Brandon Butcher
Meteorologist
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Meteorologist Brandon Butcher is the morning meteorologist at WSAZ. He has been forecasting here since 2011, but Brandon has called the Mountain State home before. Starting in 2000, he worked as Chief Meteorologist at WDTV in Clarksburg, WV. After several years there, he then went to his home state of Massachusetts to work in Springfield; but it wouldn't be long before those 'Country Roads' came calling again.
Brandon earned his degree in meteorology from Penn State University (so he likes to think he can stay out of the Marshall/WVU fray). He is a member of the National Weather Association and the American Meteorological Society, where he holds both their respective "Seals of Approval".
Brandon is a multi-EMMY award-winning meteorologist, including winning back-to-back-to-back EMMYs for outstanding weathercasting in the Boston/New England Region. He also won an EMMY in West Virginia for a special program on the great West Virginia floods of 1985. Brandon earned the award of "Best Weathercaster" in the state of West Virginia in 2005, from the State Broadcasters Association.
Severe and unusual weather is a passion of Brandon's, having ventured out into 6 hurricanes, and broadcast live during a tornado event as the twister was hitting his studio building. Teaching is also one of Brandon's pursuits, as he is earning his Masters Degree in Education and currently teaches meteorology at the collegiate level inside and outside the state.
Brandon is excited to be with the morning show crew at NewsChannel 3, and enjoys hearing from viewers whenever and wherever possible. Whether it's an email, Facebook post, or tweet, he's always glad to interact. Maybe it will even happen on the air. When not forecasting and having fun on the morning show, Brandon likes to enjoy the great outdoors and being with his kids. He could also be seen at the gym, at church, or perhaps an event you have going on in your community! From Hillbilly Days to the Jackson Apple Festival, the Flatwoods Outlets straight down US-19 to the Gorge, and everywhere in between, he certainly likes taking in the sights and sounds. He also likes to play and collect boardgames-- he has hundreds of them. He is willing to share anything besides popcorn-- as his wife can attest.
Brandon is married and has 4 children, (2 daughters and 2 sons). In order from eldest to youngest, they are Cady, Anna, Gavin, and Landon.
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A mighty-fine way to cap off the summer season today. Fall starts tomorrow with an east-coast tropical system bringing rain to parts of the Appalachian corridor.
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Our pattern of pleasant afternoon weather continues (for most of us). It gets more complicated this weekend.
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Continued sunshine does spell some trouble as far as the brushfire and fall foliage seasons are concerned, but there's also a lot to like when we avoid both extreme heat and cold.
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Sunshine burns off the last of the fog, and sunshine stays out for the rest of the day.
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Sunshine continues to dominate these next few glorious afternoons, while "Lee" churns northward in the Atlantic Ocean off the eastern US Coast.
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Most hours of the day will end up rain-free, though there's still plenty of humidity around to scare up a few showers and storms, mainly this afternoon and mainly toward the mountains. This weekend will see the hit/miss pattern of showers continue, though still with plenty of rain-free (and heat-free) hours to be had.
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Temperatures finally back away from their longstanding perch at 90° or above. The return of clouds, showers, and storms help make that happen.
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Temperatures will once again race toward 90° in the sultry late-summer haze. It may well be for the final time though, as scattered showers and storms advance from the west.
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The Labor Day weekend is here and the weather looks to cooperate!
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Idalia swiftly heads out to sea, and sunshine breaks back in locally. Enjoy those temperatures in the 70s today, as we'll be pushing the 90s again this upcoming Labor Day weekend.
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After the locally dense morning fog, it's off to better pastures as a mix of sunshine and clouds and a northerly breeze help keep us in the 70s for much of the afternoon. It's the start of a rather long stretch of pleasant weather that will eventually have us heating up this weekend.
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We'll be tracking more pockets of steady rains coming through the Tri-State today. While most areas can handle these without much more than a temporary disruption, were these same downpours to fall in areas hit hard yesterday we'll have yet more flooding on our hands. There is a Flash Flood Watch for those same hard-hit counties in West Virginia from this afternoon into tonight.
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Flash Flood Warnings continue in communities up I-79 and just south of Charleston in West Virginia through about midday. Be very mindful, do NOT drive across any flooded roadways, even as the rain subsides. Meanwhile, much of the rest of the region, particularly across the Ohio River in Ohio, are experiencing much calmer weather and sunshine. This split picture will be our lot tomorrow as well.
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The early storms fade to our south, but new storms are set to develop in the steamy heat that builds in between. Everyone will have to go through thunderstorms before we can work this heat back down to something more seasonable, even if it takes through tomorrow to do it.
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The morning showers and storms progress southward and fade. Clouds initially hold temperatures more reasonably in the 70s and 80s, but any afternoon sunshine that breaks in will spike us to the 90s in oppressively hot fashion with all this humidity. We'll still be tracking future storm development, each new episode of those capable of causing spot flooding in the downpours they bring.
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The comfortable morning air soon returns to the mid-summer heat as sunshine rules the skies. We'll be tracking approaching storms to our north later today, as they will dictate whether it's even hotter air or the storms themselves that provide the bigger concern Thursday and Friday.
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Temperatures will soar yet again in the returning sunshine this afternoon, but we've got a shot at it being 'slightly' less hot. You may not notice much of a change until the Sun sets though.
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The high heat builds to our west, as we try to hold it off. Either way, each afternoon is still going to be hot around here.
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The dense morning fog lifts for rest-of-the-day sunshine, with temperatures heading for the 80s this afternoon. Despite a few passing showers overnight tonight, all the afternoons right into next week will feature sunshine.
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Clouds will be slow to break across the region, but at least the temperatures will stay comfortable. An isolated/passing shower dots the landscape, but will not be a problem for this evening's events.
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Early clouds and showers have departed, and sunshine will carry the middle of the day. Look for temperatures to stay around the seasonably cool 80°-mark this afternoon, as some comfortable breezes help dry out the air. It won't be a clean sweep though, as we'll still end up tracking a few showers popping up later on.
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It's another "Alert Day" for severe weather potential. Flash flooding is a threat, mainly on the central and northern end of our arriving bands of rain, but also a severe thunderstorm threat, mainly on the central and southern end. Bands of rain and thunder will be coming across several different times today, through the evening hours.
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Morning fog burns off, and sunshine returns for the afternoon. Temperatures will get hot, back into the upper 80s. Today will finish rain-free for the evening events, but Saturday has some question-marks.
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Isolated showers are possible on Wednesday, but more widespread rain and storms arrive Wednesday night into Thursday morning with the next system although the risk for severe weather is low.
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Sunshine has worked back into the Tri-State, this time on much friendlier terms than yesterday's severe weather onslaught.
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Today will be a Severe Weather "Alert Day", as new lines of showers and storms will come across the Tri-State from midday onward. Gusty winds are the main threat, but we can't rule out any other type of severe weather, including even a tornado.
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The thick morning fog lifts for decent afternoon sunshine, propelling temperatures back into the mid and upper-80s. The weekend itself looks hot and summery, though Sunday does pose a few afternoon question marks.
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A little speed bump in our summer climate on Thursday. Now it's back to those lazy, hazy. crazy days of Summer.
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Scattered showers will be moving through today, more toward the south than the north. There's still plenty of hope to get in all the evening events we've got going on, but considering the sheer volume of them there will probably be some who are briefly unlucky with the rain.
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We're expecting another decent day of hazy sunshine and temperatures in those summery mid to upper 80s. It may well also be our last such day for a bit, as showers lurk for tomorrow.
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August starts with a beautiful day of sunshine and lower humidity.
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We're back to a more pleasant sunshine this week. We don't normally get to enter early August with this kind of low humidity, so take advantage of it!
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The Heat Wave gains another gear, putting many of us into an 'Excessive Heat Warning' today. Oh, and of course there will be that afternoon storm risk as well.
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A Heat Advisory is in effect this afternoon for all but the higher mountain counties, as temperatures will cross 90° before midday. We'll also be tracking the development of thunderstorms that can bring that towering gusty downpour as it pushes through. Lots of reasons to be careful these next few days.
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Trying to sneak in a rain-free day today, though we'll still end up with a few 'pop-up' storms. Tomorrow is more concerning as far as the risks for both flooding and severe weather.
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Morning sunshine following yesterday's rain helps steam us up to the 80s this afternoon, which will in-turn spark a few more of those roaming downpours. We'll be seeing a few more days of this pattern.
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Amidst a typical summer day of seasonable July heat, we'll be dealing with Canadian wildfire smoke plus a few rounds of rain/thunder. It will be an on/off kind of week.
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Early showers passing eastward, allowing for better sunshine to spread in from the west this afternoon. Unfortunately the break wont last too long, as we'll be tracking storms again tomorrow.
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Today is a Severe Weather Alert day, as we will be tracking showers and storms coming through, particularly this afternoon. Be wary of possible street flooding in any downpours, as well as the normal summer threats of gusty winds and small hail. A tornado can't be ruled out either, though that is not as likely.
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Today's sunshine pushes us to our hottest day of the week. We'll be tracking the return of showers and storms tomorrow.
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Inching up with the heat each day will put temperatures near 90° today and tomorrow, with showers and storms looming beyond.
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Sunshine battles back during the day today, still making for a hot afternoon, but our best weather hours of the weekend will be up first.
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Hazy, hot, and humid skies bring forth scattered afternoon storms to track as well as temperatures near-90°.
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Most folks won't see the storms popping this afternoon, but we'll all be getting the heat.
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July 4th will start and finish rain-free but chock-full of humidity for most. Some unlucky folks will end up seeing a brief storm pop in the afternoon. Highs today will bein the 80s, but will play like the low 90s in all this mugginess.
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After a week of dealing with a constant rain threat, we're now embarking on improving skies just in time for the weekend -- but it will be a slow journey.
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Low clouds and spotty drizzle still end up being the best part of the day today, as a stronger set of rain bands will be moving in later this afternoon and evening. The steadiest rains come through tonight, as we're trying to get all this out of here in time for an improving weekend.
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Scattered showers again dot the landscape, but we'll be trying to sneak in a bit more glimpses of hazy sunshine too. Temperatures will stay in the 70s this afternoon, as this pattern sticks around for another couple of days-- hopefully exiting in time for the weekend.
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