it wasn’t damaged and she had a full underground basement.
I call her every year on 4/27 to thank her for that.
Jason Simpson moved on to become a chief meteorologist in Huntsville.. so we have two of the best meteorologists in the nation covering our state. Makes tornado season (which is basically November to May) much less unsettling.
I don’t know what we will do if he retires.
You should have added how the man has t shirts and bobble head dolls! People here love him. He’s written two books, one specifically about this outbreak called “All You Can Do Is Pray” and it’s worth the read though if you’re from here you’ll recognize names, which means I cried through half of it. But he did a beautiful job giving dignity to the victims.
He’s said he won’t rest until he knows the names and story of every life lost that day. Absolutely the best pick for number one.
Jason actually quit to stay home in October but yes I agree I love James and you can tell with how hard he's been on himself since April 27 2011 that he has a REAL passion and a real love for the people in his state!!! Y'all are lucky to have someone like him...and I'm so sorry for your losses 💖
Sorry for your loss. This is a very touching story. Thanks for sharing it. It's so detailed..
What led him to have such a sense of responsibility? Am noob
@@trekker105 I personally feel like it a couple of things... 1. He just really loves the people in his state and he wants to protect everyone. 2. I think he was just overall traumatized by the event. 3. I think he feels he didn't do enough since they didn't know it was going to be THAT bad. Plus they didn't really predict the morning round of storms which knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people in Alabama which in turn caused alot more deaths than there probably would have been otherwise so I think he feels responsible because he didn't know how bad it would be...
@@trekker105 everything that kpop said above, as well as the fact that he’s been covering the weather in west central Alabama for as long as I’ve been alive (38 years this October). There’s a serious, genuine bond that he has to his community and vice versa. We have so much in-climate weather that he is certainly a shepherd to the people of central and west central Alabama.
6:07 that HAS to be Reed Timmer yelling in the back 🤣 I love that guy so fricken much. His yell is soooo distinct. He’s been yellin like that for decades and still does to this day 💀💀💀
Scrolled through the comments to see if anyone else heard the same thing I did lol. If it’s not him, it’s his doppelgänger. Sounded exactly like him and he had been the same for as long as I’ve known about him lol
In #5 or #4, the man says: "Reed is intercepting"
I've lived in Moore my whole life, was in elementary school during the 1999 tornado and working at a Moore Public Schools daycare during the 2013 tornado, where we lost one of our kids in Plaza Towers. These meteorologists are held in as high of regard as our football players here, and if you're from OK, you know that's some serious recognition! Gary, Mike, Damon with KOCO, David Payne, all of the amazing chasers, they all have saved so many lives here and I give them credit for mine, too. Thanks for putting this collection together!
I moved to OKC in 2019 and met my wife soon after. Coming from south central Texas I was taught very early by her that these men are heroes and you LISTEN to them no matter what. I trust these meteorologists more than I ever did the ones back in Texas. The weather here is very serious business
I'm a Tulsan and after all the 2019 tornadoes, everyone coined the term "In Trav we trust" haha! OK meteorologists and storm chasers deserve all the respect for the work they do.
i live in el reno and we were 3 miles from the el reno tornado and it was still so loud i can’t believe it. i hold these forecasters in such high regard.
Mike Morgan is a hero to me here in Moore. Our meterologists are a step above in OK
@@evanhodgson4141 I remember that during the May 20, 2013 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma how Damon Lane was trying his best to stay calm on air while covering the storm for Channel 5. Damon lives in Moore and he was juggling two roles on May 20: chief meteorologist and husband. He was text messaging his wife and urging her to get herself and their dogs into the shelter.
James spann is indeed a legend! He has an encyclopedic knowledge of central Alabama, and very often mentions bbq restaurants and local landmarks (such as Wesley’s Boobie Trap, a “famous” strip club in Sumiton) to help people know exactly where the storm is heading. It’s impossible to quantify how much he means to central Alabama.
Oh the day he used the “Boobie Trap” as his landmark I couldn’t help but giggle. But he was dead on, that intersection got hit.. it took the church across the road and the gas station next to it. I was home sick that day and I remember hoping we wouldn’t have to get up and go downstairs (we did. I took photos. Because everyone thinks I’m absolutely silly for putting a helmet on my dog. Dogs are family! And I got her one that looks like a unicorn so it’s even better).
You have to find ways to laugh and get through it, especially when you live in places like this where you know tornadoes are common and deadly.
Yes he is!
@@elle7768 I’m in Arkansas but remember watching him in 2011, we’d had those storms the day before. I always feel a bit of a dick whenever I put on a helmet, but like hell I’m not going to when James Spann always insists on it!
I’m pretty sure i’ve learned more about Alabama listening to James Spann than I would if I actually got to travel to Alabama.
@@elle7768 bro. That shit have be a good stomach laugh. Thank you
james spann is literally the man. he's been my meteorologist my whole life, and i couldn't be more thankful.
I have had the honor to meet James Spann on a tour of his studio a couple of years ago. You're exactly right in that he's like a relative. He came into the room as if he'd known us our whole lives, and teased us like an uncle or grandfather would. He is just an all-around wonderful man with an amazing career. I feel safer hearing his voice. It promotes a sort of urgency, but wrapped up with an "It's ok, I've got you" reassurance.
Mike Morgan is a local legend here in OKC. I actually had the honor of tutoring his kids. Great guy!
I’ve only known James spann as the weather man, I’m 26 and he’s the only one I’ve ever watched. Came and spoke to our school every year, lived right up the street from me. Nicest guy you’ll ever meet. He’s saved our asses so many times, I didn’t realize how great he was until I moved away for college. I feel sorry for the rest of y’all
James spann really did save lives in Alabama that day, and every day. Including me, and to this day he still blames himself 11 years later after this incident. But he really did save lives that day.
Yes it kills me that he beats himself up so much for all the deaths that day when tbh there wasn't much he could do with how strong those tornadoes were that day and going into major cities as well
It makes me sad that he blames himself. He did everything he could do that day 🥺
One thing he does now is encourage kids (and adults) to put on or keep with them a hardhat or helmet (bicycle, football, baseball) when a significant storm is coming. Many deaths that day were due to people being struck in the head by debris.
@@jdw5678 Mhm, and to have a weather radio
Lived in Alabama for 2 years and James Spann is absolutely a legend. Everyone knows who he is and when he’s on the tv everybody listens.
I’ve watched the tons of tornado coverage videos at least twice. James Spann and Jason Simpson were the best ever duo on tornado coverage. Not sure they’ll ever have a team like that again. I will never forget the words of James Spann during tornado coverage, I believe, on April 15, 2011. “We’ve been lucky for a long time here.” “Yes, we’ve had tornadoes but not as many as we could and at some point our luck is gonna run out.” Then April 27th happened.
Yes! That was April 15 2011! Looking back on that is eerie. Because at that point there was no way for them to know that was coming!!
They are wonderful people. We are blessed to have them here in Alabama!
"All we can do is pray for those people" - James spann
@Travis Staley yep! Too bad that's not right now!!
@Travis Staley oh ok I didn't that's how he learned his like "technique" I guess?! Too bad I wasn't alive to watch Harold work!
james spann is the best! my grandmother who lives in alabama is a super fan & one year james agreed to come surprise her for her birthday (arranged by her coworkers). he’s just the nicest guy and truly cares about people’s safety.
I am a multi generational Oklahoman, in fact my family was here before Oklahoma was a state. We truly have some of the BEST weather men/women who have saved countless lives. I grew up watching Gary England he had a way to explain what to do kids who he knew where home by them selfs, he would always look into the camera and speak to them directly. These days I am Damon Lane fan, he is able to keep calm while broadcast during tornado coverage which I need. Again I think Oklahoma has some of the best and I am so thankful for each of them who go on air for hours if need be to keep their fellow Oklahomans safe.
Truth. They have saved many lives, no doubt. I have so much admiration for the the great job they do. Born Okie here. Been here all of my life. The most amazing part is the difference between western OK & eastern OK. EASTERN OK IS BEUTIFUL. Green Country. Clear water streams farms, ranches, wooded. Has it all. Hills, Valleys and Clearwater lakes and rivers. Further west you go is red dirt & mud. And flat land for miles. No trees no scenery. But they were & are the farmers and ranchers. Which we depend upon. It takes all kinds to make this world go around. I respect them all. Go to Enid ok and check out the grain elevators. And other places too. We have an amazing place here. We did get the tornadoes as well. But, ...... we will survive. And carry on.
James Spann is like no one I've ever seen. He is both reassuring and forthright, and uses technology and social media simultaneously.
James Spann is the GOAT for sure. Grew up watching him, he's the inspiration that got me into meteorology and wanting to chase storms not for the thrill but for the knowledge.
I remember April 27th 2011 very vividly. I lived in Hackleburg, AL at the time. Thats all ill say. Our power was out unfortunately so it was extremely difficult getting weather updates especially since the tornado knocked out our cell tower prior to impacting the town.
I want to say that James was live on the air with minimal breaks for a total of 16-18 hours that day.
@Bearded Zeus I didn’t hear about Hackleburg until 3 days later…. I live in a Suburb of Birmingham that got hit. When I finally saw Hackleburg/Phil Campbell I was astonished, no words. Glad you’re alive to tell your story. We got hit twice that day, early morning and that afternoon. I’ve been in the one in 74, 77, 98, 2011. I’ll never forgot them. James is indeed a one of a kind.
Grew up in Alabama in a weather conscious house and james spann was always on the tv...that man has saved so many lives in the state of Alabama, its really a blessing to have him work here
Dave was always way more animated when there was severe weather. It's almost surreal to see him go into calm dad mode for that storm.
Dave Freeman knew that because it was a Friday night a lot of parents would be out to dinner and as a result their children would be either home alone or with a babysitter and no doubt scared out of their minds. Dave knew that he had to be calm on air and reassure those children that he knew they were scared but if they listened to him they would be okay.
I remember thinking this too (I was a freshman in high school when Greensburg happened) and having a moment of 'oh shit.. This is serious.' I know someone from Greensburg now and I can't even imagine what that must have been like to experience.
@kaitlynnetanner2811 I met a girl in college from Greensburg. She was legit traumatized. Every time there was even a mild storm she'd ask to come over since I lived in a basement apartment.
@@nerdyarlequinz I know I would probably feel similar. The guy I know said he doesn't sleep if it's storming anymore. We had some really bad weather and flooding in Manhattan a couple years ago and it had him so anxious he couldn't even leave his apartment 🙁
I grew up watching Dave and this is so true. We always knew that if he was serious, real shit was going down. I remember one time when they went down to shelter themselves and my whole family immediately looked at each other in an “oh shit” moment before running straight to the basement.
Dan Satterfield was at WHNT in Huntsville AL for many years and we miss him in North Alabama. Dan always gave very specific instructions to any kids who might be at home alone but did it in a calming, reassuring manner. After he moved to Maryland he continued to follow our severe weather on Facebook. I miss Dan!
I remember when they were tornado warnings that Dan Satterfield was to go to guy! Thank you to all you dedicated weather people. That April day was catastrophic.
I will never forget April 27, 2011. I live in Huntsville, Alabama and we weren’t directly affected except for no power for a week, but the whole day was like a movie. I got woken up at 3 a.m. from the tornado siren that is directly next to the side of my house. Then from 7 a.m. on it just kept going off all day. Every time we have severe weather now, I turn on James Spann. He is truly one of the greats.
I also live in huntsville and I was only 7 years old but I very much remember everything about that day or week. Especially since it was soo humid and pretty hot in my house. Since there was no power.
I too live in Huntsville and was at my college classes in the morning that day (got cut short of course and when there was a small break between warnings the college let us go). I was watching Brad Travis and his team at WAFF like a hawk all day and still watch them to this day
@@MoonieMoonball I’m in Florence and we love Brad Travis!
In Huntsville too. That was such a scary day! We kept Brad Travis and WAFF on all day. He is an amazing tell it straight weatherman and is always on top of the newest science.
Mike Morgan has a massive backlog of legendary moments during various Tornado seasons throughout my lifetime.
James Spann is indeed the GOAT. I'd put "honorable mention" to just last year when he was covering a tornado on-air as it was hitting his own house. I believe he took a brief moment to make sure his wife (who was home at the time) was okay, then kept going with his coverage.
I think Bill Kurtis also deserves a mention. On June 8th 1966, while studying Law at Washburn University in Topeka, KS, he was working part time at WIBW-TV. He left a class early to fill in for a friend anchoring the 6o'clock news. He stayed on after as severe weather approached Topeka. At 7pm, a cameraman sighted a tornado, with another report coming in seconds later that it wiped out an apartment complex.
In a calm, yet commanding voice, Bill told viewers "For God's sake, take cover." The tornado cut Topeka in two, striking numerous neighborhoods, Washburn University, the Capitol building, numerous buildings downtown, toppling trains, and even struck the Topeka NWS office. It caused over $250 million (over $2 billion today) in damage, yet only resulted in 18 deaths.
Bill Kurtis stayed on air covering the tornado and aftermath for 24 hours straight. His warning is strongly associated with the Tornado, and helped launch his extremely successful career as a Broadcaster, Investigative Journalist, and Narrator. While I haven't been able to find footage of his coverage, there is at least audio of his warning; and hearing just those 5 words immediately conveys how serious it was.
It's old, but Bill Kurtis calling the 1966 Topeka, KS Ef5 tornado is amazing. He may not have been a true meteorologist, but it still deserves its place on a list like this. It also jump started his career as a journalist.
I have watched the 8-hour-long coverage of James Spann and Jason Simpson working through this horrific day multiple times. I don't know why, something about the reality of it makes it impossible to turn off.
I haven't watched the whole 8 hours, but I've watched the 2-3 hours around and including the Tuscaloosa/Birmingham tornado (or was it 2? It's been awhile) here on TH-cam. But on the day, I was living in Texas and heard about what was happening, and started watching him streaming online. It was so horrific, and he was so calm (as calm as one could be during an outbreak so significant), so fatherly, with so much authority and yet also compassion. I remember him telling his wife to get to shelter. It was such a horrific day, but watching James Spann, you felt like the folks listening to him at least had a chance.
I was in Oklahoma during the 99 Tornado. I lived in Moore at the time. But was hanging out at the Crossroads Mall. Being 16 years old and watching the Tornado come closer and closer was something I'll never forget. Leaving the Mall normally took me 15 mins to get home. It took me over 2hrs. Seeing people just walking around hurt, people hurt in backs of trucks, buildings and homes gone. Finally I was able to find a pay phone to call my parents who had no idea where I was until I called. Thankfully the Tornado missed our home. But fast forward to 2013 and that same neighborhood we lived in back in 99 did not fare well. My parents lived in Norman in 2013. Now I live in Norman and the last few Tornado seasons have been fairly quite compared to years past.
Spann and Simpson were just... incredible on 04/27/11. One or both of them were on the air that day from 3:45 AM until 9 or so, then again for the second wave, from 3 PM until way past sunset. They said they didn't really have time to consider the magnitude of the event until later, and once it became apparent how devastating the outbreak really was... Mr James said he couldn't talk about it for 6 months. To this day he struggles with it. God bless them both.
The 1999 Bridge Creek/Moore storm was also when tons of tornado myths, like staying underneath underpasses, were proven wrong and showed just how deadly they were.
I'm from OK and I believe this is the tornado in which a mother used a belt to hook/tie her young son to the infrastructure of an underpass. The child lived through the tornado passing over them but, sadly, the mother had nothing to anchor herself and she was swept away.
There is another Alabama Weatherman that deserves so huge credit. During the EF4 Smith Station Tornado, Josh Johnson and his crew really stepped up and recognized it was coming before the tornado even happened. While it was happening, they were literally calling street names out down to the smallest of roads that were in the path .
I lived outside Montgomery for 15 years and Josh Johnson was excellent. He kept me sane and comforted while I was missing James Spann!
I agree. Given the situation with the sirens that day, the loss of life would have been much worse without the coverage from WFSA. Viewing the devastation afterward, it was amazing to me how anyone in the path of the storm survived.
"Sometimes I spend hours and hours watching meteorologists" *instantly subscribes*
Hearing that moment of Dave Freeman never fails to make me cry. Imagining how scared those kids must be, especially if they never learned how to deal with a tornado, and knowing that so many of them were able to get to a safe place because of the instructions Dave gave them makes me very emotional.
There's no doubt in my mind that the kids who listened to Dave Freeman during his coverage of the Greensburg, Kansas tornado are now parents themselves and use his advice for their own kids to help them stay safe when a tornado strikes.
Emily Sutton on KFOR in Oklahoma City is of my absolute favorites. She's always calm and informative... the only time I've ever heard her lose it was when Moore got hit in 2013, and she was broadcasting as a mobile chaser. She's definitely worth checking out if you make this a series.
Lacy Swopes is great on News 9
I'll check her out! Thanks!
She's definitely not calm. "MIKE MIKE MIKE MIKE!" If you watched her long enough you will get the reference lol
I have a lot of respect for the people at KFOR Channel 4 for the way they stayed on top of the EF5 tornado that devastated Moore, Oklahoma on May 20th, 2013. Mike Morgan providing information from the weather studio, Emily Sutton providing field coverage of the tornado from the Crossroads Mall in Oklahoma City, Jon Welsh for tracking the tornado from the station's helicopter, and Linda Cavanaugh for providing information about the school districts that were in the path of the storm from the news desk. Many people in the Oklahoma City area were pretty sad when Linda Cavanaugh retired from KFOR in 2017; with one viewer who watched a video on the station's TH-cam channel describing Linda as the "Sweet but stern aunt who would have your back in the trenches." The comment was made on a video where Linda was trying to get field reporter Lance West to try and regain his composure as he was reporting live on the scene from one of the places that was hit by the 2013 Moore, Oklahoma tornado: the campus of Plaza Towers Elementary School; where seven children lost their lives.
She's no where near calm under pressure, David Payne loses it too, I think Mike is the best
You’re right. They are 100% heroes. I’m 62 and I remember live weather before Doppler was widely used. Younger folks have no idea what true lifesaving skills these meteorologists bring.
Here in Iowa, we get left out in tornado coverage. 15 years ago, an EF4 tornado hit a Boy Scout camp. Ed Wilson, from WHO-TV13 storm team coverage was aware of this. He's been our go to person, especially The Flood of '93, every tornado, and the Derecho. Ed Wilson, no relation, has been our weather person for years. He grew up an Iowa farm boy. I'm certain he's saved quite a few lives.
As a Scouter; I can’t imagine a tornado hitting our camp!!😱 we had lightning kill a boy in 2005. 😭
@@kaylahall1219 You would have been so proud of the boys. They went into full Scouting fashion and offered first aid and life saving skills to the boys who were injured. A few were touch and go for awhile, but lives were saved because of them. Many took the shirts off their own backs to stop bleeding, others ripped them up to make casts with tree limbs, and tourniquets.
Thanks for shouting out Ed! When tornadoes hit just a few weeks ago, he and his cohorts were on top of everything.
I recently rewatched KTHV's coverage of a tornado moving through the south side of Little Rock on March 1, 1997. It was the first time in state history that a tornado had been tracked on Doppler radar live on television. The way that Ed Buckner handled that stressful situation and used the technology at his disposal to get information out was really impressive. Even more impressive was learning later that he has Tourette's syndrome and his tics tend to get worse while under stress. So any time I look back on Ed's coverage of a major tornado event in central Arkansas, you've just gotta think about how much extra work he was putting in just to be able to do his job-- and he did it amazingly.
Wow I need to watch that!
Great list here, Jake. I'm really happy you put Dave Freeman on the list because he is a world-class meteorologist. His ability to remain calm and professional during that Greensburg tornado saved lives that night. James Spann is amazing as well. I watched that "marathon" on April 27, 2011 as it was happening and he just kept going. His knowledge of local places in Alabama is amazing.
James Spann is the absolute GOAT. On 4/27/2011, I was watching The Weather Channel’s coverage of the Alabama tornado outbreak from my home in KY, and TWC aired some of the coverage from ABC 33/40 in Birmingham. I was already familiar with Spann from when my family had lived near Huntsville in the early 90’s and our cable carried the ABC affiliate from Birmingham. Spann and his team on that day was impossible not to watch, and I became a huge admirer. He knows every road and landmark in AL, it seems, and his respect for children and desire to teach meteorology to the very young is inspiring-he’s tantamount to a weather evangelist. I live in GA now, and I still watch his severe weather coverage on the ABC 33/40 weather app, anticipating the weather forecast for GA.
Someone below mentioned Dick Gilbert of Louisville KY…Gilbert was a helicopter pilot whose primary job was to give traffic reports for local TV/radio. On April 3, 1974-the day of the super-outbreak in the south and midwest-he was in the air and following the EF-4 that cut through the heart of Louisville that afternoon. In an era when weather forecasting and reporting was rudimentary and slow bc of the technology available at the time, Gilbert’s eyewitness reporting was life-saving and he became a local legend. You will find a 4-part account of that day’s tornado on a series of videos uploaded on YT by Louisville’s WHAS Radio-when you have the time, I recommend to serious weather watchers that they listen to the over 4 hours worth of coverage on that and nearby tornadoes. It provides a fascinating glimpse into weather history, forecast history, radio history, and even pop culture history. Search for 1974 Louisville tornado.
Great choices for your video!
Tulsa Oklahoma here. Gary England and Travis Myer are legends. Great video bud!
I've recently watched Mike Morgan's coverage of the 2013 tornado for the first time, and immediately thought. This is some of the best coverage I've ever seen, from the whole team really, but then his advice of an interior closet not being enough really sealed it for me. I then watched his 1999 tornado coverage, and thought again, wow what a good team. Bravo to everyone here. Gonna have to check out the live coverages of the others now.
I grew up watching Dave Freeman constantly during spring. He was always on the mark. His face has been imprinted in my memories. He also seems like a very good dude. We definitely appreciated him here in Kansas.
Tremendous guy. He’s been doing full-time volunteer work for his faith in Israel for 5 years now too. Really miss him still.
England and Spann. Both are native sons and have a deep love and connection to their origins. In a sense, these men are warning their "relatives, friends, and neighbors" from a deep-down place at the frontier of meteorological journalism. . Town criers of high tech.. They are valued by their people for what they do. Interesting that you focus their techniques ,motives and emotional energy. Something in their character seems to make them perfect for their respective jobs. Provocative piece of work. Thank you.
What a fantastic way to word that
a very large portion of students and faculty at the University of Alabama in 2011 owe their life to James Spann. I'm a student here currently and there are some parts on the outskirts of town where you can STILL see damage from that day. It's a day no one who was born and raised in Alabama will ever forget.
I’m an alumnus, Roll Tide!
I'd love to mention Travis Meyer out of Tulsa OK! Stayed up for nearly 24hrs to monitor a tornado outbreak live, as well as two(? I think) barges going down the Arkansas river in 2019. Crazy year, always loved him for that. He made sure we were safe a knew what was going on!
“Oh, heck! Honey? Get down to the cellar! Gary England just took off his jacket!!!!”
I grew up watching Gary England. He truly taught us, as children, how to stay safe and watch the radar. I was in Moore 1999.
It's so hard not having him on TV now. When you heard his voice you knew he would tell you what to do to be safe.
@@ldowdy9828 I agree. Even though I am from Ohio I still consider Gary England to be the proverbial guiding light for the people of central Oklahoma during tornado season. If I was a student at the University of Oklahoma in Norman and studying meteorology I would want to do an internship under Damon Lane at Oklahoma City's ABC affiliate KOCO Channel 5. Damon lives in Moore, Oklahoma and was personally affected by the EF5 tornado that tore through Moore on May 20, 2013.
Travis Meyer is green country's (north eastern part of Oklahoma) GOAT. Been a weatherman for over 30 years! My childhood is FULL of memories of him on tv. I can still hear him say 'keep it right here and we'll keep you advised'. He has such a calm and clear voice.
I’m from Oklahoma City but spent a year living in Tulsa and Travis was my guy. Did a great job during an unexpected night time damaging wind event.
We call him “Saint Travis Meyer” at our house!
@@hatrockjr9006 Saint Meyer rocked it last night. Someone shared a pic of him and said 'we're good for now, Travis still has his jacket on" 😂😂😂
Don woods and gusty. goat
James Spann is the GOAT!!! I'll never forget April 27th 2011. I drove right into the F2 that hit Cahaba Heights while I was on my way to work. We have a saying here that if you see James Spann in front of the weather screen and you can see his suspenders then "shits about to get real!" He also had a situation last year when he was covering a tornado outbreak that went through the neighborhood he lives in. He looked down and saw the text from his wife that said that their house was hit. He tossed the coverage over to his weather partner Taylor Sarallo and he walked off screen for about 5 minutes so he could call his wife to make sure she was ok. Then he walked back on screen and went back to weather coverage. James Spann has probably saved thousands of lives during his career and we are lucky to have him.
I've grown up watching James Spann. He's come to be a source of comfort for me when the weather gets dicey. He's often on the air all day, for hours at a time and I'll just watch him, even if it's on the other side of the state from me. He made me interested in meteorology.
James Spaan is a badass. Period. We have great meteorologists in Texas, but just listening to this guy for a couple of minutes, I already know he’s a legend. God bless 🙏
I've watched Dave Freeman's Greensburg coverage more times than I can count, gives me chills every time. He saved so many lives that night.
Something tells me that the kids who watched Dave Freeman and followed his advice to keep themselves safe during the Greensburg, Kansas tornado are now parents themselves and use his advice to keep their own children safe. When Gary England was covering the El Reno, Oklahoma tornado on May 31st, 2013 he gave the same advice on air to any kids who were either home alone or with a babysitter and no doubt scared to death.
I lived in Del City at the time of the 1999 Bridge Creek-Moore tornado. Seeing this footage again gave me goosebumps, nausea, and watery eyes. I will never forget his pleas to get underground as long as I live.
Gary England will always be my favorite. I met him in the early 90s at my school. I gained my love of meteorology because of him. I was sad when he retired. In my opinion, he is the GOAT.
James spam is
Thank you for highlighting the real work of these guys, their core mission--not to tell you to bring an umbrella or put on snowshoes or apply sunscreen, but to really catch your attention and give you the jolt of urgency that is needed for those who aren't grasping the seriousness of the dangers posed by severe weather. I've noted this before, this thing that comes from a true love of their fellow humans--it's not "heroic" to stand in front of a TV camera, but when you hear that depth of love coming out in the form of concerned commands to take shelter, you know they're saying it with the heart of a hero, a father's heart toward all those listening.
I literally watched the reporting of the 2011 tornado that hit Tuscaloosa. I saw it get bigger and bigger on LIVE TV. James Spann is THE BEST in the business. My hat goes off to him for doing this over 4 decades, and still accurate and precise witb his delivery on the weather. Awesome dude, awesome meteorologist. 💯💯💯
Looking at the James Spann clips always remind me when we had a Tornado Outbreak in Central NC. At the time I was Operations Manager of my local radio stations. I followed a Tornado that hit west Raleigh NC and it was on track to head right towards the town I live in. So I headed to the station (it was a Saturday so nobody was in the building) as soon a warnings went up in the listening area we went live on 7 stations. Mainly to warn travelers on I-95. Good thing we did because after the Tornado touched down in town then it crossed I-95. We had several phone calls from people from NY and NJ that was traveling through the area found us on the radio and took our advice and they thanked us for possibly saving their lives because they had no idea what was coming. People in the area talks about our coverage 10 years plus later. Thinking of the lives these guys have saved over the years is amazing!
What a good compilation of tornado coverage!
El Reno is still so sad. My storm chaser brother was friends with Tim Samaras. At the funeral, there was an offering of McD's hamburgers. While chasing, food that was left on the dashboard was sucked out of the car by the tornado.
These meteorologists are more effective than when I was young. Radar is so much better and the ability to continue getting coverage during an emergency is easier. I remember weather maps literally drawn with crayon & the tv going out with lightning interference. All we had was the radio. This was in the 70's and 80's.
I'm so proud to say that James Spann is MY meteorologist. He got me and my family through the blizzard in the 90s and HUNDREDS of tornadoes. Love you James
James Spann is an Alabama legend. More recently he had a Torndao passing by his house while he was live he called his family directed them to safety and continued to call out the storm to save other people while he watched the tornado rip through his neighborhood on the map
I think there can be 2 GOATs. I watched Gary England, from 1200 miles away, cover the 2013 Moore EF5. I have family in Moore so we had one feed on the TV, one on my computer and another on my tablet. My family was all okay and below ground. Gary's coverage was above and beyond. He saved many lives that day and the day before when a tornado hit the Shawnee area.
A whole herd of weather coverage GOATs 😂
Honorable mention: Dick Gilbert’s coverage via radio from a helicopter over Louisville during the 1974 Super Outbreak.
I actually listened to all four parts of that on TH-cam while preparing for this video! I almost put him in!
Dick Gilbert should be one
"Yep! I'm outta here, goodbye!"
I watched Gary England every time the news came on. I watched the entire el reno broadcast in utter awe. I had watched twister probably a hundred times as a kid, every time i seen him in the beginning broadcast i was so happy.
Mike Morgan is another brilliant meteorologist. I love how upfront he his like he says. I remember hearing his voice as a baby in the bathtub during a smaller tornado. All I remember was how calming his voice is.
Kevin Ogle is a pretty good honorable mention, I don’t really remember much but ive seen my fair share of tornado coverage from his perspective.
Alan Sealls is one of my local meteorologists. He spent 20 years at WKRG in Mobile, AL before moving to WPMI in the same market. Our region doesn’t get too many tornados but he really shines during hurricane season. He breaks down the complex science behind everything for the layperson all while delivering the forecasts in a calm reassuring manner. He went viral on Reddit a few years back for his coverage. Absolutely amazing professional.
You’re right. Alan Sealls is a treasure. I love how he breaks everything down simply and not sound patronizing.
He actually won a Pulitzer before he came to WKRG.
13:27 "this will be day that will go down in state history... and all you can do is pray for those people..."
I really love and admire James Spann. "All you can do is pray" is my absolute favorite quote from him, and I'm so glad you included this moment because it still sends chills down my back. He really is a GOAT. I bought an autographed copy of his book "All You Can Do Is Pray" in 2021, and you can actually see the indent in the page that the pen made from when he signed the front page of the book, and he wrote 'Always respect the polygons!' On the book as well and I cherish that copy. James Spann really inspires me to learn more about weather and also to just be a good person.
I know this comment is all over the place, I just love James Spann and I'm so glad that you included his legendary moments from the 2011 Alabama Super Outbreak.
I lived in Oklahoma for a few college years and I didn’t know the history of Gary England but I recognized his voice from Twister and I had a feeling that he was a pioneer legend. I’m glad I found this video 😊
Spann is the only one I trust for my weather. Hes an amazing person as well as being dedicated to his job. From visiting schools & having weather kids, to doing weather seminars & training spotters, to book tours, he's always on the go around AL. The morning of April 27, our street was hit by the early round. Tornado went on further down the road & killed a friend's mother when tree fell on her as she was trying to leave for work. Nothing could have prepared Alabamians for that horrible day & as he mentioned in this vid, it indeed was an all day event. We don't often get much winter weather here but Spann was one of the few who accurately predicted the March 93 storm. Another day that went down in history here. There are several vids of him from that day if anyone would like to watch. Even with that antiquated technology, he was just as hard working then as now & makes use of all when doing his weather segments. We love Spann here & lucky to have had him all these years!
I was wee little in 93 but will never forget the snow we got in Alabama that year! It was my first time ever seeing it.
@@KrissyMeow I was 14 & we were without power for 10 days. It indeed has proven to be the most snow I've ever seen so far! Wish it would snow like that (minus the power outages) again so my grandsons could see it!
I don’t live in Alabama anymore, but I am trained to watch the national weather radar to identify trends in weather patterns and if I ever see something or concern, I check in with 33/40’s TH-cam stream to see if I need to relay some info to my family. He’s one of the only meteorologists that have ever made me feel comfortable during a tornado.
Matt Laubhan rushing all the workers at WTVA to the basement in the 2014 Tupelo Ms tornado is also an incredible moment.
As a truck driver, I went through Greensburg, KS about 2 weeks after the tornado hit. My wife and I got out and went to the temporary hospital that they set up since the original one was lost in the storm. We spoke with a very nice lady who was the director and gave us a tour of the facility. I remember her showing us a photo album of pictures that were taken immediately after the tornado. There were also pictures in there of President George W. Bush’s visit. For a mobile hospital (basically a tent hospital), it was very impressive. There were many large tents that were connected together by these tunnels they had set up. We made a donation to the relief effort and then drove through the rest of what was left of that town. It was literally leveled. We made subsequent visits to Greensburg after that and it slowly but surely rebuilt and came back to life again. It really was quite amazing to see. One thing is certain, the people of Greensburg are resilient! They had a LOT to come back from, God Bless them all.
There was a tent hospital in Joplin, Missouri following the monstrous EF5 tornado that devastated Joplin on May 22nd, 2011 and destroyed St. John's Medical Center. The staff at St. John's was also conducting business in Joplin Memorial Hall.
In 1973, my dad’s childhood home was affected by the Brent Tornado that spread throughout Alabama and into his old hometown of Childersburg.
This exact storm is what inspired James Spann to go study meteorology and become a meteorologist.
Gary England was my entire childhood around storms growing up in OK. Awesome coverage.
Depending on how bad it gets, he will still give warning to North Alabama.
All my life I’ve grew up around the area of Tuscaloosa and James Spahn was been a staple of our life here, He’s saved countless lives not just in 2011 but all though out his career and that’s something not many people can say. Not just James Spahn but every other meteorologist in no opinion deserve all they praise they get for doing what they do.
Ryan Hall Y'all! His coverage of the long track Mayfield, Ky storm is not only posted here on TH-cam, but he continues to serve Tornado Alley on a regular basis. Thank you, sir. Continued safety in the field.
Love Ryan
ryan is truly one of the best.
Ryan is great!
Ryan Hall, Gary England, and James Spann are the top 3 GOATs of meteorology imo
@@RonnieQuinn99 Ryan is great but not a goat yet but definitely on his way. Gotta be doing this for a while to be in that conversation
I absolutely love James Spann he makes me feel so safe and I don't even live in Alabama he's on it...Can watch him for hours ❤And he don't leave the building till every last threat is over ❤
This is a really lovely tribute to some meteorologists who have learned things the hard way and saved a lot of lives with that wisdom. ❤
James Spann is an absolute LEGEND in the industry and very well loved and respected in Alabama. I live just north of his viewing area but I try to watch his live casts whenever bad weather hits Birmingham area.
I would however like to shoutout Chief Meteorologist Brad Travis from WAFF 48 News in Huntsville, AL. Everyone in his viewing area highly regards him and his team for their amazing work and coverage of severe weather, especially during the April 27, 2011 outbreak. They warn everyone a week ahead of the potential for severe weather and stay on top of it updating the viewing area every single day and make it a First Alert day if the potential is high enough. I've met Brad personally and he's a great guy and very informative and passionate about weather.