First Alert Weather's Beyond the Green Screen

If we didn’t have water, we wouldn’t have an Arizona as we know it. Royal Norman talks with Tom Buschatzke, the Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources on this edition of Beyond the Green Screen. The question is: can we adequately manager water resources into the distant future.

Almost since the very beginning, Good Morning, Arizona became a mainstay of morning television across Arizona. And right there at the start were the two main players, Jodi Applegate and Dan Davis. Royal Norman, who also helped start the show, got a chance to reunite with Jodi and Dan and that conversation is this week’s Beyond The Green Screen.

Mike Watkiss is a legendary reporter for Channel 3 who did it all, from the pursuit of O.J. Simpson, to exposing Warren Jeffs and the FLDS church. He was at ground zero in New York in the days following 9-11 and he covered the trial of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Mike even liked to chase thunderstorms! On this edition of Beyond the Green Screen, Royal Norman catches up with Mike to share memories and life updates.

Arizona State Climatologist Erinanne Saffell was born to track weather and climate. Raised in Arizona, she’ll tell you her first childhood memory is of a huge flood in the East Valley and stacking sandbags around the family home. In the latest episode of Beyond the Green Screen, Meteorologist Royal Norman talked with Erinanne about the epic flood of 1970.

Ever wonder what it's like to chase tornadoes? First Alert Meteorologist April Warnecke talks with Arizona's own storm chaser, Mike Olbinski, who shares his experiences and thoughts on the new movie Twisters.

Saguaros are the sentinels of the desert, with a life span more than 150 years and heights that can reach over 50 feet. Yet little is understood about how the saguaro will survive and adapt as our climate gets hotter and drier. Meteorologist Royal Norman talked with an saguaro expert, Don Swann, a biologist at the Saguaro National Park in Tucson.

Maricopa County Flood Control wants to save your property and your life. Formed in the late 1950s, the sole job of Flood Control was to limit the damage from desert floods. Over more than 60 years, the organization has grown into one of the top Flood Control Districts in the country, serving a county that’s land area is greater than seven individual states, including Massachusetts and New Jersey. Dan Henz at County Flood Control talks about how he was born to be a meteorologist.

Master gardener Angela Judd returns to the show to recap the spring growing season and give tips on what to grow during Arizona's hot summer. Learn more from Angela at growinginthegarden.com

Just in time for the summer travel season, First Alert Meteorologist April Warnecke shares ideas for exploring, taken from her Good Morning Arizona franchise "April's Arizona Bucket List." She shares her favorite road trips, hikes, hotels, and small towns. April also interviews Chief Meteorologist and Arizona legend Royal Norman about his best stories of exploring Arizona over his decades at AZFamily. 

As the Earth's climate changes, the impacts are felt in just about every way...including baseball. Royal Norman talks with Christopher Callahan from Stanford University about his research into how a warmer planet is impacting America's pastime. 

The Phoenix Fire Department responded to 199 mountain rescues last year. So far in 2024, they have responded to 14 in January, 20 in February, and more than 20 in March. In 2021 the City of Phoenix introduced a pilot program that shut down popular hiking trails like Camelback Mountain and Piestewa on excessive heat days from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. That program was put into full force in 2022, and just last year they extended the closure hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round. Phoenix Fire Captain Bobby Dubnow talked about what goes into their training for these types of rescues, and has a look at the difference in mountain rescues calls during different times of the year. 

Arizona has amazing hiking trails from southern Arizona, to the Valley, all the way up to Flagstaff. During this time of the year, a lot of people may want to try out new hikes while the weather is still nice. Holly Bock spoke with a couple of avid hikers who have done it all. They have suggestions for the person who may just be starting out and doesn’t want anything too challenging, or for the person who may want to push themselves and try something new.  

It seems like allergy season is upon us once again, and our wetter and warmer-than-average weather so far this year has made everything come into full bloom. But did you realize you can create a mostly “allergy-free zone” inside your car with a few simple tricks? First Alert Meteorologist Sean Mclaughlin talks with auto-repair expert Glen Hayward, from Good Works Auto Repair in Tempe, on how to find and change your cabin air filter, what to set your air conditioner on, and why that free hand-wipe at your local car wash will become your new, best friend.

In 2008, the National Weather Service decided to start the Arizona Monsoon every summer on June 15 and end it on September 30. Before that, forecasters tracked dewpoints and looked for three consecutive days of dewpoints of 55-degrees or more to decide the “monsoon had arrived” for the year. Tony Haffer, who spearheaded the change, was the head of the National Weather Service office in Phoenix at the time and talked with Royal Norman on the latest installment of the First Alert Beyond the Green Screen Podcast.

Climate Central is a non-profit organization bridging the gap between climate science and communicators. On this episode, meteorologist Royal Norman talks with Climate Central’s Senior Research Associate Kaitlyn Trudeau about the importance of making climate information accessible.

SRP meteorologists are doing snowpack surveys to look at how much water will be in reservoirs. In a recent survey, they found the snowpack is looking strong across the state. They do these surveys to prepare for floods, and plan for droughts. Holly Bock spoke with SRP Meteorologist Bo Svoma about what they learned from their recent snowpack survey, and what this means for our reservoirs in years to come.

In this week’s Beyond the Green Screen, the First Alert Weather team is talking about growing vegetables in the deserts, from beginners to experts. Royal Norman talked with master gardener Angela Judd, who lives in Mesa, about what you should be planting right now before the heat sets in. Learn more about Angela's amazing work at Growinginthegarden.com

Royal Norman welcomes Tom Frieders to the studio. He's the Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service, and they discuss the process of how severe weather warnings are made across the state.

Phoenix has always had hot summers. In 1990, we recorded a high of 122. But we never had heat warnings until 2008. Find out why we didn’t have them and why we do now with veteran forecaster Paul Iñiguez.

We talk with Zach Brooks, the owner of the Arizona Worm Farm located in south Phoenix. He was surprised as anyone how valuable his worms have become.

Phoenix is getting hotter. Is there anyway we can protect our citizens better as heat deaths soar? David Hondula, the Director of the Office of Heat Response and Mitigation for the City of Phoenix, joins Royal Norman to discuss.

Lt. Colonel Ivan Wild and Marlene Klotz-Collins, the mother of Arizona’s Christmas Angel program, are guests. The program started in 1987 and is in it’s 37th year. 50,000 children who would not get presents for the holiday will because of the generosity of Arizonans.

How many times have we heard that a storm was the worst ever, or the worst in a century, or the temperatures was the hottest ever? ASU meteorologist Randy Cerveny, who’s written a book on the myths of weather records, joins us to say don’t always believe those reports of the worst weather ever.

Mesa master gardener Angela Judd says, yes, you can grow a garden in your backyard in Arizona, even if you want to start small. Get her tips on how to set up your garden, the easiest stuff to plant in November and December, and the best way to take care of your soil.

The First Alert weather team discusses the pros and cons of what our podcast should be named. Join April Warnecke, Paul Horton, Sean McLaughlin, Holly Bock, Ian Schwartz, and Royal Norman as they present the premier podcast, “Beyond the Green Screen.”