For the love of weather

We both find weather satellites fascinating and so really enjoyed recording this episode of the podcast. We were incredibly lucky to be able to talk to Graeme Mason and Thorsten Fehr from the European Space Agency in this episode.

Graeme is the Meteorological Programmes Manager at the European Space Agency and is responsible for the implementation of a number of satellite missions including the Meteosat Third Generation and the Arctic Weather Satellite, which we speak to him about in this episode.

Thorsten is the Mission Scientist for the Earth Explorer Programme mission EarthCARE, which stands for Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer, and is the European Space Agency’s clouds and aerosol mission.

In this episode we learn all about the new Arctic Weather satellite, which is due to be launched in the middle of August 2024 and is actually going to be launched alongside 99 other satellites. We also learn about EarthCARE, which was launched at the end of May 2024.

In this episode we cover lots about satellites in general, including how they range in size from a fridge to the size of a bus; as well as how long it takes to develop these satellites before they even get launched.

If you have any questions about weather satellites after listening to this episode, then definitely reach out to Graeme and Thorsten on LinkedIn. You can also find out about these satellite missions as well as many more on the European Space Agency’s website https://www.esa.int/

You can follow us on Instagram @fortheloveofweather and on X @4loveofweather.

We really hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast and leave loving the weather a little bit more.

At the start of July 2024 we took the podcast to the Royal Meteorological Society’s first ever weather and climate conference. Over the two days we were lucky to be able to speak to lots of amazing scientists and attend some brilliant talks. While there we also got a chance to talk to three brilliant scientists in a series of mini podcasts, which we have put together in this special episode.

Our first guest is Amanda Maycock, who is a professor of climate dynamics at the University of Leeds. We spoke to Amanda about how she got into academia, how she communicates complex subjects to her students as well as women in science.

Next, we spoke to Professor Myles Allen, who is the head of atmospheric, oceanic and planetary physics in the department of physics at the University of Oxford. As well as professor of geosystem science in the school of geography and the environment. We spoke to Myles about attribution studies, which are a way of looking at how climate change is impacting weather events.

Finally, we got the opportunity to speak to Professor Penny Endersby, who is the Chief Executive of the Met Office. In this conversation with Penny, we learnt about what the Met Office does as well as about AI and the potential ways it could be used in weather forecasting.

If you want to learn more about the conference, there is lots of content on our social platforms.

Instagram: @fortheloveofweather

X: @4loveofweather

You can also find out more on the Royal Meteorological Society’s website, where you can also learn more about what the society does.

https://www.rmets.org/

We really hope you enjoy this episode and leave loving the weather just a little bit more.

Please welcome Dan Harris, Chartered Meteorologist and Deputy Chief Meteorologist at the UK Met Office.

In this episode we chat about sting jets. Dan’s description of sting jets will bring to life this powerful atmospheric wind in a way you may not have understood before.

The Great Storm of 1987 in the UK was the first time a sting jet was identified when a unique shape in the clouds was observed in satellite imagery at that time.

Although the storm was incredibly destructive there were some positives that followed in the years after the storm with advancements in forecasting science.

Were the same event to happen today, it would likely be forecast a few days in advance, leaving time to warn the public, and minimising potential damage.

You may also find it interesting to know that Dan is a rubix cube master and you can find him on YouTube solving a cube at remarkable speeds!

Dan runs his own weather website roostweather.com. He created the website so that he could

visualise data in a way that was helpful to him. It is now used by most members of the weather forecasting community.

Dan is fun, incredibly intelligent and knows a lot about a lot of things! We couldn’t keep up!

An absolute pleasure to chat to and we hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did.

You can find Dan on

X - @RoostWeather

Web - roostweather.com

And as always you can follow the podcast on

X - @4loveofweather and on Instagram -

@fortheloveofweather.

Thanks so much for listening and supporting the podcast, and we hope you leave this episode loving the weather just a little bit more.

Meet Georgina and Rebecca, the Antarctic Fire Angels. In January 2024 they pioneered a new route across the Antarctic while skiing unsupported from Union Glacier to the South Pole. The journey took 52 days, 10 hours and 30 minutes.

Four years ago Georgina and Rebecca didn’t know each other but they were at the same National Fire Service Conference. That year Sophie Montagne gave the keynote speech. Sophie is the world record holder for Ice Maiden, the first female team to ski across the Antarctic.

A five minute conversation with Sophie after the speech was the beginning of what was to become an incredible friendship between Georgina and Rebecca that led on to them completing this epic 1230km journey across the coldest place on earth.

Hold your breath while you learn about the terrifying noise of ice crevasses, the silence that can exist in the Antarctic and what it is like to be engulfed in a white-out. What is it like to experience temperatures of minus 41 degrees? climb altitudes of over 4000 metres? And try to keep up with an 8000 calories a day schedule to stay alive.

They are now building the Fire Angel Foundation, which will see female fire cadets and girl guides embark on a three month program. This program will culminate in a mini expedition to Sweden where they will build self esteem, confidence and learn to support each other during times of adversity.

Not only are Georgina and Rebecca championing incredibly feats of human stamina and endurance but they are truly champions of change for women and girls, carving out a wide and deep path to facilitate that.

From start to finish this is an inspiring podcast. It is a story of the human spirit, mental strength and the strength of most importantly a story of friendship.

If you would like to learn more about The Antarctic Fire Angels you can find them here:

https://antarcticfireangels.co.uk/

X - @antarctic_fire

Instagram - antarcticfireangels

You can find their documentary on ITVX - 'Fire & Ice: The Antarctic Fire Angels' https://www.itv.com/walesprogrammes/articles/fire-and-ice-the-antarctic-fire-angels

Their next adventure is called ‘777’, seven marathons, 7 continents in 7 days. We can’t wait!!

And as always you can follow the podcast on ‘X’ we are @4loveofweather and on Instagram @fortheloveofweather.

Thanks so much for listening and supporting the podcast, and we hope you leave this episode loving the weather just a little bit more.

Meet Space Weather expert Krista Hammond who has been forecasting with the Met Office for 16 years. Kirsta is an operational Space Weather Meteorologist as well as a senior Account Manager for Space Weather.

As we enter into a solar maximum, Space Weather activity has been hitting the headlines, not only because of the frequency of the spectacular display of the aurora borealis but because there has been a forecast for one of the largest geomagnetic storms to have hit the earth for 20 year. This level of storm is powerful enough to knock out power grids, networks, navigation and more.

The scale of space weather is simple mind blowing. Krista talks about the difference between solar flare, solar radiation storms and coronal mass ejections (CME’s). She explains the remarkable speed that each can travel at and how much warning we might potentially have before they hit the Earth. A CME is in a whole league to its own and can affect not just a local region but an entire hemisphere.

Krista tells us that unlike modern forecasting for the weather on Earth, there is very limited ways to understand what’s happening in the sun. The main way to do this is to use satellites which look at the sun in different wavelengths and well as looking at the sun’s magnetic fields.

We learn why we need to know what a ‘Lagrange points’ is and why a European Space Agency mission called VIGIL could revolutionise space weather forecasting.

Listen on to find out why Krista loves summer, Noctilucent clouds and why even though she is a space weather forecaster she has never seen the Northern Lights!

If you would like to contact Krista she is on LinkedIn - Krista Hammond - Space Weather.

You can follow the podcast on ‘X’ we are @4loveofweather and on Instagram @fortheloveofweather.

Thanks so much for listening and supporting the podcast, and we hope you leave this episode loving the weather just a little bit more.

Sarah is the owner of an instagram account called @elecrify_this. She started the account one 40 degree day in Sydney in December 2023. Then on Christmas Day, she accidentally posted a reel that went viral, gaining her tens of thousands of followers.

She has a down to earth approach on how to decarbonise and electrify your house. Her instagram account has only been running a short time but it is already jam packed with practical videos on how to make your home more efficient. If kilowatt hours are your language, she has reduced hers to 12 a day during winter.

She ‘broke the internet’ with a video showing what an Australian ‘weather strip’ is - the post got over a million views. She is a keen observer of how politics in Australia are changing as they aim for 80% renewables by 2030.

If you are wondering why Sarah is so easy to listen to, she is a voice over artist and actor of 20 years, starring in the movie ‘Happy Feet 2,’ the launch promo for ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here’ in the UK, and she’s even shared a microphone with Robin Williams. If you are from Australia you may know her voice from Channel 7.

Listen to the whole podcast to find out why Sarah would like to have dinner with the early 20th Century actress Mae West, why she doesn’t like the beach, and why potatoes are pretty cool, as well as what her super power would be.

You can find Sarah on instagram @electrify_this and https://www.sarahaubrey.com/about

Thanks so much for listening and supporting the podcast, and we hope you leave this episode loving the weather just a little bit more.

If you would like to follow our podcast on ‘X’ we are @4loveofweather and on Instagram @fortheloveofweather.

WOW is all we can say. What an incredible guest! Meet Kirsten Neuschäfer who won the Golden Globe Race in 2022. The Golden Globe Race is a solo around the world sailing race and it took Kirsten 233 days to complete it. 

Not only is she the only female to win the race, she is also the first South African to win the GGR. As well as that, during the race she rescued fellow competitor Tapio Lehtinen whose boat sank in the Indian Ocean.

Kirsten has a wonderful and simple philosophy for  life. When someone says ‘it can’t be done’ she replies ‘have you tried it?. No? Well then, let’s try’. When she was just 22, Kirsten cycled home from Europe. A short hop of just 15,000km to South Africa to explore the Continent she is most passionate about, Africa. She started that journey with the words ‘let’s try’. 

Her love of boats goes back to childhood. She grew up inland but went to the coast on holidays and just felt at home. She spent time in a dinghy with her friends at the Hartbeespoort Dam and thought ‘I think I would like to take to the Seas some day.’ 

Kirsten has been professionally sailing since 2006. She has specialised in high latitude sailing, taking film crews to places like South Georgia, the Falklands, Patagonia and the Antarctic peninsula.

Kirsten was inspired as a young person by one of her older brother’s best friends who was a ‘can do everything person’. Nothing was impossible for him and this left a big impression on Kirsten. He would always just find a way. 

Through the podcast we delve into Kirsten’s 233 days at sea with her boat ‘Minnehaha’. We talk about life leading up to the point, all that she learned and her seeming never ending knowledge of weather and climate, which makes us smile to hear her say ‘I am not expert’. We disagree!

She says winning the race was incredible, and when people ask her how it feels to be a woman who won the race she says she only really thinks that she was a person who worked incredibly hard to win the race and prepare her boat and that for her is the most important part. 

Kirsten says that being seen as a role model has taken time to sink in and wishes that there were more females in the sport as well as the industry. She says there is no difference between male and female and it’s a traditional construct we need to get past. 

Listen on to learn about electrophysics, wildlife encounters, why she would like to be able to breath under water and how one day she might just write a book so she doesn’t forget what happened as perhaps another adventure is looming. We cannot wait to see what she does. 

As a parting thought Kirsten reminds us that everything starts with one step and you will eventually take enough steps to have completed the journey. She is humble, funny and has an incredible philosophy in life and we hope that you hear the love and brilliance that she shares with us and as always we hope you leave the podcast loving the weather and climate just that little bit more. 

You can follow Kirsten here:

Website: https://kirstenggr.com/

Instagram: @kirstenggr

LinkedIn: https://za.linkedin.com/in/kirsten-neusch%C3%A4fer-275822197 

As well as here https://goldengloberace.com/skippers/kirsten-neuschafer/

We are delighted to introduce Kathy Morrisey, planning and insights director at Stansted Airport. 

Kathy’s inspiration in life is her father who didn’t think there was a barrier to what girls could do. He believed in the power of learning and Kathy said he knew  his daughters could conquer the world.  

She said that her father gave her the gift of blind expectation, that you could do anything that boys could do. As it happens Kathy absolutely loved maths and went on to be an engineer. She offers some great advice to always be curious. 

We spoke to Kathy a lot about STEM and her roles in historically male dominated work forces. She recalls times when she took a male team member to a meeting and if she asked a question the response would be offered to her male colleague, while she was ignored.  

She says it can still happen now and to combat this she is a lead in raising awareness of microaggressions. Kathy makes a very valid point that it is the job of both male and females to champion women in the workplace. All the evidence shows that having a diverse team leads to better decision making and better outcomes. 

Kathy has climbed Kilimanjaro, worked on oil rigs and has some interesting insight into women’s workwear. She says her dream dinner guest would be the Pankhurts as well as Billie Jean King. We all reflect on how women’s achievements in the past have not been recognised, citing Marie Curie as an example.  

We hope you enjoyed this episode as much as we did. You can follow Kathy on LIinkedIn  https://uk.linkedin.com/in/kathy-morrissey-meng-mba-4718307.

If you would like to follow our podcast on Twitter we are @4loveofweather or Instagram @Fortheloveofweather.

Thanks so much for listening and supporting the podcast and we hope you leave this episode loving the weather that little bit more.

In December 2023 social platforms lit up with images of nacreous clouds. One evening in December 2023 these clouds, also known as mother of pearl clouds, were visible across the UK and Northern Europe. In this episode we welcome back stratospheric expert Dr Simon Lee to find out why these clouds were seen so far south and piece together the relationship between the displacement of the polar vortex while also learning there is a dark side to nacreous clouds. 

Dr. Lee talks about how sudden stratospheric warming was first observed in the 1950’s by scientists in Berlin. The scientists at the time referred to this as ‘explosive warming of the winter time stratosphere’. Although 70 years has passed there is still so much to learn about the interaction of the stratosphere and the troposphere. 

Simon delves into larger scale teleconnection patterns and explains why these types of clouds are more common in the Antarctic and what connection, if at all, El Nino may have on the stratosphere. 

Listen on if you want to learn about chlorine monoxide, ozone loss, the Aleutian Low and why cold air is increasingly hard to find. 

We last met Dr Simon Lee in November 2022 when we learned about all things polar vortex and the impact of sudden stratospheric warmings on the UK. You can find that episode on our website: https://www.fortheloveofweather.com/podcast/s05-e01-the-beast-from-the-east-and-the-polar-vortex-meet-dr-simon-lee

Simon is currently a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics (APAM) at Columbia University in the City of New York, where he works on stratosphere-troposphere coupling, large-scale climate dynamics and variability, and subseasonal-to-seasonal predictability and its applications. He is also Co-Editor-in-Chief of the RMetS Weather journal. 

Simon will soon move to the University of St Andrews in Scotland where he will take up a new post as a lecturer. 

Soon to move to University of St Andrews as a lecturer You can find Dr. Simon Lee on X @SimonLeeWx and we highly recommend you follow him. He is also on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonleewx. 

We took the podcast to the Blue Earth Summit 2023 in Bristol. Please check out our instagram feed @fortheloveofweather to get a flavour of what we got up to. We captured and shared as many speakers and guests as we could! We were absolutely blown away by the amazing talks and conversations we had and most importantly people’s willingness to give us their time to talk about what they were passionate about.

The Blue Earth Summit is held over 3 days where Bristol plays host to 5,000+ decision makers, industry pioneers, provocative thought-leaders, sustainability trailblazers, insightful solutionists and boundary-pushing start ups. It’s the place to explore, meet, learn, collaborate and take action.

FYI The Blue Earth Summit was incredibly busy! There is back ground noise but hopefully you will take away something from the mini podcasts we managed to record.

——————————

Our first guest.

Meet Emma Askew @Emmaaskewuk, founder of @Earthminutesuk . Their mission is to drive the future of environmental learning and thinking, making it accessible to everyone but also sharing it in a way that is sustainable.

Emma was quite simply so inspiring to talk to. She is from the soil science sector which she said was a really important inflection point for her. This is where she realised there was a huge gap between the science she was working in and the communications of the science.

Emma speaks so passionately about encouraging young people into leadership early and building a connection with the environment from a young age.

She says she has hope for the future and community is where hope grows through community action.

——————————

Our second guest.

Michael Cunningham is the founder of the 9trees Community Interest Company, founded in 2018.

Michael was originally involved in conservation and observed that while he was completing a lot of work, woodlands were changing rapidly and not all conservation work was having positive impact.

Michael decided he wanted to do something about this. He worked out that each individual in the UK roughly emits 9 tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere annually. Each tree (based on a hectare of woodland) sequesters 1 tonne of carbon over the lifecycle of any one tree and so 9trees was born.

Individuals or businesses can sponsor trees to create woodlands or nature reserves that you can visit today and watch flourish over time. Michael describes this as watching hope grow.

So far the company has planted 15,000 trees but they plan to plant 10,000 trees every year over the next few years and in every county in the UK with Northern Ireland being the next country to plant in.

You can find Michael’s company at https://www.9trees.org and on instagram @9treesuk

—————————

Our final guest

Meet Sandra - chair of the West Bristol climate action group.

Sandra talks about how small local changes are very important nationally. She wants to create wildlife corridors locally and between other towns.

Sandra’s message is that decarbonising in small ways adds up to large changes.

You can find Sandra at http://www.westbristolclimateaction.org