Weather Geeks

Guest: Ali Van Fleet Introduction:  All-time record heat waves… mega-droughts & record large wildfires…flash floods from incredible rain… often come with a Climate Change fingerprint on them. Is there anything we can do?  Pattrn is a social and streaming media brand with a mission to explore, inform, and engage in Earth’s changing patterns.  Ali Van Fleet, meteorologist and Climate Science Producer at The Weather Channel, is here today to tell us more about Pattrn and share her personal experience with several historic climate-fueled weather events. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Adam Houston It’s been more than 25 years since the movie Twister came out, depicting scientists trying to gather data from inside tornadoes by leaving instruments in their paths. As happens with time, technology improves and now it’s not just in the movies where scientists are attempting to get data from inside a tornado. One group of scientists are using drones to intercept tornadoes to gather data to help shed light on their inner workings and also to help the National Weather Service issue more accurate tornado warnings with longer lead times. The head of that project, Dr. Adam Houston, is here with us today. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Phil Klotzbach Introduction: “Is it going to be a busy hurricane season?” is one of the most commonly asked questions to meteorologists, especially this time of year. After two back-to-back seasons with a super-charged Atlantic basin, this year is indeed expected to be above average again.  What that means for impacts and how those predictions are made are just some of the topics to talk about with atmospheric scientist and premier hurricane season predictor - Dr. Phil Klotzbach - on this episode of Weather Geeks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Ed Kearns If you’ve been keeping tabs on the natural disasters impacting our country, you may have noticed that wildfires have become more intense, larger, and are occurring more frequently, scorching everything in their path. First Street Foundation, a science and technology nonprofit, has released a new study evaluating the wildfire risk to our nation’s critical infrastructure. But just how do you model out something with so many variables that differ from one part of the country to the other? Joining us today is Dr. Ed Kearns, the chief data officer at First Street Foundation, to break down the methodology, findings and impacts of this expansive research study. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Andrew Grundstein Many of us have seen first-hand the impacts weather can have on our daily lives, and today we’re going to focus on the dangers associated with heat and thunderstorms. Heat related illnesses are often underrated and sadly, this can lead to many trips to the emergency room...or worse. Today’s guest, Dr. Andrew Grundstein of the University of Georgia, has been focusing on one particular aspect of the heat: how it impacts athletes and children in hot cars. These situations can lead to dozens of deaths each year, so we’re going to discuss the meteorological and even some of the psychological factors at play in these events. Finally, we’ll discuss the impacts of thunderstorms on asthma...an idea which may be counterintuitive to many of you... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Jen Carfagno, Kelly Cass, Felicia Combs, Paul Goodloe, Jacqui Jeras, Dr. Rick Knabb, Molly McCollum On May 2, 1982, The Weather Channel launched and changed the way we received weather information forever. Over these past 40 years, technology has changed not only the way we study meteorology, but also how we get life saving information out to the public, a core tenet of The Weather Channel’s mission. Joining us today are several meteorologists at the Weather Channel to discuss their experiences and where they see the next 40 years going. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Craig Clements We saw a record number of acres of beautiful countryside go up in flames in 2020. In recent years, many across the West have seen some of the deadliest & most destructive wildfires that our country has ever experienced.  Whether they have been accelerated by climate change or extreme drought conditions, there is no denying that millions of lives have been changed forever as these millions of acres are scorched beyond repair.  Today on the show, we are talking with someone who wants this trend to stop and wants to forecast the wildfires before they cause their destruction.  His name is Dr. Craig Clements from the SJSU Fire Weather Research Lab in California and we are so excited to sit down with him today... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Kevin Petty Introduction: As technology has progressed over the past century, scientists and engineers have discovered ways to make technology smaller and smaller and still yield the same or even greater results. Satellite technology is no exception to this progress of miniaturization. Nanosatellites are satellites that have a mass between 1 and 10 kg and are populating low-level orbit more and more frequently. As of August 2021, over 1,600 nanosatellites were in orbit around Earth. Joining us is Dr. Kevin Petty, Vice President of Earth System Science and Technology at Spire, a company that utilizes nanosatellites to predict environmental change. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Kevin Petty Introduction: As technology has progressed over the past century, scientists and engineers have discovered ways to make technology smaller and smaller and still yield the same or even greater results. Satellite technology is no exception to this progress of miniaturization. Nanosatellites are satellites that have a mass between 1 and 10 kg and are populating low-level orbit more and more frequently. As of August 2021, over 1,600 nanosatellites were in orbit around Earth. Joining us is Dr. Kevin Petty, Vice President of Earth System Science and Technology at Spire, a company that utilizes nanosatellites to predict environmental change. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Karen Kosiba When we assign a rating to a tornado, it’s based on the damage it’s left behind. But what happens when a powerful tornado roars through a field? Is the rating assigned accurate if there wasn’t a building there to damage? Dr. Karen Kosiba joins us to talk about the research she and her colleagues have done in this subject and we’ll get an inside look on what it’s like to experience a storm from inside a mobile radar, the tool used to help determine tornadic wind speeds in these rural tornadoes. She’s also part of the PERiLS research team we talked about a few weeks ago here on the podcast and we’ll get an update on the research after the storms we’ve seen roll through the south over the past few weeks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Stephen Strader Introduction: Severe weather comes in many forms, and tornadoes are amongst the deadliest on a yearly basis. When severe weather strikes, many people feel as if the safest place to be is their home, but is that the case for all types of homes? Our next guest has studied the vulnerability of humans that live in mobile and manufactured homes during severe weather events. Dr. Stephen Strader, assistant professor at Villanova University, is here today to discuss his findings and ways that we can improve safety throughout tornadic events… See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Tony Lyza When you think of tornadoes, you probably think of a big supercell in Tornado Alley in Texas or Oklahoma or Kansas. However, the idea of a “tornado alley” can be misleading.  Tornadoes in the Deep South are just as likely to occur and perhaps more deadly than in the Great Plains.  Today’s guest is part of one of the largest and most comprehensive severe storm field campaigns in the Southeastern United States. The field program is called PERilS - Propagation, Evolution, and Rotation in Linear storms. Tony Lyza, from the University of Alabama Huntsville, is here today to discuss the plan for the research and what scientists hope to discover. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Kevin Cooley When life-threatening weather is occurring, the National Weather Service not only monitors the threat, but also puts out products through a variety of sources in order to convey the severity and timing of the threat. But how exactly do they accomplish this? In the age of technology where a tweet can be seen just as widely as a bulletin on television, how does the NWS balance the juggling act of ensuring their message is seen by as many people as possible but also staying on top of the threat as it’s unfolding? Joining us today is Kevin Cooley, the Director of Office of Planning & Programming for Service Delivery for the N-W-S, and that’s exactly what his job handles.   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Harrison Prieto Student athletes at the collegiate level have to balance a plethora of responsibilities, both academic and athletic. For one of those student athletes, meteorology plays a huge role on the academic side of things: Harrison Preito is a student at Florida State University and also pursuing his Masters in Meteorology. We’re sitting down today to talk about that balance, how weather became such an important part of his life, and where he sees himself moving forward. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

GUEST: David Hondula INTRODUCTION: Weather is an awe-inspiring phenomenon that captures the attention of everyone at some point in their lives, but it’s also powerful and can be deadly as well. When we think of life threatening weather, hurricanes, severe storms, and flooding come to mind first, but did you know extreme heat is one of the leading killers when it comes to weather-related fatalities? The city of Phoenix, Arizona is keenly aware of this, ranking near the top for hottest cities in the United States. This is also one of the reasons why the city became the first in the nation to have a publicly funded office for heat response and mitigation. A Heat Officer, if you will. David Hondula is that officer and he’s joining us today! Welcome, David! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.