TV Meteorologist

TV Meteorologist

Kevin Selle

Wichita Falls, TX

Male, 55

I've been a broadcast meteorologist on television since the early 1990's. Happy to answer any questions about the weather or local TV news. Yes, I often wear sneakers on set just out of view of the camera.

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326 Questions

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Last Answer on December 24, 2019

Best Rated

I've read meteorologists use *a lot* of math in their studies. How about the geometry? Would you say meteorologists use more Euclidean or more Non-Euclidean geometry, specifically when studying tornadoes? Thank you!

Asked by Courtney almost 8 years ago

Hi, Courtney. I’ll have to pitch that one to meteorologists in the research and numerical modeling fields. I certainly use their products but building them is out of my area. Thanks.

How can they predict a foot of snow when the temperature is going to be above freezing?

Asked by Richard Ferstandig over 7 years ago

Great question, Richard! Each storm and location is a little different. Much of the precipitation type is determined above the surface of the earth. The snowflakes form thousands of feet above the ground and stay frozen as they fall. A very shallow layer of air at the surface could be above freezing but not deep enough to melt the snow.

Is Hurricane Irma only considered a hurricane at the eye, or center, of the storm and beyond that only a tropical storm? So, for example, hurricane Harvey didn't hit Houston, a tropical storm did?

Asked by Kim Harris almost 8 years ago

Hi, Kim. Nope. The maximum sustained winds of any part of the storm (mostly likely near the eye) determine the designation of the entire storm. Harvey hit peak strength at Category 4 as it came ashore near Rockport, TX and the center never did cross Houston.

Hi I’m from Sheppard middle school i’ m in 6th grade and I’m doing essay and I’d like to get information about layers of the atmosphere if you know anything about it and how this helps us stay safe .

Asked by Kassy about 7 years ago

Hi, Kassy. I would start here: https://scied.ucar.edu/atmosphere-layers

Those folks are experts and you can also do a web search for "layers of the atmosphere". Good luck!

We were having trouble deciding if todays clouds were stratus or cirrus in Ore City, Texas. We have pictures if you can help.

Asked by 4thgrade over 8 years ago

Tough to say without seeing the pictures. If you would like to post them somewhere with a link I'd be happy to look. You could also do a Google search for "cloud classification" and see if something looks familiar.

Why does a low pressure system take only a day or so to cross the Atlantic only to stall north west of Scotland. Why does the coralis affect not keep it going?

Asked by Jim almost 8 years ago

Hi, Jim Storm systems at that latitude are driven by what is usually called the jet stream, which is a river of faster moving air and a series of large scale waves in the atmosphere. It does not flow at a constant speed or wavelength and is changing all the time. Storms will approach Scotland at different intervals and can move faster/slower or stall based on many influences. The Coriolis Effect accounts for the influence the spinning earth has on motion, and while part of the system, less directly affects the speed of the systems. I think the more direct answers to your question is that the speed of the storms is affected by a number of factors, not just Coriolis. Thanks!

How many weather models does a forecaster have to work with and where is the data for the weather models coming from?

Asked by Richard Ferstandig over 7 years ago

Complicated answer, Richard, but a good question. There are quite a few and I really can't give a number off the top of my head. Easily more than a dozen It is complicated because different models offer different solutions. Some are short range, some are longer range. Some are US based, others European and Canada and Japan. To further complicate the issue some models are run as "ensembles" meaning they are run from the basic initial data but small variations are introduced to give different solutions. The basic input data is collected twice a day from about 900 upper air sites, or weather balloons, launched twice a day, noon and midnight Greenwich mean time. The idea is to take a snapshot of the entire planet atmosphere at the same time. Also, more and more data, from satellites and radar for example, is now ingested into the models to varying degrees. A shorter answer is, on a regular day I'll look at three or four.