In this week's program, host Phil Tower dedicates the full program to a conversation on a topic on everyone's mind: the weather! Phil welcomed Storm Team 8 Chief Meteorologist Ellen Bacca, and Blake Harms, Storm Team 8 weekend evening meteorologist for a look back at the biggest weather stories of 2023 and look ahead at the last weeks of winter impacted by the El Niño effect for 2024. 2023 was filled with many significant weather stories, including a record-breaking January 2023 tornado outbreak, Hurricane Idalia, and Hurricane Lee, plus 20 storms named in 2023. It was also the hottest year in recorded history—with six record-breaking months in 2023. Ellen and Blake also talked about the significant impact in West Michigan of the smoke from Canada's worst-ever wildfire season. Grand Rapids recorded its worst day for air quality ever during the summer of 2023 due to the wildfire smoke. And we wrapped up the program with a discussion on the El Niño impact on our weather and winter! The El Niño effect is where surface waters are abnormally warm in the eastern tropical Pacific.
About our guests: Blake Harms joined Storm Team 8 in November 2022. Blake graduated from Hudsonville High School in 2017 and then earned his Bachelor of Science in meteorology from Valparaiso University, where he graduated in May 2021. Chief Meteorologist Ellen Bacca has been part of Storm Team 8 since the fall of 2014. Ellen has won Emmys for Best Weathercast and Weather Anchor in Michigan and Best Weathercast from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. COOL FACT: Ellen was selected as one of the only broadcast meteorologists in the country to participate in the National Severe Storms Laboratory Hazardous Weather Testbed study to test the next generation of tornado and severe storm warnings. Ellen Bacca is also the first female chief meteorologist in West Michigan.
Online: Storm Team 8


TOPICS ADDRESSED: climate change, wildfires, global warming, warming, oceans, tornadoes, tornado safety, hurricane season, the impact of warming on weather patterns.