𝚂𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝙿𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛

My latest Retrospect covers the Jasper #tornado of 1927—photographed by 16-year-old Lucille Handberg who went on to attend the State Teachers College in St. Cloud (now @stcloudstate.bsky.social my alma mater) making her the 1st #stormchaser to attend that school: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/CD8K2...

"I realized that this was a story of a very complex and multifaceted individual that hadn't fully been told up until that point. There was only one book-length biography about Abbe, which was published in 1955 and was written by one of his sons, Truman Abbe, and published by a vanity press. It was a very valuable tool to me in writing a biography of Abbe, but it was far from being objective. So, I thought the time was right for an objective, complete biography of Cleveland Abbe and I pitched the idea to AMS, which at the time had a robust book publishing program. I ended up putting together a proposal, sent it off, and a few months later, heard back that AMS was interested in publishing this book. And it was at the Annual Meeting in 2018 in Austin where I signed the contract. My goal was to have it ready for the Centennial meeting in 2020 in Boston, because I knew that was going to be a big meeting, a lot of history was going to be discussed there, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity." - SEAN POTTER-meteorologist, science writer, and weather historian in St. Joseph, Minnesota—on how he came to write the biography of Cleveland Abbe. For more, listen to the Clear Skies Ahead podcast, with new episodes released every month.

Thanks to @ametsoc.org for featuring me in the April issue of BAMS with a quote from my Clear Skies Ahead podcast interview on how I came to write my biography of Cleveland Abbe.

Listen to the podcast at: blubrry.com/clear_skies_...

Get a copy of my book at: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...

For anyone interested in reading my Retrospect column about the St. Louis tornado of 1896–mentioned in the Forbes piece by Dr. Shepherd–this link should take you to the full text:

www.tandfonline.com/eprint/THT9Q...

A great writeup on why we need a well-funded and fully-staffed NWS. Without weather radars, models, and warnings, we might as well be back in 1896, when a devastating tornado on May 27 cut a 10-mile path of destruction through the heart of St. Louis, killing 255 people and injuring 1,000 others.

Confused about the difference between a severe weather watch vs a warning? Just think of it in terms of... tacos! 🌮🌪🌩

Titanic: The science behind the disaster A likely thermal inversion the night of April 14, 1912 may have created a superior mirage. This would have led to a false horizon, potentially masking icebergs in the distance.

On this anniversary of the sinking of #Titanic, I spoke with @wgem.com in Quincy, Illinois, about the role weather and other environmental factors played in the disaster on that clear, calm, and bitterly cold night in the North Atlantic 113 years ago. www.wgem.com/2025/04/15/t...

Passion or Pragmatism - Advice For Aspiring Scientists Right Now As the research and federal landscapes shift, some students are questioning the viability of scientific careers. Here's some advice.

Inspired by my earlier thoughts today, a childhood bee sting, and something a colleague Paul Walsh said, my weekend thoughts in Forbes dot com offers advice for aspiring scientists right now. And perhaps for seasoned ones too.
www.forbes.com/sites/marsha...

I'm honored to be featured in the latest episode of the @ametsoc.org podcast Clear Skies Ahead: Conversations About Careers in Meteorology and Beyond. Check it out! 😎🌪️🌦️❄️⚡

blubrry.com/clear_skies_...

ICYMI here's the @amswxband webinar I recently participated in: "Sharing Scientists' Stories: A Conversation with Meteorologist Biographers." It was great hanging out with Jim Fleming and Jonathan Martin as we discussed our books about meteorologists!

amsweatherband.org/index.cfm/weat…

Looking forward to taking part in this upcoming @amswxband webinar with fellow meteorologist biographers Jonathan Martin and Jim Fleming and moderated by Mona Behl!

Join us Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 PM ET. Register in advance at:

us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regist…

A #weather report of “Error, Library, Gumbo, Ensign” might leave you scratching your head, but to a weather observer in 1888 it made perfect sense. To learn more check out my latest feature article in @WeatherwiseMag—"Cracking the Weather Code.

tandfonline.com/eprint/K855QVF…

In my latest Retrospect column for @WeatherwiseMag, I discuss the role weather played in the #Chicago Race Riots of 1919.

The first 50 clicks on the link below get free access from @tandfonline:

tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

#OTD 180 years ago painter-turned-inventor Samuel #Morse sent the first official message via telegraph—"What hath God wrought?"—from the U.S. Capitol in #Washington to B&O Railroad's Pratt Street Station in #Baltimore, forever changing how humans communicate.

ICYMI—The presentation I presented with @EloquentScience in the #History Symposium at #AMS2023 today on the unexpected humor of @MonWeaRev will be available online soon... In the meantime, read the editorial on which it was based:

journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/…

Congrats to Anjuli and the newly elected members of the @ametsoc Council! 👏🎉

x.com/ametsoc/status…

Can lessons from weather preparedness be applied to the coming storm that is the caregiving crisis facing America? Find out as I join @paula_span and @BCG's Suchi Sastri in this episode of American Metamorphosis from @atlanticrethink...

x.com/TheAtlantic/st…

Robert C. Abbe, great-grandson of pioneering #meteorologist Cleveland Abbe and grandson of Cleveland Abbe Jr., recently donated letters, documents and other material from his grandfather and great-grandfather to @librarycongress to be part of its Cleveland Abbe Papers collection.

Three great-grandsons of Cleveland Abbe at the unveiling of his portrait at @artsclubdc, located at 2017 I St. NW in #WashingtonDC, his home from 1877-1907. “For those thirty years he gave character to the house,” Cleveland's son Truman wrote. Now his portrait hangs in its foyer.

Three generations of descendants of Cleveland Abbe at the recent event honoring him at his former house at 2017 I St. NW in #WashingtonDC, now home to @artsclubdc.

I noticed that @dcpl had several copies of Too Near for Dreams in its collection, but not at the flagship Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library location, which is just two blocks from where I live, so I donated a copy. Check it out—literally!

bit.ly/3PQAif6

#OTD 50 years ago, Rapid City was devastated by the second-deadliest flash #flood in U.S. history, killing 238 people and injuring more than 3,000 others. This @USGS map shows the extent of the flooding along with photos of damage. Full version:

pubs.usgs.gov/ha/511/plate-1…

Congrats to Ken Graham on his selection as @NWSDirector! On a historical note, Ken is the first head of @NWS to have spent his entire career in the nation's weather service since Willis Gregg, who served as chief of the Weather Bureau from 1934-1938.

I love they way they presented the wind "feathers" back then. They may not be as sophisticated the modern-day wind barbs used on station model plots, but they do have a certain retro look to them.💨

t.co/UeddFeF5mf

250 years ago this week, the Washington, DC, area saw its highest unofficial #snowfall totals ever—up to 3 feet—during what has become knows as the Washington and Jefferson #Snowstorm. Entries below are from George Washington’s diary at @MountVernon courtesy of @librarycongress.

100 years ago today, people across the country woke up to news of the Knickerbocker Theater disaster in #Washington, D.C., which killed nearly 100 people after a record 28 inches of #snow caused the theater's roof to collapse. Here are a few front pages courtesy of
@ChronAmLOC.

An example of popular media reporting on early @MonWeaRev content, a note on "The effects of diminished pressure on #cooking" in the April 1900 issue resulted in a brief newspaper article in Virginia, MN, with the headline "Cook Books Are Useless.#MWR150

bit.ly/MWR150

Check out this wonderful page @ametsoc created to celebrate 150 years of @MonWeaRev. It features the Historical Review @EloquentScience and I wrote about the journal's rich history and legacy and includes a link to share your MWR story. #MWR150

ametsoc.org/index.cfm/ams/…

Thank you, @EloquentScience! It was a true pleasure working with you on this project and I'm looking forward to future collaborations!

x.com/EloquentScienc…

#OnThisDay in 1838, Cleveland Abbe was born in a brick home at number 7 Dutch Street in lower Manhattan. He would go on to become the most famous—and celebrated—meteorologist in America, if not the world, helping lay the foundation for modern #weather forecasting. #TodayInHistory

Thanks, @EloquentScience! This has been a great collaboration and I can't wait to see the final paper celebrating @MonWeaRev's 150th anniversary once it's published.

x.com/EloquentScienc…