The David Bernard Podcast

David and Nicondra are joined by Brian McNoldy who is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Miami. We get Brian's thoughts on yet another record breaking hurricane season including of course Hurricane Ida. We also discuss ways of measuring a hurricane season's intensity such as named storms, accumulated cyclone energy and a storm's actual damage.

Two months after Ida the ramifications are still being felt across Southeast Louisiana. One bright spot from the storm was the post-Katrina levees "held". But did the levees really hold or was this just not the storm to test the system. Sandy and H.J. discuss the current state of our flood protection and what can be done to protect against an even stronger Katrina like storm in the future. Also, should there be a national disaster fund established to spread risk more evenly across the country and in the end reduce cost from increasingly expensive disasters?

Her areas of expertise include physical oceanography, satellite oceanography, air-sea interactions and tropical cyclone intensities, the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current and eddy circulations. 

Veteran FOX 8 reporters John Snell and Rob Krieger give their perspective on the Ida recovery. Rob recounts riding out the storm at the coast and compares it to his experience with Laura.  John gives his perspective on the environmental damage to the Louisiana coastline. In addition, what is the status of temporary housing for the most devastated areas? How and when will the seafood industry return?

Windell Curole has been General Manager for the South Lafourche Levee District for 41 years. He has been through every storm this levee district south of the New Orleans area has seen since its inception in the 1970s. It just faced one of its biggest challenges ever with Hurricane Ida. How did the levees hold up? How many people does it protect? If you're a hurricane history buff, Windell will answer those questions and more. 

Does it seem like extreme rain events are happening more often? The statistics show this is the case and it has major implications for where and how we live. Urban areas are particularly impacted as we have seen in recent years in Southeast Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Dr. Trepanier discusses extreme weather and its impact on current and future climate with a focus on tropical meteorology as well. 

Is it possible to predict blizzards, tornado outbreaks and hurricane landfalls as much as 300 days in advance? It is an idea first advanced almost 80 years ago by a weather bureau meteorologist named Jerome Namais and it was called the cycling pattern hypothesis. Fast forward to the 1980s and Gary Lezak noticed the same type of repeating patterns. He has used this forecasting technique since the 1980s. His followers have called it the l.R.C. Or Lezak recurring cycle.

Claudette wasn't a named storm until after it crossed the Louisiana Coastline. Does a named storm impact flood insurance deductibles just like wind and hail? That question is answered along with an assessment of flood risk and why everyone should carry flood insurance. Zack Fradella also joins David to further discuss the unique storm that was Claudette.