Weather Geeks

Guests: The Weather Channel meteorologists: Stephanie Abrams, Jen Carfagno, Chris BruinDescription:Hurricane Michael stormed ashore the Florida Panhandle earlier this month. Lives were upended and changed forever. Millions watched the full fury of the hurricane unfold live on their screens. And today we are joined by three field reporters that covered the storm: The Weather Channel meteorologists Stephanie Abrams, Jen Carfagno and Chris Bruin. We hear their stories as they take us through the before, during and after of live coverage of a category 4 hurricane. 

Guest:Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief MeteorologistDescription: From the outside looking in, living in the Midwest during the winter months can be brutal! Frigid temperatures that take your breath away and blizzards that stack snow feet high!  But today’s guest knows a thing or two about Midwest winters...and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Tom Skilling has been the on-air meteorologist at WGN-TV in Chicago since 1978...for those counting, that is 40 years!  In that span of time, it can feel like the media and television industry can change as much as the weather...We’ll talk about those changes and so much more with legendary broadcast meteorologist Tom Skilling.

Guest:Dr. Rick Knabb, Hurricane Expert, The Weather ChannelDescription: Communicating a weather forecasting is tricky task, but the challenges associated with hurricane forecasts bring a whole new set of hurdles. Dr. Rick Knabb, former director of the National Hurricane Center joins Dr. Marshall Shepherd to discuss how to avoid hurricane hype and stick with the impacts when talking to the public. It isn't as easy as you might think...

Guest:Dr. Elizabeth Austin, Forensic Meteorologist, Founder WeatherExtremeDescription: Shoeprints in the snow, the absence of dew, or maybe DNA preserved in a puddle of rainwater....seemingly trivial clues in an active crime scene, but to forensic meteorologists, these are the subtle leads that can put a suspect away for murder. Dr. Elizabeth Austin, a forensic meteorologist who's worked on countless criminal cases, joins us to discuss this fascinating profession and her role in a new series this fall on The Weather Channel called Storm of Suspicion.

Guests:  Dr. Katharine Hayhoe - An Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University, Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.Dr. Alan Townsend - Townsend currently is director of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research and professor in the Environmental Studies program at the University of Colorado at Boulder.Description: During this week's Weather Geeks podcast Dr. Shepherd had the privilege of talking with Dr. Kathryn Hayhoe and Dr. Alan Townsend, 2 scientists featured in a short-form film series entitled Let Science Speak. Dr. Shepherd was also interviewed for this short-form film series aimed at building a groundswell of bipartisan support for scientists on the front lines of solving our planet’s gravest challenges. Let Science Speak highlights not only what is at risk for our lives, our country, and our planet when science is under attack, but what that means for the humans behind the research, and the

Guest:Jenna Jambeck, PhD. - Associate Professor in the College of Engineering at The University of GeorgiaToday we're sitting down with Dr. Jenna Jambeck, Associate Professor in the College of Engineering at The University of Georgia who teaches environmental engineering with a focus on solid waste. What do you think happens to those plastic bottles and other trash when you toss it? Dr. Jambeck, along with a team of reasearchers, estimates that millions of metric tons of plastic waste entered our oceans in 2010, and by 2025, that amount could increase by 10 fold! We'll discuss various waste management solutions being implemented worldwide and learn how we can improve such infrastructure to keep our planet looking beautiful and trash free.  

Guests: Jen Henderson, PhD - Postdoctoral Fellow with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences in Boulder, CO.  Julie Demuth, PhD - Research Scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Lab Description:Today, we’re excited to welcome Dr. Jen Henderson, a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences in Boulder, CO and Dr. Julie Demuth, a Research Scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Lab. Both are dedicating their research to understanding the social science between severe weather warnings and why people make the decisions they do in the face of potentially damaging and life-threatening weather. Preservation of life is their main mission, and they hope to accomplish this by bridging the gap between sociology and meteorology by leading the charge to find the best ways to communicate life-sa

Guest: Jan Null, CCM - Department of Meteorology & Climate Science, San Jose State University Description:Today, we’re excited to welcome Jan Null, Certified Consulting Meteorologist with the Department of Meteorology and Climate Science at San Jose State University. Jan has spent decades forecasting and studying weather across the U.S., especially in California, and he “prides himself on being able to predict the unpredictable.”  He served as Lead Forecaster at the National Weather Service in the Bay Area for more than 24 years and in total has more than 40 years of experience as an operational and forensic meteorologist, serving as an expert witness in hundreds of cases. Jan has dedicated much of his career to becoming an expert on all things El Nino and La Nina, and he has also been a pioneer researcher studying and raising awareness to prevent hot car deaths involving children.

GUEST: Jim Bridenstine, Administrator of NASADESCRIPTION:From flying high above the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, to being elected as a Congressman of Oklahoma in the U.S. House of Representatives, our guest has dedicated his life to serving his country. Today we’re excited to welcome newly confirmed NASA Administrator, Jim Bridenstine.  Jim hails from Tulsa, OK where he became all too familiar with extreme weather, so he understands the importance of improving our forecasting capabilities. We’ll discuss the major piece of legislation he helped pass to support the expansion of weather research and forecasting. Plus, we’ll hear about his evolution on issues like climate change and how the work at NASA can further our understanding of its impacts. If that’s not enough, we’ll also get Jim’s thoughts on the future of space exploration. Could it include a visit to Mars?

Guest: Bryan Norcross - Hurricane Specialist at Local 10 MiamiDescription: His first weather report came over the radio back in 1969 and spoke of a hurricane named Camille heading toward the Gulf coast. Since then Bryan Norcross has covered dozens of major weather events - including Hurricane Andrew, which changed South Florida and his life forever. Bryan has worked at local new stations, national cable networks including and The Weather Channel. He has seen it all, done it all and has the stories to prove it. Today we hear about Bryan’s 50 years in broadcasting - a career filled with incredible timing, amazing achievements and a whole lot of fun.

This week on Weather Geeks we go to the front lines of the firefight. The 2018 deadly and devastating wildfires could get even worse as brave men and women put their lives on the line. We explore the day to day conditions that help and hurt the effort and explore the factors that makes their job so dangerous. Weather Channel Correspondent Dave Malkoff, tells some of their stories and explains what it's like to battle these monster fires. Joining the conversation is Jess Gardetto from the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. We look at the factors making this season so bad and what it will take to get some of these fires out before the rainy season - which is still months away. GuestsDave MalkoffThe Weather Channel corespondent  Jess GardettoDeputy Chief, External Affairs - BLM National Fire and Aviation - National Interagency Fire Center

GuestDr. Paul SutterAstrophysicist, writer, speaker, producer and podcast host DescriptionThis week on Weather Geeks Astrophysicist Dr. Paul Sutter joins us. Paul is an "Agent to the Stars" - passionately interacting with the public in science outreach. He is host of the "Ask a Spaceman!" podcast, where he answers space questions posted on social media. And today we get to ask him questions...with topics ranging from the the cosmos to communicating the complicated. It is sure to be an entertaining, engaging, and educational.

Guest: Dr. David Novak, Director, Weather Prediction CenterDescription: Whether it is forecasting an epic flood event days before the first raindrop or warning the public about an upcoming blizzard when it comes to tracking storms the meteorologists at The Weather Prediction Center play a critical role in keeping Americans safe from the dangers of weather. This week, meet the man in charge of directing this critical group of forecasters. Dr. Dave Novak joins me to discuss Weather Prediction Center operations, forecasting challenges and what the future might look like.

Guest: Astronaut Terry Virts Description:This week on Weather Geeks we are honored to have International Space Station Commander Terry Virts. Terry first flew into space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 2010. Four years later he returned and spent 200 days aboard the ISS taking more photos from space that any other astronaut. Many of these photos appear in his book “View From Above”. We’ll talk about that view, space travel, the fragility of our planet and much more.

Guest: Ed Mansouri, CEO & Founder WeatherSTEMDescription:Just because you are a meteorologist doesn’t mean you aren’t exempt from the hazards of severe weather...and our guest proves this point. Ed Mansouri, founder and CEO of WeatherSTEM, a company that utilizes a network of weather stations for emergency planning purposes, agriculture needs, and K-12 education, recently had lightning cause damage at his house while he and his kids were home. We’ll hear more about his experience and how it ties into his company's education and safety initiatives. We’ll also learn about WeatherSTEMs new statewide mesoSTEMs...you won’t believe all of the information provided by this network of weather stations.

Guest: Angela Fritz - Deputy Weather Editor for the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang This week on Weather Geeks - Take the hot tempers inherent to any science or political discussion, combine them, and give them a national stage to debate on one of the most prominent weather blogs on the web, located at the heart of the political world - The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang based in Washington, D.C.  We will discuss the nightmare that can be communicating science through a high-profile public medium, dominant across social media, where there are no rules, all gloves are off and users can crush peers with both informed and ill-informed opinions all while hiding behind anonymous usernames.

From the Weather Geeks Archives - Most Americans probably don't realize that the first ones behind enemy lines are often a small group of meteorologists who are sent in to harms way to collect the weather data needed to give the U.S. armed forces the home field advantage they need to win the battles necessary to protect our freedom. Major Jonathan Sawtelle, a former Special Operations Weather Team operations officer, will provide amazing insight into this truly special force.

Guest: Stephanie Abrams On Camera MeteorologistThe Weather Channel In a time not too long ago, schoolboys would be the ones taking math and science classes so they can grow up to become engineers or doctors, while schoolgirls would take more general studies so they can focus on becoming housewives. Only recently have women smashed through the glass ceiling, championing careers in STEM. As an on-camera meteorologist for The Weather Channel for 15 years, Stephanie Abrams has seen her fair share of hurricanes, nor’easters and everything in between!  In that time, the titles have changed from “weather girl” to “meteorologist,” and Stephanie is a prominent one.

Guests: Craig FugateFormer FEMA AdministratorChief Emergency Management Officer at One ConcernLaura LightbodyProject DirectorFlood-Prepared CommunitiesHe has made a career of managing natural disasters and served as the FEMA Administrator during the Obama Administration, but this week’s guest has been out of the federal government for over a year, so we have some catching up to do with long time Weather Geeks friend Craig Fugate. We’ll look back at some of the biggest events of his career, cover his view of FEMA today, and discuss how things are changing in the world and why that may mean more work for emergency managers.

When it comes to climate change the discourse is often heated, but today’s guest is the calm before, during and after the storm. Author, speaker and strategist Katharine Wilkinson is all about climate action. Creative ways to save the earth. Join us for a conversation that delves into science, navigates through the vitriol surrounding climate change and lands on messages of hope, positive stories of success happening now and those planned for the future.