One-time Chinese restaurant dish-washer, now Chief Meteorologist, WBTV Charlotte.

Charlotte
Joined September 2011
* Today: Mixed clouds & sun, comfortable 70s * Rest of Week: Mostly sunny, 70s Thursday, 80 Friday * Saturday: More clouds, 70s, dry for trick-or treating, 60s * Sunday: First Alert: Rain returns by afternoon, 60s #ncwx #cltwx #scwx #clt
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Pleasant temps hold for the #CLT region going into the start of the Halloween weekend before rain & cooler temps return Sunday PM. Showers could linger into early next week as well. #scwx #ncwx #cltwx
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First Alert: Saturday will bring more clouds to the #CLT area, but no rain, & the temps will still be comfortable, even into the evening hours! Sunday brings more clouds & eventually some rain. Cooler temps too. #scwx #ncwx #cltwx
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First Alert: Sunshine today around the #CLT area will be mixed with more clouds, cutting back our high temperatures by just a couple of degrees versus yesterday. Still comfortable, enjoy. #scwx #cltwx #ncwx
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Al Conklin WBTV retweeted
In 2003, a soldier was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full honors. He had been a Finnish war hero. A Waffen-SS officer. A convicted traitor. A stowaway. And a US Army Green Beret. All the same man. His name was Lauri Törni. He was born in Finland in 1919, and his entire life was shaped by one thing. He hated the Soviet Union. In 1939 the Soviets invaded Finland in what became known as the Winter War. Törni fought in it as a young soldier. Finland was massively outnumbered and still made the Red Army pay a staggering price before agreeing to peace. When war with the Soviets broke out again in 1941, Törni became a legend. He led a small unit of ski troops on raids deep behind Soviet lines. Hit fast. Vanish into the forests. Do it again. He was so effective the Soviets reportedly put a bounty on his head. Finland awarded him the Mannerheim Cross, its highest military honor. In 1944, Finland made peace with the Soviet Union. For Törni, the war wasn't over. He went to Germany to keep fighting the Soviets. He trained with the Waffen-SS and was commissioned as an officer. When Germany collapsed in 1945, he surrendered to the British, escaped from a prison camp, and made his way back to Finland. Finland arrested him for treason for serving in a foreign army. He was sentenced to six years in prison. He escaped. He was caught. In 1948, he was pardoned. Then he vanished from Finland for good. He made his way to Sweden, then sailed to Venezuela. From there he got a job on a cargo ship bound for the United States. When the ship reached the Gulf of Mexico, he jumped overboard and swam to shore. In 1950 the US passed a law letting foreign veterans who joined the US Army earn American citizenship. Törni signed up immediately and changed his name to Larry Thorne. The man who had fought in an SS uniform now wore an American one. He joined the Special Forces. The Green Berets. Rose through the ranks. Became a captain. In 1962 he led a dangerous mission into the mountains of Iran to recover classified material from a crashed American plane. Then came Vietnam. He joined MACV-SOG, the top secret unit that ran missions behind enemy lines. On October 18, 1965, his helicopter went down in the jungle of Laos during a mission. He disappeared. For more than 30 years, nobody knew exactly what happened to him. In 1999, the crash site was finally found. His remains were identified in 2003. He was buried at Arlington among the men he served with. A soldier under three flags who spent his entire life fighting the same enemy, in three different uniforms, across three decades.
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Awesome #fall color continues to light up in the North Carolina High Country! Photos: Skip Sickler of the Linville River (above the famous falls), David McKenzie of the Pisgah Inn, Amanda Lugenbell near @BlowingRock_NC #ncwx #scwx #cltwx #cltwx #avlwx
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The sun is now up over the #CLT area, & while there's no fog uptown, with these very cold temps in the 30s & 40s, bodies of water are giving off steam. Watch for pockets of fog around #LKN, Lake Wylie, Mountain Island Lake & along the Catawba River near I-40. #ncwx #scwx #cltwx
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Al Conklin WBTV retweeted
Last night’s full Hunters Moon rising over Murrells Inlet. 📷 Chad LeFevre
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* Today: Sunny skies, cool start, pleasant, mid 70s PM * Rest of Week: Cool nights, warm afternoons, mostly 70s * Saturday: More clouds, 70s, dry for trick-or treating, 60s * Sunday: First Alert: Rain returns, near 70° #ncwx #cltwx #scwx #clt
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We'll stay dry around #CLT thru the start of the Halloween weekend before rain chances returns by Sunday afternoon. Much of the rain may come Sunday night, perhaps lingering into the Monday morning commute. #scwx #cltwx #ncwx
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First Alert: There'll be enough sunshine to go around the #CLT area over the next few days to keep us nice & warm. Clouds will increase on Saturday - but the day stays dry - before rain returns on Sunday. #scwx #cltwx #ncwx
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First Alert: Halloween weekend around #CLT starts dry & warm, but likely ends with some rain by Sunday afternoon. Trick-or-treat time looks fine...60s, mostly cloudy, but rain-free. #scwx #ncwx #cltwx
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First Alert: After a little patchy fog & another chilly start in the 30s & 40s, we'll rebound to the 70s for most neighborhoods...enjoy! #clt #scwx #ncwx #cltwx
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Al Conklin WBTV retweeted
Monday was another picture perfect day in Valle Crucis, NC with a high today of 65 and a low of 35. We have had an incredible stretch of beautiful fall weather 👏 #ncwx If this is #ElNino, I’ll take it. Tho I know the effects of the subtropical jet are yet to come.
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Al Conklin WBTV retweeted
Our beautiful fall pattern in the Carolinas continues! We'll likely hold on to our dry conditions through Halloween before our next chance of rain moves in... Stay tuned for rain timing/amount updates towards the end of the 7-day as the week progresses!
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Beautiful #fall color continues in the North Carolina High Country. Pics here from Skip Sickler & Leslie Restivo near @GrandfatherMtn over the past couple of days. #scwx #cltwx #ncwx #tnwx #Autum #autumnvibes
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Forecast at a glance… * Today: Sunny skies, cool start, pleasant, low 70s PM * Rest of Week: Cool nights, warm afternoons, 70s hold * Weekend: More clouds Saturday, shower risk on Sunday #ncwx #cltwx #scwx #clt
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First Alert: Warm daytime temperatures will dominate again this week with lots of sunshine early in the week & a few more clouds toward the back end. By Saturday, skies will turn mostly cloudy & a little rain may follow on Sunday. #scwx #cltwx #ncwx
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First Alert: There continues to be no real chance for any rain around the #CLT area thru at least the start of the weekend, but by Sunday some showers may break out. And boy, do we need it! CLT is down more than 8 inches, YTD. #ncwx #scwx #cltwx
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First Alert: Stays warm on Saturday around the #CLT area, but more clouds filter in. By Sunday, a few showers may develop as temps drop back closer to 70°. #scwx #cltwx #ncwx
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