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TV9 First Alert Storm Team Weather Lab Blog!

East Buchanan Elementary school was the last stop for the Weather Academy today.  It was an early morning drive to Winthrop for me this morning, but a very nice drive through the rolling hills and small towns.  The creeks and streams looked to be running a bit high on the way there, and there's still alot of snow to be melted yet in this area.

I was impressed with the A/V staff at East Buchanan - when I got there, everything was set up, it was terrific!  The kids were great too, with about 120 of them 3rd through 5th grade.  The Airkooza was quite a hit, and even some teachers participated in getting their hair blown back to simulate pressure.  Of course, we had to make some clouds too!

Some of the classes are in the midst of a weather unit right now, and they asked tremendous questions.  A 5th grader even mentioned to me about how her weather project will include warm, cold, stationary, and even occluded fronts!  I didn't even learn about occluded fronts until college!  What a great opportunity to know about weather at such an early age!  Thanks East Buchanan, we had a great time!

The TV9 Weather Academy travelled to Shellsburg today.  With one day left of school until spring break, the 200+ kids I talked to were anxious to see their week off – and some warmer weather too!  On the drive there, I did notice quite a bit of extra water standing around, we sure have a long way to go to get rid of this snow. 

The staff and kids at Shellsburg were amazing, and we had a great time.  We talked about sun safety, flood safety and what to do in the event of a tornado.  Several brave kids volunteered to get their hair blown back by the Airzooka, another was a cloud under high and low pressure and I quizzed a very brave 4^th grader on some weather information.  In addition, the nerf football and earth beach ball saw their time in the air as I tossed them out into the waiting arms of 200 kids.

Thanks so much Shellsburg, it was a great time!  We’ll be crossing our fingers for some warmer weather and a bit of dry time!

I had the privilege of putting on a Weather Academy for Prairie View Elementary today, which is a part of the College Community School District.  Because of bad weather a few weeks ago, today was a make-up Weather Academy.  The weather was much better this time!

Prairie View was easy to find despite the many school buildings surrounding it.  Located alongside I-380 just north of The Eastern Iowa Airport exit, there are many signs leading you to the various schools making it easy to navigate.

I spoke to the 5th graders today and they were a fun and energetic bunch.  They knew the answer to nearly every question I had.  I stumped them on one, which I do at every school it seems.  I put up a picture of a stationary front and asked them what it was.  It's a tough one.  The teachers usually have to help with that one and I even stump them sometimes.

I had fun today and am glad we finally got you in Prairie View!

The Weather Academy travels again, this time to Norway Elementary.  I have to say, driving out there this afternoon, that BIG snow drifts still exist in the rural areas, and it was very clear to see where plows and other winter equipment have been.  The gymnasium at Norway Elementary is top notch, and incredibly spacious, so we had quite a bit of room in there today.

We started out by talking about the sunshine fueling our weather, and I think the general consensus was that we wanted warmer weather to come soon!  The group of students were very fun (over 300 kids today!), and very interactive as well.  We talked about high pressure, low pressure, and severe weather safety.  We also used principal Huinker as a cloud, made a thunderstorm, made some thunder, and played around with the AirZooka.  Afterwards, principal Huinker took me to the second floor where some fourth graders had made weather posters - they looked terrific!

Thanks for having us Norway, we had a fun time today!  Let's hope summer isn't too far away!

Once again I was on the road today with the TV-9 Storm Team Weather Academy.  Today I got to spend the morning with the students at St. Jude Elementary in Cedar Rapids.  This talk was rescheduled from earlier in February, when school was cancelled due to ice and snow.  Needless to say the 200 Pre K - 2nd grade students were excited to see the sunshine and milder weather today.

We gathered in the gymnasium and thanks to the tech folks at St. Jude we were able to display our graphics along with the weather presentation.  We have a lot of fun learning why we have weather, looking at where our weather comes from and finding out if high or low pressure brings good or bad weather.  I did put one student "under pressure" by asking her some very tough questions.  Thanks for being a good sport.

Severe weather was also a main topic of conversation, including watches, warnings and safety.  Remember, "Don’t be scared, Be prepared."

Thanks again to St. Jude Elementary for hosting me this morning.  Hope you all have a great Easter!

BTW - If you want my macaroni and cheese recipe drop me a note and I will send it to you.

It has finally become my week for weather academy and what a way to start - at Shimek Elementary, where I was a K-6 student!   I will say though, now that I stand about 6'5", Shimek was a bit of a smaller place for me than I remembered.  It was nice to see some of the old staff that taught me way back when I was younger.  The playground though, is still awesome, and one of the best in town in my opinion!

Right as the students walked in, the fun began as I launched a foam football into the group of students.  Couple that with a earth beach ball, and we were really having a good time.   One of the topics we talked about was high pressure and low pressure, as well as how clouds develop. 

I felt right at home at Shimek, and it was great to be back again.  I can remember the endless days of 4-square, ball tag, and basketball there.  Yep, i'd love to have recess again....maybe I should ask my boss about having a 30 minute lunch recess.  Thanks so much Shimek, it was a great time!

My final stop on my Weather Academy tour today brought me back to my old stomping ground in my hometown of Cassville, Wisconsin.  I spoke at St. Charles School which was the elementary school I attended as a kid.  If you are wondering where Cassville might be, it is a quaint little village of 1,000 residents nestled along the Mighty Mississippi River in Grant County, about 30 miles upriver from Dubuque.  There is a car ferry that crosses the river there from Clayton County, Iowa, and I suggest you check it out sometime this summer.

After enjoying lunch with my cousins in Lancaster after my morning school visit, I made the 20-minute drive to Cassville taking Highway 81.  Let me tell you, the snow drifts along this road and many others in this area are incredible.  Certain stretches of the road are like driving through tunnels with walls nearly 20 feet high!  The snowy landscape seriously makes it look more like January outside rather than March.  Will Spring ever arrive?

The audience for my afternoon talk at St. Charles in Cassville consisted of about 70 students and staff.  They were thrilled to have me speak and talk weather.  With it being Friday afternoon, I held a question and answer session at the conclusion of my presentation.  Questions ranged from "What does it take to become a meteorologist?" to "How old are you?"  The response to the latter was, "Find out how old Brett Favre is and subtract 10."  Of course, with almost everyone in Wisconsin being a Green Bay Packer fan, this young man knew the answer in no time.  Yes, it made me feel old!  I was also asked who my favorite teacher was during my schooldays at St. Charles, and with two of my former teachers present, let's just say I "pled the fifth."

As the students were exiting the gym, a couple of them came up and asked for my autograph, and before I knew it, I was touring all the classrooms and signing autographs for every single student and teacher in the school!  My hand and wrist have yet to forgive me, but it was well worth it.  Thank you for your hospitality, St. Charles.  It was great coming back home!  And yes, I have cousins and neighbors attending school here, too.  Thanks for watching, boys and girls!

My last day of Weather Academy this week took me across the Mississippi River to two schools in snow-covered southwestern Wisconsin.  The site of my first stop was St. Clement School in Lancaster this morning.  Lancaster is a city of 4,000 people located in the heart of Grant County about 30 minutes north of Dubuque. 

For those of you keeping track at home, the drive from Cedar Rapids to Lancaster takes a little less than two hours.  Thankfully, Meteorologist Josh Baynes was gracious enough to cover my morning and midday shifts this morning so I could head to up to Wisconsin last night and stay with my mom and dad.  Lancaster is only 15 minutes away from where I grew up, and after 13 hours of sleep last night, I was full of energy and ready to go!

About 120 students and staff were in attendance, and we had a blast making a mock rainstorm and learning how thunder is created from lightning.  Once again, I was honored to be speaking to such an intelligent group of youngsters who knew exactly what to do in the event of flooding, thunderstorms or tornadoes.

Thank you St. Clement for having me!  Also special thanks are in order for a little guy named Josh who offered me a piece of his birthday cake.  It was delicious!  Also, I need to give a special shout-out to my little cousins Andrea, Brittany and Mallory who were in attendance, too.  Have a super Spring, Lancaster, and Go Pack Go!

The TV9 Storm Team Weather Academy was back in session again today, and this time it took me to St. Mary's Elementary School in Manchester.  St. Mary's had the largest group I've spoken to so far this week.  Nearly 200 students and staff attended, and the assembly was held in their brand new gymnasium that opened within the last year.  I swear there wasn't a scratch on the floor...until after we did the rain dance that is.  Sorry about that!

Once again, it is truly amazing to find just how much knowledge these kids already have about weather and weather safety.  With every question I asked today, I received the correct answer from someone in the group almost instaneously.  Pictured here is my buddy Matt who volunteered to be a water droplet in our makeshift atmosphere.  Let's just say this boy can dance unlike yours truly!

It was another picture-perfect day for the Weather Academy.  So far, I have had nothing but good luck on my side this week when I've traveled out of town.  The sun was shining brightly on my trip up Highway 13, but I see can road conditions weren't that good recently since the DOT was clearing huge snow drifts off the shoulder of the southbound lane.  By the way, I did ask the group if they wanted more snow, and I heard a resounding "No!"  I guess it's time for Old Man Winter to pack his bags.

Thanks, St. Mary's!  You were fabulous!  And to the young man in the second row wearing the Brett Favre jersey, way to go!  It made my day to see Number 4 lives on.

Today's TV9 Storm Team Weather Academy tour took me to Tanager Place School in Cedar Rapids where I spoke to about 25 students and staff.  It's a good thing I stayed in town because, you guessed it, more snow moved through good ol' Eastern Iowa.  I asked the group how they were liking all the snow we've had so far, and the consensus is for Spring to begin soon!

With that being said, we discussed the atmosphere and what to expect when the cold season gives way to warmer air.  Obviously, the changing seasons often lead to the potential of violent weather that includes tornadoes, thunderstorms and flooding.  We talked about finding your safe place during severe weather, and once again, my job today was very simple because this exceptional group of students knew exactly what to do in each type of event.

After my presentation, I felt like quite the celebrity having to autograph a First Alert Storm Team picture for each student and even for a couple of the Tanager Place staff members.  You know who you are ;)

Thanks Tanager!  I look forward to visiting again in the future.

Today's TV9 Storm Team Weather Academy took me up Highway 151 to Dubuque where I visited a group of fabulous youngsters at Dubuque Lutheran School.  For those of you not familiar with Dubuque Lutheran, it is located on JFK Road just a few blocks south of Asbury Road.  I couldn't have asked for a nicer day to visit Dubuque with all the sunshine and blue sky, though maybe a little warmer weather wouldn't have hurt.

I spoke to a small group of 32 students, but let me tell you, the knowledge this bunch had was insurmountable.  One of the questions I ask at Weather Academy is how far away the Sun is from Earth.  One student piped up and blurted an answer of 93,205,000 miles before I hardly finished asking the question.  To help put this distance in perspective, I always use the analogy of Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre and how many entire football fields he would have to throw the football in order to get the ball to the Sun.  Of course, I heard about Favre's retirement from the NFL on the radio on my way to Dubuque, and the students felt my pain.  Next time, I may to have to come up with a different analogy to explain the Earth-Sun distance.

This group was also very well versed in naming the different types of fronts and knowing how to stay safe in severe weather.  Kudos to Barbara Schubert and the teaching staff of Dubuque Lutheran for doing such a spectacular job expanding the students' weather knowledge! 

Thank you for having me visit and I hope you all enjoyed the rain dance!

Wilson Elementary in Cedar Rapids was the site of my very first TV9 Storm Team Weather Academy this week.  I have to admit I was worried that my visit to Wilson was going to be postponed because of a possible school delay with the snow and ice that fell last night.  Thankfully, a delay was not the case even though the streets on my way there were mostly ice-covered.

This was my first time visiting Wilson Elementary, and I was enthralled by the building as I arrived because it has that vintage school look with great architecture.  I had a fabulous time speaking to about 170 third, fourth and fifth graders.  I was amazed by how much the students already knew about severe weather safety!  They made my job so much easier.  Nice work, kids!

At the end of my slideshow, I presented the school with a Weather Academy DVD containing plenty more detailed information regarding severe weather and severe weather safety that will hopefully be incorporated into the school's teaching curriculum.

Special thanks go out to Lisa Sevick and the faculty and staff of Wilson for their great hospitality during my visit.  For those of you who asked for my autograph, enjoy!  It was truly my pleasure.

Today's TV9 Storm Team Weather Academy landed in Farley at Drexler Elementary, which is part of the Western Dubuque school district.  Talk about a white-knuckle trip!  From Cedar Rapids, I decided to take County Road Y13 from Highway 151 into Farley.  It was more thrilling than riding a roller coaster because of yesterday's snow and today's wind.  Several sections of the road were drifted over still making it almost impassable at times.

Anyway, what a great group at Farley, and a big group for that matter!  I spoke to just over 370 students.  Mrs. Martin (the principal) was very helpful in my setting up and taking down.  She also acted as a believable gaseous water droplet:). 

I was on stage today at the Peosta Community Centre (yes, I spelled it right) for the TV9 Storm Team Weather Academy.  The elementary school is located right by the centre which is handy for events like the Weather Academy.  

The students, or cadets as I like to call them, were a great bunch.  They paid attention well and were good listeners.

Something funny happened...when I put up a picture of a tornado on the screen, a few students began clapping.  They were fans I guess! 

Thanks to Kevin Cartee with the Peosta Community Centre for applying for the Weather Academy last fall!

Sageville Elementary was the site of today's TV9 Storm Team Weather Academy in beautiful northern Dubuque County.  It was my first time in Sageville.  I'm a sucker for hilly terrain and I found it around Sageville.  I want to return in the fall when all the leaves are changing colors!

I spoke to the entire school today - all 300+ of them!  I felt like a rock star, no not because they know me from TV, but because I got to wear a microphone that wrapped around my neck.  Look out Justin Timberlake!

Kudos to you Sageville!  You were a great host and should be proud of yourselves.

Today, I headed to Starry Elementary in Marion for the TV9 Storm Team Weather Academy.  It was chilly outside unloading my gear!  I'm ready for Spring!  It was so cold that my laptop computer wouldn't start at first.  I suppose I shouldn't have left it in my car all night.  Don't tell our TV9 engineers!

Anyway, I spoke to the 3rd graders and I must say, they were a very well-behaved group.  They were attentive and seemed very interested in all that we talked about.  A few students helped me during the assembly and one let me shoot an airzooka at her.  Don't worry, no one was injured.

I also had the group help me talk about lightning happens and why we hear thunder.  Thus all of us having our arms extended in the picture.

A special thanks to Mrs. Asa for inviting me to Starry Elementary!

Today's TV9 Storm Team Weather Academy headed to Taylor Elementary in Cedar Rapids.  With the wintry weather, of course the kids wanted to know about school getting out early or delayed tomorrow.  It sounded as if they actually wanted to stay at school so they don't have to go too far into summer making up days.

I spoke to the 2nd through 5th graders and what a fun bunch!  We talked about high pressure, low pressure, cold fronts, warm fronts, stationary fronts and what to do if there is severe weather.  Part of the assembly involved turning Dr. Knight into a cloud!  After seeing him (check out the picture), I'm pretty sure he was born to be a cloud!

I also had a young man help me play a little football to show how far away the sun is from the Earth.  I was going to have him run to the sun, but I didn't since it is over a billion football fields away!

Thank you Taylor Elementary!