About Us
A Love of Weather
Johnny completed his B.S. degree from Mississippi State University in Geosciences/Operational Meteorology in 2016, but his love of weather began long before.
In his own words...
My weather "career" began when I was about 4 or 5 years old. I was in first grade and a bad storm came through one night. Of course, at the time, I had no idea what storms were or how they formed. I heard lightning, thunder, heavy rain, and wind that night. The next morning, I got up and was getting ready for school when my mom told us to come outside. Our big apple tree had fallen over and had nearly hit the side of our house. I was fascinated by the power that could topple a tree. At that moment, I knew what my job was going to be and that was a meteorologist.
I soon began watching The Weather Channel and our local television station, WTVA, out of Tupelo, MS. I met WTVA’s former chief meteorologist, Dick Rice, when I was about 9 or 10 years old. We talked about weather and Hurricane Andrew. My first weather interest was tracking and watching Hurricanes.
April 27, 2011
Although many major storms had broken out in our area in March 2011, it was April that brought our severe weather/tornado season into full force.
April 27th, 2011, was extremely devastating across the South. On that day, my hometown, Smithville, MS, was struck by an EF-5 tornado. My family and I were very fortunate. We survived without a single scratch, but our home was destroyed.
Since April 27th, 2011, I have had the opportunity to meet and work with several great meteorologists and storm chasers, including Sean Casey and the crew of Storm Chasers. I am blessed to count as friends people from the National Weather Service, Storm Prediction Center, and the National Hurricane Center. I owe a great deal to friends including former President of the National Weather Association, Bill Murray, Meteorologist Jeff Berardelli, Meteorologist Jennifer Watson, Dr. Laura Myers, Director of the Center for Advanced Public Safety, University of Alabama, Meteorologist James Spann, ABC 33/40, Birmingham, and, best of all, Jim Cantore from The Weather Channel.
Media
Johnny is currently the "Weatherman in Residence" for the Regional Rehabilitation Center in Tupelo, MS. To check out Johnny's blog and find out more about how this agency is serving those with physical disabilities click here.
Author Kim Cross shares the experiences of Johnny's family and many others during the April 2011 tornado outbreak in her touching and compelling book, What Stands in a Storm.
Meteorologist James Spann interviews Johnny on WeatherBrains episode 366.
April 27, 2011 remembered by the Daily Mountain Eagle
Johnny's experience in Tropical Storm Gordon
Johnny alerts James Spann that he is trending, and it's not a good thing. Video at 1 minute 15.
Help for those, like Johnny, with speech impediments
How Johnny met Jim Cantore and the best raincoat ever.
Southern Living April 27 Tornado Stories 1
Southern Living April 27 Tornado Stories 2
The best blue jeans for any weather.