James Spann Biography
James Spann is an American Emmy Award-winning meteorologist and a podcast host based in Birmingham, Alabama, He presently works for WBMA-LD, ABC 33/40, Birmingham’s ABC affiliate. Spann has been working in the journalism field since 1978. He is also the host of the weekly podcast WeatherBrains, which he started in 2006.
In addition, James was asked to join WAPI (NBC 13) in Birmingham as the principal weather anchor. At the age of twenty-three, he started his new job the same week that Hurricane Frederic made landfall in Mobile Bay. Following a five-year stint on Channel 13, Spann moved to KDFW-4 in Dallas, Texas. He won the 1985 Katy Award for Best Weathercaster from the Dallas Press Club while he was there. In 1986, however, he resigned from his position and relocated to Alabama. Moreover, in Demopolis, Alabama, he co-owned a tiny AM-FM radio station with Dave Baird. In October 1989, he returned to television, this time as the main weatherman on Birmingham’s WBRC-TV. Simultaneously, he enrolled at Mississippi State University in a meteorology program. James earned the NWA as well as AMS seals of approval upon his graduation.
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Spann is the founder of The Meteorological Factory, which supplies weather data to industrial and business clients as well as broadcasts weather forecasts for many radio stations. He was the 33rd individual in the United States to be designated as a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist by the American Meteorological Society.
He was on TV for ten hours on April 8, 1998, during a tornado warning for western Jefferson County. An F5 tornado impacted Oak Grove High School before 8:00 p.m. James spoke from a helicopter the next day about the warning and the school’s destruction. James hosted a television series about severe weather safety in 2004.
After finishing fifth grade at Verner Elementary, he transferred to Eastwood Junior High School. James was thereafter transferred to Tuscaloosa High School, where he received his diploma in 1974. James volunteered as an amateur radio operator while attending Tuscaloosa High School. During the 1973 Brent tornado and the 1974 Superoutbreak, he assisted in the transmission of information. He went on to the University of Alabama after high school. While still a student at the University of Alabama studying electrical engineering, James began working as a disc jockey at WTBC-AM in Tuscaloosa while still a student at the University of Alabama.
Meteorologist
In 1973, he began his broadcasting career at WTBC radio in Tuscaloosa. He was assigned to the night shift, while Dave Baird, a former ABC 33/40 anchor, was assigned to the morning shift. After the tornadoes hit Jasper, Alabama in 1974, James volunteered for many hours. In the summer of 1978, he began his television career at 33/40 precursor WCFT in Tuscaloosa, the “33” in 33/40. James began working for WSFA in Montgomery in late 1978 as a weekend sports anchor and part-time weatherman.
After working as an afternoon-drive announcer at WHHY-FM (“Y102”) in Montgomery during the summer of 1979, James was appointed as a chief weatherman at WAPI-TV in Birmingham, despite having no official weather training. He became one of Montgomery’s youngest chief weathermen at the age of 23. When Channel 13 was sold to Times Mirror and renamed WVTM-TV in 1980, James impressed his new supervisors enough that he was transferred to KDFW, a Dallas-based sister station, in 1984. In 1985, the Dallas Press Club named him the best weathercaster in the Metroplex, beating out strong competition like Harold Taft of KXAS-TV and Troy Dungan of WFAA-TV.
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After WBRC was purchased by News Corporation in 1996, James departed the station and began dropping its long-standing affiliation with ABC in order to join Fox. Because James was dissatisfied with Fox’s diet of reality shows and other programming, he joined some of his former WBRC coworkers at ABC 33/40, which was founded by merging Anniston’s WCFT and WJSU-TV with a new low-power repeater in Birmingham. WBRC had been displaced as Birmingham’s ABC affiliate by the newly created station. Since then, James has been working for ABC 33/40.
James is a published author in addition to his journalistic work. The most well-known of his books is “Weathering Life.” His eyes were focused on the sky in wonder as he grew up in rural South Alabama. After overcoming adversity as a youth, James channeled his passion for the weather into a long and fruitful career as a professional meteorologist. He also became a writer who specialized in weather-related topics.
James Spann Age
How old is James Spann? Spann is 67 years old as of June 2023. He was born James Max Spann Jr. on June 6, 1956, in Huntsville, Alabama, in the United States of America. In addition, he celebrates his birthday on the 6th of January every year, and his zodiac sign is Gemini.
James Spann Family
Spann is the son of Max and Carolyn Spann. While he was a child, his family relocated to Greenville, Butler County. Carolyn worked as a secretary at Greenville High School, while his father, Max, was a timber salesman. Spann’s father left the family when he was seven years old, leaving Carolyn to raise him. Spann and his mother moved to Tuscaloosa after finishing fourth grade so that his mother could finish her study at the University of Alabama and become a teacher.
James Spann Wife
Spann is blissfully married to her darling wife, Karen Spann. The duo tied the knot on June 6, 1981. In addition, the couple has been blessed with two children: James Jr. and Ryan.
James Spann
Spann stands at an approximate height of 5 feet 8 inches tall.
James Spann Net Worth
Spann has an estimated net worth of between $1 million and $5 million as of 2023. His income is mainly attributed to his successful career as a meteorologist.
James Spann Salary
Spann receives an estimated annual salary ranging from $45,000 to $112,500.