John Oldshue

John Oldshue was the weekend meteorologist^[1] and storm chaser for ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, Alabama from 1997 to 2007 when he retired to run a small business. He won an Emmy award for coverage of the Tuscaloosa tornado on December 16, 2000 with meteorologist James Spann. More recently he was the first storm spotter/meteorologist to capture video of the April 27, 2011 Tuscaloosa Tornado and transmit that to ABC 33/40 approximately 30 minutes before the tornado struck Tuscaloosa. . “John Oldshue is one of the unsung heroes of April 27,” said James Spann. “He captured that big wedge tornado on the ground when it was still 30 miles south of Tuscaloosa. That dramatic video convinced a lot of people to take cover." ^[2]

Personal life

He was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama where most of his family still lives. His mother, Isabel Oldshue, is a family practice doctor there and his father, Jerry Oldshue Sr., is retired and was the historian of the University of Alabama. He also has a brother, Jerry Oldshue Jr., who is a lawyer in Tuscaloosa and a sister, Edith Jacobs, who is a nurse in Rockwall, Texas.

In June 2011 he relocated from Tuscaloosa to Fairhope.

Education

He graduated from Mississippi State University in 1993, with a BS in Geosciences majoring in meteorology. He completed his MBA degree at the University of Alabama in 1998.

Career

John worked at WDBB in Tuscaloosa as the Chief Meteorologist from 1993 to 1995 and at WALA in Mobile as the morning meteorologist from 1995 until January 1997 when he joined ABC 33/40. John is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist by the American Meteorological Society and has the National Weather Association Seal of Approval. He was voted best small market weather anchor in Alabama for 1994 and 1995 by the Associated Press.

In 2007, John Oldshue retired from working as a meteorologist in pursuit of several small businesses. Since then, one of his business ventures, LowCards.com, a website dedicated to helping consumers find and compare low interest credit cards, has been featured in over 200 major publications and television shows and has helped millions of consumers find a new credit card.^[3] John Oldshue also founded several other internet startups, including SaveOnPhone.com, SaveOnInsurance.com, and other sites aimed to help consumers reduce their monthly bills.

Today, John Oldshue continues to work on his small businesses yet maintains an avid interest in meteorology.

References