Weather Geeks

Guest: Dr. Jordan Schnell, Research Associate for CIRES at CU Boulder; NOAA GSL

You know the Phil Collins song that goes “I can feel it coming in the air tonight?” Well that’s how allergy sufferers feel when they see the trees starting to bloom again in the spring! It signals the return of pollen, which can be debilitating to millions of people. And that can even extend into the summer with ragweed and grass pollen! Scientists at NOAA have developed a brand new pollen forecast that can both help those with allergies live a sneeze-free life, but can also model how pollen particles move around in and interact with our atmosphere. Today on the show we have Dr. Jordan Schnell to discuss this exciting new product and other air quality hot topics…

Chapters

1. 00:00 The Impact of Pollen on Allergy Sufferers and the Development of a New Forecast
2. 04:03 Dr. Jordan Schnell: Research, Air Quality, and Electric Vehicles
3. 15:38 Modeling Pollen and Its Interaction with Weather
4. 26:11 Impact of Pollen on Weather
5. 33:29 The Future of Pollen Forecasting
6. 42:54 Innovative Projects at Ceres

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Guest: Andrew Brady, Founder of AtmoSphere Analytics

To some in the meteorological industry, Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning could seem like scary things. But as technology improves, we can learn to harness these things and use them to our advantage to help further our mission: to save lives and property from the threats that weather can pose. Our guest today is doing just that and then some! Andrew Brady has created a weather prediction model that is powered by advanced machine learning. How is he using this to forecast tornadoes and severe weather accurately from a time frame as short as 1 hour to as far out as 120 hours? Well, that’s what we’re going to geek out about today…

Chapters

1. 00:00 The Power of Machine Learning in Weather Prediction
2. 06:31 The Creation of MMFS and StormNet
3. 16:16 HazCast and Real-Time Data in Severe Weather Prediction
4. 26:10 Performance and Real-Time Evaluations of StormNet
5. 41:18 Future Developments of StormNet

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Guest: Dr. Stella Kafka, AMS Executive Director

The world of meteorology is vast, with the options of different career paths spreading far and wide! You don’t have to be on TV in order to be a successful meteorologist, nor do you have to work for the government at the National Weather Service. In that same vein, you don’t have to be a meteorologist to be involved in the American Meteorological Society, even though it’s in the name! Your career may take you in a different direction, but there is always a weather geek in there somewhere. That’s why today on Weather Geeks, we have the new Executive Director of the AMS Dr. Stella Kafka on the show to talk about her journey into this position and where she wants to take the organization in the future…

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Guest: Dr. Brian LaPointe, Research Professor at Florida Atlantic University

As we are heading into the throes of summer, a lot of you are going to be slathering on sunscreen and heading to the beaches! Heck, you may be listening to this podcast while ON the beach! While you’re there, wouldn’t you want to know more about the waters surrounding you and what little microscopic critters could be floating around in there? Maybe, maybe not, but we are going to geek out about it either way! I’m here with Dr. Brian LaPointe from FAU who is an industry expert in water quality across our country’s shorelines.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and Background
• 08:29 Eutrophication and Water Quality
• 27:12 Regulation and Management for Coastal Protection
• 37:13 Warming Water Temperatures and the Growth of Sargassum
• 45:04 The Human Alteration of the Nitrogen Cycle and Harmful Algal Blooms

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Guest: Rick Smith, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for NWS Norman

If you feel it, chase it! That is the tagline for one of the biggest movies of the summer and probably the biggest weather movie of the decade: Twisters. After the initial geek out took place, we were left with a lot of questions! Did it live up to its predecessor Twister, which inspired meteorologists all across the country to pursue their passion? Will we see a brand new wave of Kates and Tylers in the coming decades? Before we think too far ahead, we’ve got to break down the SCIENCE in the film, and who better to do that with than Rick Smith, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at NWS Norman…

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Twisters and Rick Smith
• 09:14 Involvement with the Movie Twisters
• 23:12 Accuracy of Science in Twisters
• 34:02 Weather Modification and Taming Tornadoes
• 36:42 The Future of Twisters and Potential Sequels

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Guest: Dr. Jessica Murfree, Assistant Professor at UNC Chapel Hill

The biggest event in the sporting world is taking place in Paris this summer! The Olympics brings in hundreds of athletes and even more spectators from all across the world from so many different backgrounds and ideologies. How do all of these minds come together not just to compete, but also think about our environment and climate as they do so? We have sports ecologist Dr. Jessica Murfree here on the show today to talk about the unique intersection of sports, our changing climate, and extreme weather events, and how that intersection can make all of us more future-thinking so we can go for the gold!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: Exploring the Intersection of Sports, Weather, and Climate

09:51 Understanding Sports Ecology: The Study of Relationships Between Sports and the Natural Environment

15:49 The Environmental Challenges of the Olympics: Heat and Climate Change

21:23 Adapting Sports to Climate Change: Considerations for Spectators and Infrastructure

25:47 The Impact of Climate Change on Sports: Spectator Experience and Adaptation

36:10 Rethinking Infrastructure and Practices: How Climate Change is Shaping Major Sports Leagues

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Guest: Charles Peek, Storm Tracker for The Weather Channel

It’s the thrill of the chase! After a record-breaking severe season, countless jaw-dropping videos of supercells and tornadoes were live streamed from every inch of Tornado Alley. Coupling that with the much anticipated release of the movie Twisters this summer, the sport of storm chasing has been a hot topic conversation. A lot of chasers would tell you that the movie Twister inspired them to pursue this career, but a LOT has changed since 1996! More technology, the rise of social media, and other avenues to make money are all on the table! On the show today, we have long-time storm chaser Charles Peek from The Weather Channel to talk about chasing in the year 2024 and beyond…

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Guest: Dr. Shepherd & the Creators of Weather Geeks

As long as there has been weather, we have had weather geeks. Before we had the radar to see storms from different layers and the satellites to see hurricanes from space, the fascination of weather has always been there. But only for the past 10 years has there been a Weather Geeks show; first starting as a half-hour geek out on The Weather Channel and now a podcast that you’re listening to wherever you are! And since the beginning, Dr. Marshall Shepherd from the University of Georgia has been your host and he’s sitting down with us to reminisce and regale about the past 10 years of Weather Geeks…

Chapters

• 00:00 The Fascination of Weather Geeks
• 02:14 Bitten by the Weather Bug
• 04:28 Creating a Meet the Press for Weather
• 05:07 The Reluctant Host
• 10:39 The Evolution of Hosting
• 16:17 Fascinating Guests
• 21:39 Geeking Out with Ginger Zee and Janice Hough
• 22:05 A Place to Geek Out
• 22:42 The Value of Weather Geeks in the Weathergeek Community
• 24:21 Challenges and Surprises of Hosting a TV Show
• 26:33 Influencing Teaching Strategies through Weather Geeks
• 29:03 The Future of Weather Geeks: AI, Social Sciences, and Immersive Mixed Reality
• 31:27 Exploring the Fascination of Weather with Weather Geeks

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Guest: Campbell Watson, Senior Research Scientist at IBM Research

As artificial intelligence, or AI, continues to become more pervasive in our technology, it’s only natural to wonder what it means for meteorology and climatology. Believe it or not, AI is already revolutionizing how we develop models in the Earth and Space sciences. Joining us today is Campbell Watson, a Senior Research Scientist at IBM Research, to discuss how we are creating these AI models, and the opportunities and advancements we hope to learn from using them.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to AI in Meteorology and Climatology
• 01:35 Campbell Watson's Background and Interest in Weather
• 04:18 The Use of AI in Weather Forecasting
• 05:24 The Evolution of AI in Weather Forecasting
• 06:26 Understanding AI at its Core
• 08:09 Difference Between AI and Conventional Weather Model Forecasting
• 10:44 The Difference Between AI and Conventional Weather Model Forecasting
• 13:31 AI Models Learning from Weather Models
• 20:30 Foundation Models and Unsupervised Learning
• 25:12 Verification of AI in Weather Forecasting
• 27:57 The Robustness of AI Models
• 28:24 Learning from Observations
• 29:23 AI Models Learning from Observations
• 30:09 The Importance of Observations
• 30:38 Comparing Deep Learning and AI with Traditional Weather Forecasting Models
• 35:38 Trustworthiness in AI Forecasting
• 36:12 Adopting AI in Weather Forecasting
• 41:46 Nowcasting with AI
• 44:03 AI in Climate Forecasting
• 47:38 The Future of AI in Weather Forecasting

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Guest: Dr. Amanda Schroeder, NWS Fort Worth

Description: Flooding can occur any time of the year and in any part of the United States. It is a weather catastrophe that knows no limitations. Each year, too many people lose their lives to flooding. Communicating the risks of flash flooding can be just as difficult as forecasting flash flooding itself. No one understands that better than Dr. Amanda Schroeder, a Senior Service Hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. She was key in the development of the Flash Flood Severity Index, a scale designed to help convey the risks associated with flood events.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:42 Dr. Amanda Schroeder's Background
• 04:04 Early Work on Flash Flood Research
• 05:16 Work on the Spread Project
• 08:52. Role of a Senior Service Hydrologist
• 10:21 Challenges of Flood Forecasting
• 11:34 Impact-Based Forecasting
• 13:17 Flash Flood Severity Index
• 19:06 Implementation of the Index
• 20:17 Potential Global Application
• 23:16 Memorable Flooding Events
• 26:01 Impact of Climate Change on Flooding
• 28:11 Takeaways for the Public
• 31:08 Overcoming Challenges in the Field
• 32:27 Availability of Information on the Flash Flood Severity Index
• 33:46 A Day in the Life of a Senior Service Hydrologist
• 35:45 Conclusion

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