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

Is there a name for the period of silence between the lightning strike and the thunder clap?

Asked by Shane Chuvalas over 7 years ago

Great question! Not that I know of. The delay in hearing thunder is because light travels faster than sound. The lightning causes the air to heat and expand rapidly and that shockwave is the thunder. The visible flash gets to you faster. If you were standing right next to the bolt (not recommended) you would see and hear at the same time. Thanks!

I live in Florida. My weather station reported 99% humidity at 7:30 AM this morning. Shortly after observing the reading it started pouring outside and the humidity quickly dropped to 96%. Is this only a phenomenon for areas like Florida?

Asked by Dan about 8 years ago

The humidity is a troublesome reading, Dan. It is not a direct measurement but the product of a formula that considers temperature and dewpoint. Dewpoint is a direct measurement of the amount of moisture in the air. In the morning, for example, the temperature and dewpoint may be the same, 100% humidity. By midday the temperature may have gone up but the dewpoint could stay the same but the humidity reading would go down even though the moisture content didn’t change. Hope that makes sense. I always look at the dewpoint.

Also have you ever been featured in a blooper?

Asked by 56 almost 7 years ago

I think only at the Christmas party. It was so long ago I can’t remember the blooper. Merry Christmas!

What’s the difference between a hurricane and a superstorm?

Asked by Hope over 6 years ago

Good question, Hope. Superstorm isn’t a scientifically recognized meteorological term, most likely a media creation at some point. Hurricane has a definition in the American Meteorological Society Glossary: A tropical cyclone with 1-min average surface (10 m) winds in excess of 32 m s-1 (64 knots) in the Western Hemisphere (North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and in the eastern and central North Pacific east of the date line). Thanks!

The name is derived from "huracan," a Taino and Carib god, or "hunraken," the Mayan storm god. For a more complete discussion, see tropical cyclone.

Hi! My name is Gina. How far away does a lightning strike have to be in order to damage household appliances and hvac units?

Asked by Gina about 7 years ago

Hi, Gina. Interesting question. Might be a little outside my area, perhaps an electrician or power company could weigh in. From personal experience, the house behind us was directly hit some years ago. Did damage their entire system but nothing to the houses on either side (in Texas they are often as close as 15ft. There are lightning protection systems (lightning rods) available for homes. If you are looking for help with a specific case there are “forensic meteorologists” who help with court and insurance cases.

I have looked online for 2 days I pulled up storm tracks on a radar. Each storm track is designated by a letter then a number. It seems that the numbers are sequential. Do the letters have any meaning?

Asked by Kevin C about 8 years ago

Hi, Kevin. I'm thinking you mean the Storm Attributes Table, IDs assigned to radar products. Take a look here and see if this is helpful. Thanks. https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/radar-data/nexrad-products

I have observed many times lightning which is intracloud or intercloud that does not have thunder following the lightning. What is the explanation for the Silence?

Asked by gemeni about 8 years ago

Great question. The outer edge of the distance the sound of thunder will travel is about 15 miles. So you’re seeing lightning that is father away. Thanks!