Growing up in Alabama meant that I was always taught to take weather seriously. A lot could change in the blink of an eye and before you knew it, we could be in the midst of a tornado. There was many a night where my family and I would be awakened in the middle of the night by weather sirens. My dad would turn on the living room TV and we would watch my favorite meteorologist, James Spann with ABC 33/40. He was a calm voice in the midst of many chaotic late nights and early mornings.

There was something mesmerizing about watching the doppler radar on the television screen. All the television shows would immediately be suspended in order to show the ongoing weather coverage. Because the weather was so unpredictable we never knew how long the tornado warning or watch would last. We would hunker down and hope for the best as we saw the wind, rain, and thunder pick up outside. It’s weird, but typically right before a tornado (at least during the day), the sky starts to look green and there’s an eerie silence before you start to hear the rushing wind that mimics the sound of a freight train.

As soon as we would hear from James that the tornado was on the ground and approaching our direction, My siblings and I would all huddle together in an inside closet or in the bathtub with our helmets on our heads covered in blankets. My parents would then turn the tv volume up and we would listen to it until we heard the all clear or our power went out. It was an occurrence that happened fairly frequently in Alabama. Tornados often resulted in a lot of loss of life in ourarea and we were taught to take it all very seriously. 

Our local news station hosted an event one year around Christmas where the anchors came to introduce themselves and bring some holiday cheer to the community. I remember being so excited to finally meet him in person. I was able to get a picture and an autograph with him and as a kid it was a big deal. It was the highlight of my year. My family moved away from the area when I was 11 and location of our new home in Georgia drastically reduced the likelihood of seeking shelter in severe weather. I’ll always appreciate his dedication to his work and I’m glad he’s still doing it today. Thanks James Spann.