Weather Geeks

Guest: Dr. Andrew SchwartzFor several months of the year, the Central Sierra Snow Lab looks like a winter wonderland. Over 60 feet of snow fell this past winter at the lab and our next guest was there to experience it all. Dr. Andrew Schwartz, lead scientist and station manager of the University of California Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab, studies snowfall, snowpack, and the impact of climate change on these.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Stephanie Zick, Associate Professor at Virginia TechWhen we think of tornadoes, our minds are immediately drawn to the Southern Plains or the Southeast, right? Well the Midwest has also had their fair share of damaging and deadly tornadoes, not just historically but every single year. A lot of research has been focused on our typical “Tornado Alleys” but sometimes the Midwest gets lost to the wayside. However, researchers at Virginia Tech have discovered multiple different breakthroughs in tornadogenesis all throughout our atmosphere over the Midwestern states. Today on the show, we have Dr. Stephanie Zick to break it all down for us…See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Host Jen Carfagno with Guest Dr. Greg PostelWith a raging El Nino in effect, the Eastern Pacific hurricane season was bound to be above average.  However, the number of storms that have impacted land has been surprising!  From October 9th to October 25th, western Mexico has been hit by FOUR consecutive tropical cyclones.  Three were hurricanes at landfall, and the one we want to focus on today is Hurricane Otis.  First thought to make landfall as either a strong tropical storm or a weak hurricane ended up becoming the strongest landfalling hurricane in the Eastern Pacific in under 24 hours!  How did this happen and what can we as an industry learn about this storm to help improve forecasting and communications in the future…?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Greg Postel & Jen Carfagno, The Weather ChannelIntroduction: With a raging El Nino in effect, the Eastern Pacific hurricane season was bound to be above average. However, the number of storms that have impacted land has been surprising! From October 9th to October 25th, western Mexico has been hit by FOUR consecutive tropical cyclones. Three were hurricanes at landfall, and the one we want to focus on today is Hurricane Otis. First thought to make landfall as either a strong tropical storm or a weak hurricane ended up becoming the strongest landfalling hurricane in the Eastern Pacific in under 24 hours! How did this happen and what can we as an industry learn about this storm to help improve forecasting and communications in the future…?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Lonnie ThompsonIt’s not just superheroes and first responders that risk their lives to save others, but what about a climatologist? Would you believe that our guest today climbed the summit of multiple mountains for climate research so we could all better understand how our climate has changed over the years? Well it’s true, and it really is an honor to have him on the podcast today! Subject of the upcoming documentary CANARY, Dr. Lonnie Thompson went where no other climate scientist would dare to go in order to find information and observations that changed how we can see centuries in the past.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Rei Goffer, Tomorrow.ioUrsa Minor. Canis Major. Orion. These are all star patterns that you can detect in the night sky called constellations! No matter where you live on Earth, there are constellations that will greet you as you look up. That same principle inspired the company Tomorrow.io to create a plan to launch dozens of radar satellites to help increase coverage of life-saving weather observations around the entire globe, in the hopes that they will be able to sample every point on the planet, nearly every hour. Sounds like an immense undertaking doesn’t it? Well we wanted to talk to Tomorrow.io’s co-founder Rei Goffer about this ambitious plan…See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Don HartsellIntroduction: In the upcoming months, we have not one, but two solar eclipses that are set to sweep across the continental United States: an annular eclipse on October 14 and a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. The eclipse in April will be the second total eclipse to cross the country in the past decade and the last until 2044. It will also serve as the final exclamation point on a month-long research expedition across the country aimed at collecting data on airborne microplastics aboard an airship as it travels from California to Texas. Joining us is one of the leaders of the expedition, Don Hartsell, to discuss the journey and what the group on board hopes to achieve.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Randy CervenyWhen we hear about extreme weather and changing climate, often we hear about the extreme records that are associated with these events: Things like the hottest temperature streak, the heaviest rainfall, and so forth. You may notice when these events are reported, it’s often with the caveat: “if verified”. An often overlooked, but vitally important caveat. So, who are these verifiers and how do they corroborate world record weather? For the World Meteorological Organization, one of those people is Dr. Randy Cerveny and he’s joining us today to discuss how extreme events are verified and why it’s so important to go through a rigorous verification process.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Michael MannThe topic of climate change and the future of our planet is both a controversial as well as at times difficult topic to understand. But if we want to know more about our future, we need to take a look into the history of our planet and our species. In his latest book, Our Fragile Moment, Dr. Michael Mann walks readers through our paleoclimate record and illustrates how it can serve as a roadmap to preserving our fragile moment. What you decide to do from there is entirely up to you.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Justin SharpeWe all know the saying “if a tree falls in a forest and there’s nobody around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Well in our world, we can say something like “if a forecast is perfect, but it doesn’t get disseminated properly, did it do any good?” There are still leaps and bounds that need to be made in the weather industry to bridge the gap between the research and communication when it comes to severe weather of all shapes and sizes. We have Dr. Justin Sharpe here on the show today to discuss the work being done in the social sciences both in the present and future…See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Dr. Linnea Avallone & Nicholas Anderson, National Science FoundationWhile aircraft radar has come along away over the past several decades, the U.S. National Science Foundation, or NSF, is looking to take things a step forward with an investment of over 90 million dollars to create the Airborne Phased Array Radar. This will be a state-of-the-art radar that will be attached to the outside of an aircraft and flown over land and oceans to get remarkably close 3D views of what is going on deep inside clouds and severe storms. And the weather research implications of this new system could bring new understanding to severe storms and tropical cyclone research. Joining us today from the NSF are Dr. Linnea Avallone, Chief Officer for Research Facilities, and Nicholas Anderson, Program Director for Physical and Dynamic Meteorology.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Rick KnabbIntroduction: As we approach the midpoint of the 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season, we just experienced the landfall of Hurricane Idalia: a major hurricane. With much of the season still ahead of us, we're joined today by The Weather Channel hurricane expert, Dr. Rick Knabb, to discuss the storm and what to expect going forward into the rest of the season.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: John ValliantWhile this year’s wildfire season in the United States hasn’t really picked up steam, the wildfires in Canada have taken over the headlines.  Not just because of the extent of the fires, but because of the smoke they are emitting that is wafting into the U.S. and causing some of the worst air quality seen in years.  This has been forcing Americans to pay attention to what is happening north of the border and ask questions about these fires, in the past, present and future tense.  Today, my guest and I are taking a look at Canada's wildfire past with one of the worst in the country’s history at Fort McMurray.  Let’s welcome author John Vaillant to Weather GeeksSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Sundararaman GopalakrishnanWith the Atlantic hurricane season in full swing, a new hurricane forecast model is ready to improve forecast accuracy as well as increase our understanding of tropical cyclones. Joining me today is Dr. Sundararaman “Gopal” Gopalakrishnan, senior meteorologist and leader of the modeling team that is behind NOAA’s newest hurricane forecast model. The Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System, or HAFS, integrates the best of existing hurricane forecast models while adding in key advancements in research. The result is a more accurate forecast that helps scientists as well as the public. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Lieutenant Commander Valerie Gardner, Chief of Behavior Health and Wellness at the National Weather ServiceForecasting for natural disasters brings one level of stress, and the aftermath can raise it to a whole new level of challenges. There is a lot of attention on the well-being of the people affected by these natural disasters…but what about those making the forecasts? Lieutenant Commander Valerie Gardner has extensive experience in this field and now she is extending her expertise with meteorologists at the National Weather Service. Lieutenant Commander, we welcome you today to the Weather Geeks podcast!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: WDSU New Orleans' Chief Meteorologist Margaret OrrFor over 40 years, viewers in New Orleans have tuned in and watched Margaret Orr deliver their forecast on their local news, eventually becoming her station’s chief meteorologist in 2009. Throughout her career, she’s covered numerous landmark weather events in southeast Louisiana and earned her viewers trust as not only a meteorologist but also with her efforts to give back to the community she calls home. Here to discuss her career, her passions, and the uniqueness that is the city of New Orleans, we’re joined with Margaret herself today! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Liz LeitmanIntroduction: You are probably familiar with severe thunderstorm and tornado watches. The storm prediction center and its predecessors have been issuing them since the 1950’s to alert people that thunderstorms may develop and bring damaging winds, hail or tornadoes. About a hundred of these are issued every year. Believe it or not, the first convective watch issued by a woman was *this* year: 2023. The author of that severe thunderstorm watch was Liz Leitman - and she is here today on Weather Geeks!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Fred Malik, IBHSIntroduction: After severe weather barrels through a town and destroys everything in its wake, there are stories of survival and perseverance. But then, these communities are tasked to rebuild. But are they rebuilding correctly? Are the new homes being built going to keep the owners more safe than they were before, or do they have to experience the terror of severe weather over and over again? There has to be a better way! Well a company called IBHS is working towards that goal! They are working towards a new FORTIFIED standard that is changing the way we build, and we have Fred Malik here to talk about it…See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Jim MinickIntroduction: Tornadoes are one of the most violent weather phenomena on our planet, the strongest of which have been rated an EF5, or an F5 before 2007 when the Enhanced Fujita scale was put into practice. These incredibly violent tornadoes are uncommon, with the last one occurring 10 years ago in 2013. Today, we’re going to go back even further, and take a look at the deadliest twister in Kansas history; an F5 that struck the city of Udall, killing 82 people. Joining us today is Jim Minick, author of Without Warning: The Tornado of Udall, Kanas, to discuss this deadly moment in weather history.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Jase Bernhardt, Ph.D.Introduction: They say you have to see it to believe it, and that phrase has been tested time and time again in social sciences, especially in the meteorology field. Can you believe that there is a tornado outside during a tornado warning if you can’t see it if you look down the street? How would you know how to react to certain natural disasters without being able to see them with your own eyes? Would you know how to act or react in order to save your life when caught in a rapidly evolving situation, like a rip current or flash flood? Well our guest on this episode has been conducting research using the next best thing: virtual reality. Let’s chat with Jase Bernhardt today on Weather Geeks…See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.