On this date in 1963, voters trekked to the polls in great numbers to vote in the mayor’s race in Birmingham, despite a steady rain. The heated mayoral race pitted attorney Albert Boutwell, Tom King, J.T. Waggoner and Commissioner Bull Conner. Cuba dominated the headlines, with stories about Castro, reconnaissance flights over the island nation and the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion. I-59 was still proposed northeast of Roebuck to Argo. The Argo to Springville section was already complete.

The winter had been a cold one. So much so that the Weather Bureau reported that the winter of 1962-63 had been the coldest on record in Birmingham. The afternoon edition of The Birmingham News warned that the city was under a storm alert until 8 p.m. The front page article reported that the U.S. Weather Bureau expected thunderstorms that were entering West Alabama to intensify and become severe. The piece went on to say that there was a risk of one or two tornadoes between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. The AP Wirephoto on the weather page showed the culprit: a low pressure system over western Tennessee. From the low, a cold front trailed southward into eastern Texas. A warm front was moving northward over Alabama. It was a classic setup for severe weather. Headlines on the weather page told of a major snowstorm over the Rockies and the Midwest.

Temperatures were in the muggy 70s about 3:35 p.m., a tornado sizzled down near Bessemer. It moved northeast, remaining on the ground for fifteen miles, tearing through Homewood and into Mountain Brook. Bessemer was the hardest hit, with the worst damage along second and third avenues between 19th and 21st streets. Fortunately, the F3 tornado killed no one, but thirty five people were injured along its path.

Really enjoying the day here in Starkville. Matthew Seals got a standing ovation after his talk... people were locked in to every word he was saying. I sure appreciate him taking the time to come over here and share his story; he touched many lives. He is headed back to Birmingham this afternoon; we will be here through tomorrow night.

As I write this, J.B. Elliott is working on lunch at our midday break. I have not seen J.B. eat this much since the late 1970s. And, there is a long way to go with the steak dinner tonight and the bash at the Little Dooey BBQ tomorrow night. He might not eat again for weeks.

It was very interesting to hear the presention this morning from Davis Nolan with WKRN in Nashville... they had an F3 tornado in downtown Nashville on April 16, 1998, only a few days after our big F5 here in Birmingham on April 8 of that year. Makes me wonder what happens when a tornado goes through downtown Birmingham. I hope not anytime soon, though!

We have heard from Keith Westerlage of The Weather Channel, with a presentation called "Are We Television Twins?", and Chris Naille from Hagerstown, MD who shared his experience getting his first TV weather job recently. Keith showed some pretty funny bloopers from TWC... nice to know that make big boo-boos too.

As I type this Bethany Ruschill of Frank Magid Associates (a major local TV consultant) is now telling the young students here how to get a TV weather job and keep it. I probably need to listen to this!

It was great talking with Dr. Chuck Doswell this morning, one of the legends in the science of meteorology. Dr. Doswell will be speaking tomorrow...

I will be in a panel discussion shortly so I will have to turn off the laptop... today has been the broadcast workshop; tomorrow the technical papers begin. I will try to get the highlights posted here as they are presented... there is usually some excellent information that comes out.

Up and running from the Southeast Severe Storm Symposium on the campus of Mississippi State University. Gotta love wireless Internet access..

Today is the day for the broadcasters workshop; right now Rich Apuzzo from WXIX-TV in Cincinnati is speaking on "ingredients of a great weathercast". Guess I better pay attention.

I will be speaking at 11:00, and I have a "surprise" guest as part of my presentation. Matthew Seals, who survived the F5 tornado in Birmingham in April 1998, will share a few words with those here today. I have great fear most TV weather people have become disconnected with people, and Matthew will be a great human lesson. His 8 year old son died in the tornado, and he remains in a wheelchair from his injuries. His story is amazing, and a real reminder of why we are in this business.

Looking around the room I see some heavy hitters... the famous tornado researcher Chuck Doswell is here, even our own J.B. Elliott! Amazing to watch J.B. down those waffles at the Riverchase Waffle House at 5:00 this morning.

I will make running posts here on the speakers and information we gather today and tomorrow....