Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636

Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636

Blue skies and sunshine on this Storm Chasing Trip. With no storms, it’s a good time to visit the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center at Norman, Oklahoma. The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center is where where all severe weather predictions and updates originate. We’ll go in inside, In Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636.

Storm Chaser Valhalla

Storm Chasers use information that originates at Norman. Why? Doppler Radar was developed here. Scientists in Kansas City spent springs here back in the day, to research storms. There was a naval air station here. So, there was plenty of room to locate a brand new radar system.

NEXRAD

Doppler Radar has been a game changer since its inception in the 1990’s. NEXRAD changed and continues to change how the world learns about severe weather. In Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636.

Secure Facility

The radar control center is in a secure building shared by several government agencies. One of those agencies is the department of defense. Needless to say, I could not get into this facility. Persistence pays off and after a few calls, NOAA Public Affairs Specialist Keli Pirtle invited me to come over to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center. Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636.

Weather Geek Out

It’s all about weather geeks. Thanks to Keli Pirtle for inviting me in on short notice and for the history lesson. How did the radar system get built at Norman? Finally, Warning Coordination Meteorologist Patrick Marsh gives us complete rundown of how the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center works. Plus some stories about what it is like in this center when major weather is breaking.

Storm Chasers

The idea behind tax payer funded NEXRAD is data products should be available to everyone, and this is one of the reasons we get radar and other NWS products on our smartphones. However, severe weather can be unpredictable. A town, person or chaser can be right under a tornado and not be able to to see it until it’s too late. While the National Weather Service does not have an official position on Storm Chasing Even the National Weather Service is not immune as you will hear. Be Safe.

Sponsored by Brush Studio in The West End, Saint Louis Park, Minnesota

Storm Chaser Valhalla-National Weather Service Norman-Podcast 636

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Podcast 598-Nomad Yoga Family

Podcast 598-Nomad Yoga Family

Untethered

Life is short. If there’s something you want to do, there’s no better time than the present. Most of us have all sorts of reasons why we don’t follow our passion. We have responsibilities and possessions that demand our attention. There are always ‘reasons’ why we can’t do what we really want to do. Find out the first steps in how to do it in Podcast 598-Nomad Yoga Family.

The Nomad Yoga family is Josh and Jenna and their two children. They’d always had a passion for Yoga and Travel. A family tragedy was the transformation clarifying the idea that life is finite. The couple sold their house, their car and most of their possessions to downsize into a used Earth Roamer with a plan to ‘overland‘. Living life untethered. They’ve been on the road now for over a year, heading down the west coast of Canada and the US, on their way to Central America and South America.

It’s a Trend

Living untethered or on the road permanently is a trend these days. There’s more to living this way than just deciding you want to travel. It’s cutting the cord completely. Think of selling your house, car and possessions and adjusting to life on the road, or on the seas, permanently. It’s one thing for an individual or retirees and another thing entirely for a young couple and their kids.

Josh and Jenna and their small children live in about 120 square feet of space in Earth Roamer #28. They travel, teach yoga and teach yogis how to build their studio businesses. How do you live day to day? What about getting the youngsters to school? Child Care? Personal time for each other and time alone? Do planning and checklists go out the window? Once you’re on the road, how do you change when you realize this isn’t a vacation or a long visit, this is actually life now?

Freedom and Technology

Josh answers many questions about living untethered in the conversation we have in Podcast 598-Nomad Yoga Family. We also talk about running a business on the road and the inevitable technology challenges. The desire to break free is a new trend in the United States. Not all services have caught up with it.

With Mobile Podcast Command I’ve done a fair amount of ‘untethered’ travel. I’ve certainly stayed out for long periods of time, whether covering the presidential primaries or some of the festivals around the country every summer. I have had the experience of heading ‘home’ to the Twin Cities and saying to myself, “I’m going home to pick up my mail and go to the bank. Why?”

Just do it

The overland experience is not for everyone. As Josh says in Podcast 598-Nomad Yoga Family, you really can’t plan for it. It’s something you just have to do. Once you’re out there, you pick up what you need along the way. The experience of discovering who you are and what you need is part of the trip.

Sponsored by Hydrus Performance.

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