Weather Geeks

Guests: Bruckner ChaseIntroduction: As we head into the swimming season, many of us are going to be flocking to the beach for a bit of surf, sand and fun! In addition to the fun memories that you’ll be making, there are a few things to be aware of when it comes to keeping yourself safe when heading into the ocean and today we’re going to dive into the topic of rip currents. NOAA has launched a new initiative called ‘Wave Safe’ aimed at reshaping the conversation around rip currents and ocean safety. Joining us today is Bruckner Chase, an ocean safety expert and host of this new program.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Rep. Frank LucasIntroduction: As we Weather Geeks reside in our science world, sometimes we can be critical of how other industries perceive us and the work that we do. It can be especially frustrating when one of those circles is our own government, where science can become a polarizing issue on opposite sides of the aisel. When they don’t take the science seriously, that can have repercussions not just with lawmaking, but also in their constituents that listen to and trust them. Our guest today is on a path to make sure that our industry, mainly NOAA, is held in high regard among his peers by enshrining into law. What does that mean exactly? Well let’s talk to the source, Representative Frank Lucas…See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Daniel Blackman, Senior Advisor for STEM Recruitment and Diversity at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Introduction: On November 29th, 2021, President Biden appointed Daniel Blackman to serve as the regional administrator for EPA's Southeast Region Four. In this role, Daniel served as the EPA's lead on protecting public health and the environment for the region spanning Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and six federally recognized tribes. I'm joined by Mr. Blackman today to discuss that role and a new role within the Environmental Protection Agency.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Dr. Dalia Kirschbaum, Director of Earth Sciences Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterIntroduction: Studying the science of our planet and solving the problems its inhabitants face has been Dr. Dalia Kirschbaum’s mission since joining NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center over ten years ago. Her career has been nothing short of impressive, and since June 2022, she has served as the Director of the Earth Sciences Division. Her research interests are centered on rainfall-triggered landslide modeling. This includes using remotely sensed information to conduct landslide hazard and risk studies. It’s my pleasure to welcome Dr. Kirschbaum to our show today. Thank you for joining us!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Ken GrahamThe National Weather Service needs no introduction here on Weather Geeks and last year, a new director was appointed to lead the agency in charge of disseminating vital weather information across the U.S.. Ken Graham is joining us today to look back at his first year as head of the NWS as its 17th director and if his name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s been a guest of the podcast before last year when he initially took over the position and while leading the National Hurricane Center! Today, we’re going to discuss his vision for the future of the National Weather Service as well as his take on how the past year has been for the agency.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Dr. Mike BrennanFrom June 1st to November 30th all eyes in the weather world turn to the tropics. The 2023 Hurricane Season will be the first as the National Hurricane Center Director for our next guest. Mike Brennan is the new director of the National Hurricane center, a role he began in April of 2023. Mike‘s tropical weather knowledge and 15 years of experience at the NHC makes him the perfect candidate to lead the hurricane center this season and beyond.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Jamie WintersternIntroduction:  If you found your passion for meteorology or storm chasing through severe weather focused movies or shows, you will love this episode of Weather Geeks! Our guest on today’s podcast is Jamie Winterstern who wrote and directed the movie 'Supercell' that was recently released in mid-March to kick off the severe weather season.  Jamie is the youngest to ever direct and produce an NBC primetime drama show called ‘Siberia’ about survival in the frigid wilderness, so he knows a thing or two about creating suspense in the elements!  Will Supercell become the new Twister, or will it create its own path within the weather movie genre?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Vice President Kamala Harris, Dr. Marshall Shepherd, and Dr. Isaiah BoldenAll of us Weather Geeks know how important our changing climate is for the future of our world. It is going to shape our lives and our children's lives if we do not take action soon, and that action needs to be more than on a personal level. We need our government bodies all the way up to the White House to take action. We had the amazing opportunity to sit down with Vice President Kamala Harris and Dr. Isaiah Bolden from Georgia Tech back in February to have a roundtable discussion on climate change and how the Presidential office plans to address it.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Weather Geeks TeamDescription: One of the biggest metrics for tracking extreme weather events that impact our country is quantifying them as “Billion Dollar Disasters.” Earlier this week, NOAA announced that 7 separate billion-dollar disasters have occurred so far in 2023. Every month of the year so far has had at least one disaster, ranging from winter events to tornadoes. We are going to take time during this episode to break down each one and how that sets up these regions for the rest of the year ahead with more of the severe season still ahead of us and tropical season looming around the corner…See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Dr. Steven ThurIntroduction: When extreme weather events rear their ugly heads, our first concerns are naturally with people and property.  But sometimes, we tend to forget the impacts on the environment around us and the animals that also inhabit the same spaces we live and breathe. The impact on their environment also leads to huge impacts on the economies around their habitats as well. As we move on and focus our attention on the next weather event, the unheard cries of the environment beg for us to notice them.  Additionally, as our climate is changing and the world continues to get warmer, those impacts can become more and more exasperated.  What do we need to do as an industry of meteorologists and scientists to start focusing more on these issues before our attention is taken elsewhere?  We’ve brought in Dr. Steven Thur, Director of NOAA’s Oceanic and Atmospheric Research division, to discuss…See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice

Guests: Rear Admiral Ronald J. PiretIntroduction: The United States Navy is stationed all over the globe and requires accurate weather and ocean forecasting in order to operate to achieve their mission as well as assist other branches of our military. Today we want to dive into that complex operation and shed some light on the over 2,500 Sailors, Scientists, Engineers and Technicians at the Naval Meteorology & Oceanography Command. Joining us is the Commander of that group, Rear Admiral Ronald J Piret. Thank you for joining us today! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Rep. Eric SorensenIntroduction: In the United States, our congressional representatives and senators play an important role in how the conversation and actions on climate change occur in our country. Yet, for the most part, those same individuals don’t have a background rooted in meteorology or climate sciences. Representative Eric Sorensen seeks to change that and become the first meteorologist to serve in congress in nearly 50 years. He’s joining us today to discuss how his career transitioned from a broadcast meteorologist to politician and how and where he hopes to see the congressional conversation on climate change move. Congressman, thank you for joining us today!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Joel GratzIntroduction: “Never miss a powder day.”  Those coveted days with deep, fresh, powdery snow on the slopes.  That was a mantra turned into a successful snow forecasting business.  Today on Weather Geeks, meet Joel Gratz - an entrepreneurial meteorologist who has figured out how to optimize forecasting mountain snow.  Find out how he sees forecasting and communication changing 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: Helen RobertsYou’ve seen the warnings: "Don’t drive through floodwaters." "Evacuate when officials ask during hurricanes or wildfires." "Tornadoes can strike any town, even if they’ve never hit your town before." "Heat is the biggest weather-killer." These are some of the messages meteorologists put out there in extreme weather events. Today on WeatherGeeks…we delve into why these extreme weather warnings can go *ignored* and find out what we can do about it with Helen Roberts from the UK Met Office. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Weather Geeks Team with Dr. Greg PostelAs the sun set over the Magnolia state on Friday March 24th, Mississippian lives were changed forever. A charged supercell cut across the midsection of the state, spawning a tornado that caused EF4 damage in the towns of Rolling Fork and Silver City and then EF3 damage in Amory, all over the course of a few hours while many slept. While the event was well forecasted by meteorologists across the country, NOTHING could prepare a person for the severity of what the victims experienced and what we all saw at first light the next morning. We want to take this episode of Weather Geeks to break it all down and look ahead to the tornado potential of the next event.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Dr. Victor Gensini & Dr. Harold BrooksIn the minds of many, Spring may be king when it comes to tornadoes, but we know they can happen any month of the year. We also know during the colder months, we tend to observe certain types of tornadoes and severe weather in favored parts of the country. Today we will be joined by severe weather experts Dr. Harold Brooks from the National Severe Storms Lab and Dr. Victor Gensini from Northern Illinois University to discuss severe weather during the winter and why it presents a unique set of challenges.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Laura MyersWatch, warning, advisory. These are just a few of the words you may hear a meteorologist say, but do you know exactly what they mean and how you should prepare if you hear them? Today’s guest on Weather Geeks, Dr. Laura Myers, is a social scientist and current director of the Center for Advanced Public Safety at The University of Alabama. Part of Dr. Myers’ work is to study human behavior in relation to severe weather events before, during, and after the storm.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Dr. Upmanu Lall, Director of the Columbia Water Center at Columbia UniversityIntroduction: Since the beginning of this year, California has been the focal point of international news all due to flooding caused by an on-going atmospheric river. The big stream of moisture has left a large footprint over the state by improving drought and shattering many rainfall and snowfall records. But all of this rain and snow comes with a price that may be too high for some residents to handle. This has led some researchers to ask the question: Can We Move an Atmospheric River? Today we are joined by Dr. Upmanu Lall to talk about that very question. Dr. Lall thanks for being here!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Kaitlin ParramoreIntroduction: If you are put under a tornado warning at this very moment, would you know where to go?  Always the lowest level and most interior room, right?  Well for some of us, that option may not always be the safest.  What if you live in a mobile or manufactured home?  Or, you are at your workplace with windows lining the walls?  Instead of relying on the infrastructure around you, a company called Survive-a-Storm has designed and built shelters that can be installed ANYWHERE and protect you from an EF5 tornado.  To talk about the advancements that have been made in storm shelter technology over the years, we have Survive-a-Storm’s Kaitlin Parramore to discussSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. David CallWhenever we look back at historical anniversaries of major events, we tend to think about the areas and the people that were impacted.  Lives were lost but homes and businesses were rebuilt on the same land and life tends to go “back to normal” after a certain amount of time.  But as our world and our climate is constantly changing around us, one has to ask, “what if this natural disaster happened today?  Would we be in a better or worse position than we were back then, in terms of our infrastructure, communication, and overall disaster response?”  Well, that is what my guest today Dr. David Call is focusing on with his new book Superstorm 1950.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.