One of the south's most popular weather personalities, ABC 33/40 Chief Meteorologist James Spann traveled to South Alabama this week and visited with third graders at Florence B. Mathis Elementary School in Foley. 

Spann, who also hosts the WeatherBrains podcast, covered many topics, including maps, weather balloons, weather satellites, radar, cloud types, lightning and tornado safety, hail, storm spotting and snow. He used weather photos from around Alabama, including some from the beautiful Gulf Coast.

Principal Gina Gipson said students were very excited to learn more about weather, a topic they have been studying this year.

"It's one of the third-grade standards, and this is sort of a culmination of their studies," Gibson said. "They have been so excited to get to see him and meet a real-life meteorologist. They've done science experiments, and so to really understand the science behind weather, they are excited about this today."

The award-winning meteorologist told students the best part about weather science is that "We can use the knowledge of science to help other people."

Spann did just that. He used photos to demonstrate why it is important to get to the center of a home and away from windows during a tornado event.

He showed a video of the EF-4 tornado on April 27, 2011, in Tuscaloosa. The twister left an 80.68 mile path from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham, killing at least 65 people. 

The storm was personal to Spann. After spending his younger years in Greenville, Alabama, he and his mother moved to Tuscaloosa, so he said it is still difficult to watch video of the tornado that devastated the city 14 years ago. 

Still, he explained why storms are a good thing.

"Are storms good or bad?" he asked.

"Bad!" the students replied in unison.

"Alright, we have got to talk," Spann said. Listen up. Everybody in this room needs water. I don't care who you are; everybody in this room has to have water — every adult, every child, every teacher, and there is no new water being made. " 

"We use the same water over and over. That is called the water cycle, and a big part of the water cycle is precipitation. Where we live, most of it comes from storms. Guys, if we don't have these, we're in big trouble."

To end the program, Spann taught the students the importance of having a weather radio and other means of receiving warnings and watches ahead of severe weather.

James Spann travels across Alabama, not only in the Birmingham market where people watch him on television, He said it's important to him because he wants to get kids excited about science. It's an experience he is passing on.

"Some people did that for me when I was young and it's the least I can do for them," he explained. "Some of the best atmospheric scientists in the world come from Alabama because of the diversity of weather they see."

Spann is known for his keen sense of geography. He often calls out tiny, small town roadways and crossroads and has even been known to point out little-known oddities that exist in communities to warn viewers exactly where a tornado is. He said part of his knowledge is because he has traveled the state for nearly half a century.

"The other cool thing about it is I get to learn this state," he said. "I know this state better than you or anybody else because doing this for 47 years, you see places, you see landmarks, you've been there, you know it.

"You're not looking at the name of a town on a map; you've experienced it. And to be successful in what I do, you have to understand the people, the culture and the geography and that helps me with that."

When visiting schools, Spann typically receives unique cakes depicting tornadoes, a seven-day forecast or his distinct “Respect the Polygon” slogan. He brings the cakes back to the news station where he shares it with his colleagues. Over the years, the newsroom has come to look forward to “Spann cakes.” However, he brought a healthy and beautifully crafted charcuterie selection back from Foley.

“There are actually a lot of people who don’t eat cake, so they are going to enjoy this,” Spann said.