Fred Hunter
Meteorologist
Birmingham, Ala.
:no_upscale()/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/raycom/7ef8280c-eeb2-4f0a-8c22-9776cdb861a0.png)
WBRC First Alert Meteorologist Fred Hunter was born in Alabama in the historic town of Ft. Payne. He has lived, attended school, raised his family and worked in the South all his life.
A graduate of Fyffe High School, Fred went on to attend college at the University of Alabama. He finished with undergraduate and graduate degrees in Broadcast-Film, Journalism and Public Relations. Fred then graduated from the meteorology program at Mississippi State University and became certified by the National Weather Association.
Prior to his position at WBRC, Fred worked in Austin, Texas, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and in Tuscaloosa.
Fred has called WBRC home since 1997. He is married to the former Ivy Jean Bullard, a native of Sylacauga. Together they have four girls, Stephanie, Stacey, Katherine and Rebecca.
Fred also produces Absolutely Alabama, a series of stories about people, places, and things from, about, or related to his home state.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/H7FAM5BSMRFXLDOTQ4AMEIEZX4.jpg)
Fred Hunter talked with Scott about the efforts his department and other partners have had on improving the conditions in the offshore waters of Mobile and Baldwin counties and how the weather affects everything, including fishing season.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/OYB4UWK65JDNZL7JCCGXFO6AFA.jpg)
Check out this week's First Alert Weather Extra Feature from Fred Hunter called 'Share the Beach'.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/AF5AUECO6JHH7ONMGHGDNUIJSU.jpg)
Jimmy and Sierra Stiles are both lovers of the great outdoors and preserving now only the habitats of the native plants and trees, but also the animals which make their homes there.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/KG35M2M4ANAMRGX7C5ZWHGPL4Y.jpg)
In this First Alert Weather Extra Feature, Fred Hunter talks about spring break safety.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/UDPVY5H5SBBV3P4Q7E5W2LM3EY.jpg)
The famous Pennsylvania Rodent, our Mountain Marsupial, will be the one looking ahead to the possibility of an early spring.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/ZSSFYEGIQFDMLFOLFGKNCNU6TU.jpg)
Creek Keepers are part of an international community dedicated to the preservation and conservation of our waterways to not only sustain our lives but the lives of the plants and animals which depend on clean water for their survival.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/MYEMRONBBBHITAEMEN37LBXGTI.PNG)
Wind Advisory remains in effect from 9 p.m. tonight through 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon for 40 mph wind gusts.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/33WDASZBLZBAHBL5XJEPF7ND5M.jpg)
In this episode of First Alert Weather Extra, Fred Hunter tells us all about Southern Skin Divers.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/L35L7KVHVNAANB546EACQNBPBU.jpg)
An area of high pressure responsible for our clear, cool beginning for the weekend will move east today bringing more warm air into the region with afternoon highs in the 65-70 degree range.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/QXLCWE2MHFE2XOYZJ5Q7NMAPSQ.jpg)
All good things must come to an end and so it is with our regular weekly visits called Absolutely Alabama, but after more than a quarter century of introducing you to the people and places in our state, we take one last look back.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/BNGFFKSITRC6PLPXUI7U3HYHB4.jpg)
A Tornado Watch is in effect until 6 a.m. Wednesday morning for several west and central Alabama counties.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/LDJPAASPOZFLZCVICFBN34CXM4.jpg)
At one time, town squares were the heart of the community, and there are still a few places where that history is still alive. On the Troy town square, you’ll find new places, as well as efforts to preserve the past.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/GZJMOZK75ZGO3MDWX5T5NG2YMQ.jpg)
Journalism and politics have always been part of David Azbell's life. His father, Joe, then working for The Montgomery Advertiser, was the only reporter on scene when Rosa Parks was arrested, an event which became one of the catalysts for the Civil Rights Movement.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/KJCPQTP3HREINEZ7TNM6YP7444.jpg)
This week with Thanksgiving arriving you'll no doubt see a lot of turkey shooting contests going on, but we're going to introduce you to some world champions , and you're probably not going to win a shooting match with one of them.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/KW2O2O7E4RCADCA7IPZUHWD6RI.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/PJNDYCGQF5B75GFMDEUE3RMRBE.jpg)
A breezy, cold end for the weekend with rain returning this week.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/WBDZ5NZWZZGXVHCV4FBOYRMY2Q.jpg)
The old rivalries between the towns of Ashland and Lineville always revolved around The Clay Bowl, the annual football clash between the two schools, but the rivalry ran much deeper. Yet, Karen Caldwell, a Lineville girl, felt herself being embraced by the town of Ashland. It was all because of a little girl named Ryleigh.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/6A34PGRWKBG4NID4GZDCXTRHRE.jpg)
Veteran’s Park in Trussville is a place that already honors those who served our country in time of war and peace, but soon there will be an important addition honoring those who gave what Lincoln called The Last Full Measure.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/HRHEDD6JQRBNBBXX6AHWNZWQLQ.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/J4DZVVEMARDBLG3427Q3GXCEOM.jpg)
The state’s oyster season opened on Oct. 3, and the oyster catchers are busy plucking those delicious bivalves from the reefs in coastal waters.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/LL6BHZIL7RCDHJL5PUPTALZHNM.jpg)
This is the story of a North Alabama Boy who married a Gulf Shores Girl which leads us to a place called Hog Wild Beach and Bar-B-Q in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/B45DUA2LJFFPTBTOOOYWFIQR6Y.jpg)
Carolyn Jackson never intended to be a BBQ master. In fact, she had a long successful career at a local paper mill in Mobile county, but in 1979 two things happened. There was a labor strike at the company and Hurricane Frederic struck in Mobile. That set a chain of events in motion which would someday make Carolyn’s barbecue famous and Absolutely Alabama.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/P7LRWZ6ZIRD3RNU2F5HHUQDI2E.png)
More than 200,000 hunters will pursue the abundant game in Alabama this season, which means hunter safety should be at the forefront of any outdoors adventure.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/OM6CD3G4QJBA7HTQBJ7FNZRG3Y.jpg)
Cook’s Pest Control, the business his father began, and the Cook Museum of Natural Science in Decatur are part of an ongoing legacy which is Absolutely Alabama.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/3Y4VNJAQ7VHPTH3FOHDFVZOEDE.png)
The Covered Bridge Festival offers plenty of family fun including a quilt show, arts and crafts, a rib cook-off, car show, live music, great food, self-guided covered bridge tours and more.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/BHPM7HSLMVEOPEDL4K3ZCMLI5M.png)
Thousands of visitors and musicians will make their way to the North Alabama town of Athens this week for the “Granddaddy of Midsouth Fiddlers Conventions.” The Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers Convention is set to return to the campus of Athens State University and will run from October 6-8.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/AWJZJKADDRGVNH45534CBOC7SY.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/QZJEAI2VQRB73IKNFZXFN3U7UM.jpg)
Cynthia Stinson’s life was not going well. So, she left her native Greenville home in South Alabama and headed north looking for a change. She found it on Lookout Mountain. The story of how she went from broke, broken-hearted and homeless to happiness at an old inn is a story of the changing seasons of life.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/WBSN5JRR6ZFCTDRSOBJILWCBQY.jpg)
There are backyard gardens and then there are big backyard gardens. This would be one of the latter.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/AGERXH7W5BDUVJNDD6VTQ6DFIE.jpg)
Gopher tortoise conservation reached a new level recently when the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) teamed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Eckerd College and Birmingham Zoo to release 98 young tortoises into the Geneva State Forest Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Covington County.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/CVUNZ7JOFVGD3KSIFXRU6PHWQQ.jpg)
“About 10 years ago we swapped to organics. Now we got about 200 cows, 150, 200 cows with young stock and we bottle our own milk and it’s all certified organic.”
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/7YBNSN46NRAEVP4DE56XPBSQXM.jpg)
After leaving the music industry, Kevin Kilburn moved to rural Lauderdale County and set out to right what was wrong with cooking in the modern age.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/G4AGTUSXXFDR3MXZ5UFA67ZODE.jpg)
Judging from the turnout at the recent Buckmasters Expo, the appeal of the great outdoors remains high, with plenty of spectators and vendors attending the 28th annual event in downtown Montgomery.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/PI2C64ZFHVBOZLY5OSKE23B4LY.PNG)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/RD7474IPJ5CGFMKJNCSOTM24XA.png)
Alabama’s abundant freshwater fish took center stage recently at the Alabama Wildlife Federation (AWF) Wild Game Cook-Off State Finals at AWF’s Lanark Pavilion in Millbrook.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/23KWATSHHFFXNMUQCFD5I44VWE.jpg)
A warm, muggy morning with thunderstorms likely through the weekend.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/HACXCLACKBDOHMZN34UF3CERE4.jpg)
Alabama’s Adult Mentored Hunt (AMH) Program teaches all the skills needed to put wild game on the dinner table and help start new traditions.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/X6PNPAJRGRAVVNC7ZTHMI6AJ5I.jpg)
If you don’t have time for a whole glamorous camping experience now, you can still enjoy a couple of hours of luxury with U Pic Nic.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/3IKBYXBIQBCLXENNK2Z6KIX6DA.jpg)
Humidity values will be lower with afternoon highs near or slightly below average for the season, topping out around 90.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/CV2YPIDOV5EPXHJOMMHPKYADCU.jpg)
At Lake Guntersville, State Parks provided an additional $500,000 to use the special asphalt to pave other roads in the park.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/BSP33DY5ZZGZBOBS6LZQVGKDS4.jpg)
Eddie Conyers carved out a legacy, working for every Alabama Head Football Coach from Bryant to Saban. Eddie shares the unique perspective of a life between the lines.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/TQPYWF7E3VFBLOAEID6WWI5CLM.jpg)
“I didn’t know any of the rules or anything. I just knew it looked fun and I wanted to skate. It’s a good way to get your aggression out sometimes. You just hit people. It’s fun.”
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/MU43LHT4NRAL5KX4AQZPU7XCPI.jpg)
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ (ADCNR) Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) provides several youth dove hunt opportunities throughout the state each fall.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/PVLYIYNUJZBWNJVYC3LNFNZR44.jpg)
During the fierce competition, the canoe of Anna Zagorska of Poland collided with other canoes in the turn and capsized, and the WFF officers realized she was struggling.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/ZRWREE2QHFEQ5CA4VXOS5GIET4.jpg)
In this Literary Capital of Alabama, there is a backyard near downtown all about creation and peace and gardens.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/6NP46D35TNH35NDOVK6LUR4OXY.jpg)
Alabama’s three-day BOW workshop is designed for women ages 18 years or older, and offers hands-on instruction in a fun, outdoors setting. Participants can choose four classes from more than 50 courses.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/N5GVEFPCFRGRVFA4OTZR2AI6OM.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/ZVWWY4BRBVGORDX2RNGOMC6XFA.jpg)
With the Gulf Coast in the peak of fishing season for the abundant reef fish in Alabama’s vast artificial reef zone, the Return ‘Em Right program is designed to educate anglers on how to ensure any fish caught and released have the best chance to survive and return to the reef.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/JZF3TZ7P4BFT5NX6I4G2LPM2KI.jpg)
Outdoor Ability Foundation was formed in 2014, and the first mobility chair was presented in 2016 to a youth in Gardendale.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/I2FBRXIZ2NFFDN7KJJQ55JMNFI.jpg)
Constructed in 1928 The Hotel Talisi was severely damaged by arson in 2009 and has never reopened. While many guests stayed there over the years, it was the restaurant which drew people from all over the South and while the hotel is gone, the flavor of the hotel lives on, just a few miles away at Larry Melvyn’s Restaurant, still serving up the old favorites.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/SHL454VLO5DKNCSDNR25GDKMUQ.png)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/LMMNNMHO5BFEHNXSAGKU52R76Y.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/AZC26QFLQVC4DPENHIFMT6GJEA.jpeg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/GRAXKPUS5FFQBGWB6HU5KZYVJQ.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/LGPREUNIGFEE3OFXQBCVPB6S3M.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/AWP3RIAKGFAU3GY6627ERVWN3A.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/IYYXOXZUOBB5TPI6ZGH42IED6A.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/GMEJYLWYRREYFHL4K6ZQ3EUYIY.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/EYS3HPFUXVEBVM5MBSVD7W27ZQ.bmp)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/ITY7I4ROKRB2THMRGQKK6MV3NE.jpg)
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/GAQRLUOZSNAFHNIS6VPD34HZHI.jpg)