ABC 33/40 Severe Weather Coverage (Part 1) April 12, 2020

A major severe weather outbreak brought multiple tornadoes and instances of damaging winds to Alabama and the Deep South on Easter Sunday 2020. Coverage from James Spann, Taylor Sarallo, Meaghan Thomas, Brian Peters, and the rest of the ABC 33/40 team.

[@VeteranMedic00]

“Respect the Polygon”. ~ James Spann

[@sukhastings4200]

?"we dont take this tone of voice very often". Thats one way you know James Spann isnt kidding.

[@ronswann1445]

i would love a respect the polygon tee shirt!!!

[@ethanbean8784]

James Spann is a legend.

[@blankify649]

Always will be

[@silasthegreat983]

Amen

[@theexpert5085]

The man

[@zachslegochannel8193]

Those suspenders are a Legend.

[@extraterrestrial736]

Really is, such a good reporter and a life saver during the April 27, 2011 Tornadoes.

[@minnip0ps]

James Spann has to be my favourite meteorologist. Always so informative and handles these severe weather events with professionalism every time. Many thanks from Ireland.

[@paranormalpabs3745]

Karen W, wow another Irish James Spann fan on here. Definitely one of the world's best meteorologists

[@rileysmith9843]

grogy 79 I’m a Canadian James Spann fan.

[@paranormalpabs3745]

@@rileysmith9843 he's got fans all over the world. My two sisters in Dryden love him too

[@goldacidanimations5247]

James Spann best weathermann

[@cadencoleman9771]

Me To

[@jimmyseaver3647]

I don't even live in Dixie Alley and I know you trust nobody other than James Spann during these events.

[@rudylittlewolf]

It's amazing how well James Spann knows where every store, cafe, church...and probably even barn....is in their city, and even far beyond. i just watched the videos on the outbreak in April of 2011, and it's amazing to see how far in technology we've come, not just with weather radar, but cell phones and other devices make for great remote location streams for the news reporters and citizens, in general. James Spann seems to truly be one of the most dedicated meteorologist I've ever seen. His love for the weather, as well as saving lives, is his priority. God bless you, Mr. Spann!

[@leons7er]

I have waited for this. Greetings from germany.

[@gabrieletrasatti150]

I watched it live, While I was keeping an eye on RadarScope with those 2 nasty supercells in Mississippi. James Spann I love you from Italy.

[@stpeteitsok]

Same here. I watched on Facebook on the phone and radar scope on Mac

[@donaldthomason4588]

James Spann is a hero! I watched his live coverage from start to finish and he indeed saved lives! Great job and thank you for what you and your team does!

[@TheJingles007]

While this was happening, a rare double tornado emergency, with one tornado going following the path of the first, in southern Mississippi, happened. They ended up being EF3, EF4, and EF3. I hope a video of that coverage exists, because it was genuinely scary to watch (but a little relieving now that they were not nearly as strong as they appeared on radar). Live it really seemed like two EF5s were training each other

[@jaredpatterson1701]

The year is still young, but the EF5 drought continues

[@jaredpatterson1701]

The wind pushing east was just too fast for the storms to properly develop into supercells, though all the other parameters were there. It could've been much worse, though RIP to those who died.

[@LillaVya]

For now the first supercell produced 2 EF4s (it probably lifted up for a short time) and the second supercell produced an EF3. It's still preliminary.

[@peachxtaehyung]

@Paul Spomer what did they end up being?

[@justie1220]

@@peachxtaehyung EF-4 and EF-3 if you’re asking about the Bassfield area tornadoes

[@ronswann1445]

i respect the polygon and James Spann!!! i worked twenty years for WIBW TV in Topeka,Kansas and i've seen and done more than my share of severe weather coverage...you sir are the best...

[@UnusualStuff-yl8td]

Huge thanks to Spann for the great coverage! Saving lots of lives out there!

[@RobMathMiller]

I was a mile away from where the Dayton tornado hit in May! I found James Spann in a documentary I watched after that scary experience. I watched his coverage on KZbin of the infamous super outbreak in 2011. He is the best meteorologist in the business! Alabama you are blessed to have him.

[@ILoveOldTWC]

And Joplin stole the attention away from the infamous 2011 super outbreak.

[@peachxtaehyung]

@@ILoveOldTWC I wouldn't say it really took away from that lol

[@peachxtaehyung]

What documentary was it?

[@ryanwolf4101]

This dude is a superstar. Many years of covering bad weather and deadly tornadoes in Alabama.

[@tiffanylove71]

I am literally James's BIGGEST FAN. 💙🙏😀😃😄

[@Anubis424242]

I'm a bigger fan than YOU! Haha!

[@tiffanylove71]

@@Anubis424242 we can battle for the spot 😂😝

[@OCDTraci]

A new contender enters the ring! Let's go, guys! :D

[@carlahead5072]

James Spann you’re indeed a weather hero !!! The citizens of Alabama are grateful to have you keeping them safe -he’s quite knowledgeable about these tornadoes so he well knows what’s he’s doing. Don’t see many tornadoes where I live in eastern North Carolina . I’m originally from Atlanta Ga and lived in Douglasville GA about 40 miles from the Alabama state line. . Bad storms would always . Hope everyone was safe

[@AlabamaElevators]

18:43 “Rotation director”

[@ecoRfan]

31:00 also

[@paranormalpabs3745]

Always love watching James Spann live on Facebook but like to watch again when it's uploaded here. He does an absolutely amazing job keeping people safe. God bless from Ireland 🇮🇪☘️

[@ricomalone1144]

I can watch severe weather coverage all day because I’m a weather weenie.

[@aaronquevedo9099]

2:12:54 "Wesley's Boobie Trap" lmfaooooo

[@todddole5844]

😂That’s hilarious

[@OrigamiSolarMoon]

I'm from Washington state and I like watching Mr Spann.

[@Manning_Yost1820]

It’s so cool how James saves hundreds if not thousands lives

[@LifeIsBeautiful1610]

We lost our house in this storm. We were next door in a family members basement (where we’ve ended up living for the passed 10 months) and couldn’t get any news coverage and were basically blind. It’s amazing how accurate he is on location watching this now

[@rowanuncorpified]

This is James Spann. He served North Alabama and Northeast Mississippi during the April 27 2012 outbreak, and to this day he remains the legend he was a decade ago. Godspeed JS!

[@dodgedemon1461]

We saw the tornado that hit Cherokee county, I live in turkeytown

[@Manning_Yost1820]

Was waiting for this! thanks James

[@ShikataGaNai100]

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T What the polygon means to me." - James "The Weather God" Spann

[@junkiexl86]

I dont even live in Alabama (Upstate SC) and I find myself keeping up with the weather here in the Spring lol. ABC 33/40 weather reporting is very good. Though we did have an EF-2 tornado hit about 3 miles north of me from this storm.

[@sethsteener]

I've been watching some of these older severe weather/ tornado outbreak videos and this Easter setup is VERY similar to a setup coming through AL today, and my home state of NC tomorrow. Being informed and knowing how fast they move, and how the polygons work is helping ease my stress...

[@peachxtaehyung]

How bad did it end up being?

[@sethsteener]

@@peachxtaehyung So I’m fairly sure this comment is from around St. Patrick’s day and from what I recall the outlooks were pretty wrong. There were no tornadoes near me that day and they got people worked up for nothing. Ok maybe not nothing, but the setup didn’t come through and nothing really happened. The moderate risk issued that day was unnecessary.

[@peachxtaehyung]

@@sethsteener I know how Alabama faired that day I just was checking to see how your area went? And also I think nws birmingham did the right thing though because with the environment etc that they had that day it could've been REALLY bad. All of that was almost as bad as 4-27-11 & 4-28-14! It just was mesoscale things and stuff like that that kept it from happening that bad like with in Oklahoma on may 20 2019. Panhandle of Texas got it pretty bad but could've been worse!!

[@sethsteener]

@@peachxtaehyung I was talking about my area. I probably could’ve made that more clear.

[@peachxtaehyung]

@@sethsteener oh I didn't see anything in NC for 2021 st Patrick's day... Or anything around it

[@turtlesoul]

37:21 OMFG DUDE. This comment here made me laugh, so goddamn hard. Oh my days James.... the visuals off of that one comment lol

[@jayoglesby6567]

Can I just point out 53:00 when bad-a** Brian Peters casually runs a red light on live TV?

[@peachxtaehyung]

He couldve been not paying attention or maybe just the fact he needed to keep up with/stay ahead of the tornado! I am sure if police caught him they wouldve understood the situation

[@LillaVya]

I was watching his full coverage on the 2011 Super Outbreak and posted a comment about if he wears his suspenders it's going to be a bad day. I said jokingly (posted on April 11th) if he still works in that field he will be wearing them. AND HE WAS

[@peachxtaehyung]

He said he will probably not be retiring

[@ryanlol33]

You guys need to sell shirts with a radar map/polygon that say "Respect the Polygon" with James on the back or soemthing :D

[@basileusofstupidonia6462]

I would buy it!

[@AidentheRandom]

That Reform tornado around the 42-43 minute mark followed a similar track to the Cordova EF4 on April 27th, 2011

[@scorpionsithlord]

The best damned meteorologist period! Fan from Southwest Oklahoma.

[@ILoveOldTWC]

Is he better than Mike Morgan of KFOR?

[@scorpionsithlord]

By light years! Mike Morgan, to his credit, is panicky. James Spann remains calm while alerting people to pending danger.

[@glazepachecotiktok]

From NE Oklahoma here Tulsa

[@veritasdesigns5067]

Use to live in Trustville, James I left and I see how good I had it at least in the weather department. The models you do everyday. Man that’s gold. Hope ya don’t retire anytime soon because Taylor nice but your a gold standard.

[@rhyshg]

Yesssss, been looking forward to this video

[@sierratrilogy]

Can we please clone Mr Spann and share him with weather stations across the country??? The closest we've had to a meteorologist of his caliber was Greg Fishel, in Raleigh, who was fantastic in his own right, but is no longer there (and I'm two hours southeast of Raleigh, so he wasnt even local to me).

[@katelyndunn5399]

Greetings from Ohio

[@trenthenderson3837]

Best. Weather. Meteorologist. Ever.

[@tomdruzan]

Spann is the man

[@lightupfun4972]

I discovered James Spann accidentally while looking at storm footage. I since have spent hours and hours watching his lengthy telecasts strictly for enjoyment! I live in Minneapolis/St. Paul and we don't get severe weather like you folks in the deep south and great plains do, but if we did, we have no one the caliber of this man whose caring and compassionate persona clearly comes thru. Alabamians are so fortunate to have him. He's a rare breed of broadcaster. The Paul Harvey of meteorology.

[@jonthegamerboy]

Minnesota can still get severe weather and occasionally tornadoes so be cautious

[@StaceyGlover77]

Yikes at 1:14:10 the tornado was headed for where I live, Parrish.

[@theexpert5085]

A legend and a life saver.

[@joshuaraney9403]

James spann is best man for 33/40 news weather team

[@ryzeee30]

When the warning was issued for Jefferson County and Walker County initially winds inside were measured as 110 miles per hour but I do not think that was very accurate

[@peachxtaehyung]

If you mean the Bagley tornado it was rated at 125mph

[@phantom_kitsune7424]

I really wish I would've found this channel before that day so I would've known what to expect also that wasn't a great day for me so the tornado threats really didn't help but that's life

[@AUSTOGO]

Watching from australia

[@ryanbreeze2312]

I'm from Canada. Just watched the 2011 coverage a few days ago. Super cool to see the technology advance

[@Kakert420]

RESPECT THE DAMN POLYGON" RESPECT SPANN HE SAVED LIVES IN 2011

[@jtsharp6129]

Who else is on a James Spann binge now that spring weather is in full swing?

[@jaredpatterson1701]

37:25 😂

[@marykatherinescruggs6980]

My daughter had two that came in front and back of her house . She live at Lake Nickle .on top of the hill above the lake. It crossed that lake and came right in her back yard.. There was two

[@oskarstobinski4522]

Got recomended to me. Rightly so.

[@hogwartsis-1585]

Is spann retired

[@amateurmeteorologistjoshbrown]

James Spann is a pro!

[@igiveup12]

i feel like ive heard this guy before, and i haven't been to alabama since i was 3

[@Parkerstormchases]

YES I CAN WATCH THIS

[@briangreen256]

I grew up in the Bagley area. Nice community 👍

[@ericherff3680]

*Serious tornado threat that could lead to violent tornados* "Oh, be careful of Covid. Pfft." Even James looked like "that's ridiculous."

[@colthuff3]

James Spann he’s our man if he can’t do it no one can. Also where’s the boaz tornado in all this

[@phantom_kitsune7424]

Probably in part 2 Edit: do you also live in Boaz?

[@kaitlynwinne]

I live in Boaz and I was also wonder and this went literally in my fornt yard damaged so many homes and Injured some. But I do remember it was about 6:00 when this happened.

[@Michael-gi5th]

They never covered the ef4/5 that went through Mississippi or am I missing something here?

[@rattmausch]

ABC 33/40 is out of Birmingham Alabama and they cover strictly central Alabama. Mississippi is not in their viewing area (DMA).

[@GW-gz8jh]

AlwaysFair it’s actually a local market so their viewing area is only a cluster of counties in Alabama

[@peachxtaehyung]

Because they have to deal with their own county warning areas that's why...

[@carlahead5072]

James, once again you did it again by warning these people and the people of Alabama are once agin are kept safe because of a weather hero ,which is you James . You know things are quite serious when he wears his suspenders like that as he did during that horrific tornado outbreak on April 27th,2011 .

[@rhondahancock96]

The tornado that came through collinsville went right over my house

[@johannsantiago6801]

Love from union AL ❤💕

[@daletiger35]

That’s classic, putting lipstick on a hog.

[@johannsantiago6801]

3:44:13 my first tornado warning I freaked out

[@jantzenallen3077]

Boaz got hit hard

[@kaitlynwinne]

Yes and it's not even in the vid

[@denelson83]

ABC 33/40 should think about deploying a grid of IR-capable sky cams.

[@williamodle5417]

we got hit in Chattanooga that night

[@johannsantiago6801]

30:08 #respectthepolygon

[@joshgalka9414]

Greetings!

[@rileymcmath5904]

Who els lives in Alabama

[@Im-just-Stardust]

1:56:25 what I told my GF when I met her.

[@silasthegreat983]

Pandemic severe weather is kind of different

[@erikgustafson9319]

Me to pecos posted something today as well

[@mayer1515]

Me my mom and grandparents was watching

[@Burgoat9]

I was watching when the first tornado warning was issued even though I’m in ohio

[@DAPchatt]

I got hit in Rossville Ga

[@MalachiDees2005]

1:04:58 kinda looks like broccoli

[@tornado796]

james

[@tunez9636]

1:25:48 😂