Weather Geeks

Guest: Ray Ban

Intro: The Weather Channel has been around for over 37 years and has seen the evolution in both the television and digital space over multiple decades.  My guest today was an integral part of The Weather Channel’s growth for nearly 27 of those 37 years. Ray Ban was TWC’s Executive Vice President of Programming and Meteorology and is now a consultant for the company, while teaching a broadcasting class at his alma mater, Penn State.  After so many years in the weather communication industry, Ray has a great deal of experiences and wisdom to pass down to the next generation of meteorologists that you may be watching on TV someday!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Art Smith

Intro:  A lot of you listeners geek out about more than just the weather...myself included!  You have other passions and hobbies that you explore and expand over time, whether that be reading, biking, or...like my guest today...cooking!  Renowned and award-winning chef Art Smith has cooked for many notables including President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Lady Gaga. He is also a successful restaurateur, bringing his signature southern cuisine all across the country.  However, what you may NOT know about Art is that he is also a geek like us when it comes to the weather and climate, especially since they have an impact on the success of his wonderful restaurants. 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest:  Paul Newman, Chief Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center 

Intro:  With the daily discussions regarding climate change and rising sea levels, one may forget one of the first environmental crises that the world needed to come together to stop: the hole in the Ozone layer.  Today’s guest has not only never forgotten, but he has been a leader in combating the increase of the Ozone hole ever since it was discovered in the 1970’s. Paul Newman is a chief scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and is the co-chair of the Scientific Assessment Panel to the Montreal Protocol.  Newman has recently taken the scientific spotlight as a main voice in the new PBS special about the Ozone Hole and what was done to heal it. Now he lends his voice to our podcast 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. Ellen Prager, Marine Scientist & Author

Intro: You can always find my next guest anywhere that there is a coastline, and odds are, she may be getting ready to dive into it!  Dr. Ellen Prager is one of the biggest names in earth and ocean science communication, having done countless speaking engagements and written a handful of books.  The ocean is one of Earth’s most unexplored avenues and Dr. Prager has made it her mission to understand this landscape, or should I say waterscape, and make it understandable to all audiences, fellow doctors and children alike!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guests: Dr. Rick Knabb, Weather Channel Hurricane Expert, & Rebecca Moulton, Natural Hazards Planning & Disaster Response Meteorologist for FEMA

2018’s hurricane season thrust itself upon the history books, starting on Memorial Day weekend with subtropical storm Alberto making landfall, then Hurricane Florence scraping North Carolina with flooding rains in September, and finally Category 5 hurricane Michael destroying homes and lives along the Florida panhandle in October.  With all of these storms, meteorologists and emergency managers had to CONSTANTLY work together to refine their communication to keep everyone in the storm’s path safe. Today, I have two of those people who are at the top of their game: Dr. Rick Knabb, previous NHC director and current Weather Channel hurricane expert, and Rebecca Moulton, Natural Hazards Planning & Disaster Response Meteorologist for FEMA.  Today we will be looking back at how we ALL did in 2018 and what we can improve going into the new hurricane season.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Paul Sutter, Astrophysicist

Intro: 50 years ago, mankind took a giant leap as America successfully landed 3 humans on the moon! Today, we’re remembering this monumental event in world history as we celebrate Apollo 11’s mission and what it meant for the future of space exploration.  We’ve invited Astrophysicist Paul Sutter, Agent to the Stars, to discuss the science behind this lunar mission and how it set the stage for human spaceflight for decades to come. Plus, we’ll explore what’s next on the horizon as our country is making new strides to return to space...and maybe even put a human on Mars! Buckle up as we take this discussion to infinity....AND BEYOND!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Stephanie Pilkington, PhD Candidate & researcher with the NIST Center for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning

Intro: For decades the Saffir-Simpson Scale has been the scale used to warn people about the destructive power of an approaching hurricane…..but recently it has come under fire because it is based solely on wind and does not speak to the other hazards hurricane present. So, a group of civil engineers has developed a model in which they say can truly forecast the power of a hurricane….Today we talk to a member of that group...Stephanie Pilkington….to discuss the inner workings of this model.  We’ll dive into a discussion on how we one day can use such models to protect both life and property as we explore the true measure of a hurricane….

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Kristen Rasmussen, CSU Asst. Professor

Intro: Today’s guest is no stranger to researching some of Mother Nature’s most powerful storms! Dr. Kristen Rasmussen is an Assistant Professor at Colorado State University, and today we’ll get an inside look at her team’s recent trek to Argentina for the RELAMPAGO field campaign. We’ll discuss what makes these storms so powerful and find out how the local weather services and communities respond to such extreme conditions. Plus, we’ll discuss how severe storms may behave in a warming world. Could climate change be setting the environment up for even more explosive storms? We’ll unravel the details next...

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 Kloesel, Director of Oklahoma Climatological Survey

Intro: The word “bust” when describing the outcome of a high profile event in forecasting has become more frequently used as of late. It's even referred to, at times, as “the b word”. But why is this word thrown around so much when forecasts have become so good? These high profile events seem to be held at a higher standard. Today Dr. Kevin Kloesel, of the University of Oklahoma, joins us to talk about this very thing!

Find him on Twitter as @texasembassy, and make sure to follow us while you're there! @WeatherGeeks

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest:  Dr. Neil Jacobs,  Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction  

Intro:  Meteorologists look at a handful of different models when making their forecasts. This includes the ECMWF, or Euro model and the GFS, or American model. The latter has been under some scrutiny in the community, as it tends to be less accurate than the European, model.  Some believe its shortcomings are tied to the lack of government funding for research initiatives to improve it. My guest today has an EPIC proposal on how we can fix this! Dr. Neil Jacobs serves as the acting head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, and has already had his hand in the creation and improvement of weather modeling systems. He’s already taking that experience to the White House, and we’re excited to hear his future plans!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.