Weather Geeks

Guest: Ken Graham

The National Weather Service needs no introduction here on Weather Geeks and recently, a new director was appointed to lead the agency in charge of disseminating vital weather information across the U.S.. Ken Graham is taking the reins of the NWS as its 17th director and if that name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s been a guest of the podcast before 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 past endeavors that have led up to this point.

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Guest: Eric Klinenberg

 When we talk about preventing deaths from natural disasters, we often look at our physical infrastructure and how to build it to withstand withering conditions. But what about our social infrastructure: the network of spaces, institutions, and groups that help foster social connections? What role do they play in protecting the vulnerable? Our guest today is Eric Klinenberg, author of Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, and it's an in depth look at the factors that led to one of America's deadliest heat waves.

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Guest: Dr. Tim Marshall

Introduction: When natural disasters strike, those affected work to rebuild their lives and livelihoods; but before we rebuild, we must assess the damage that has occurred. By doing this, we can work to improve the structures where we live and work and hopefully prevent the same damage from happening again. Dr. Tim Marshall is joining us today and is one of the nation’s preeminent forensic engineers. He was also involved in the development team that produced the Enhanced Fujita Scale for tornado damage assessment as well as a major contributor to the committee to update the Saffir-Simpson scale.

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Guest: Joseph Trujillo Falcón

Bilingual communities across the country are at a disadvantage when weather warnings are issued because the current infrastructure does not adequately translate the weather terminology into Spanish. Some progress has been made in recent years, but there is still a long way to go. Our next guest on Weather Geeks, Joseph Trujillo Falcón, is working to bridge the gap between weather warnings and bilingual communities…

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Guest: Dr. Jim Kossin

The 2020 and 2021 hurricane seasons were both above average based on the number of named storms. The changing climate and its impact on the strength and frequency of tropical cyclones is constantly being studied. Our next guest has focused his studies on hurricanes and the impacts that the climate and climate change are having on these systems. With another active hurricane season expected in 2022, we welcome Senior Scientist with The Climate Service, Dr. Jim Kossin, to this week’s episode of Weather Geeks…

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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...

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