First Annual AMS WeatherFest at The Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society will be held 13-17 January 2002 at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida

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Welcome to the first annual WeatherFest, part of the American Meteorological Society's 82nd Annual Meeting. WeatherFest is a special three-hour science and weather fair dedicated to teaching you about the fascinating field of meteorology. WeatherFest is open to the general public and free of charge. WeatherFest has three parts: science presentations, hands-on experiments, and an exhibit hall with lots of resources. Here's what you'll find at WeatherFest…please note that the following schedule is subject to change.

SCIENCE PRESENTATIONS AND SCHEDULE

11:45 a.m.		Electronic Theater Presentation Fritz Hassler, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Come and see spectacular visualizations and movies of recent weather events. Fly in from outer space to Orlando and Disney World; drop in on the Kennedy Space Center and Park City Utah, site of the 2002 Olympics that will take place next month; go back to the early weather satellite images from the 1960s and see them contrasted with the latest national and international global satellite weather movies and numerical model simulations including tornadic thunderstorms and hurricanes from the 2001 season.
12:10 p.m.		Welcome Bob Serafin, American Meteorological Society President
12:15 p.m.		Meet at Hurricane Hunter Frank Marks, NOAA Hurricane Research Division, Miami, Florida Hurricanes are among nature's most powerful storms. Frank Marks will share his personal perspective of flying into the eye of these storms for research.
12:30 p.m.		Flying Into the Storm Commander Brian Taggart, NOAA Aircraft Operations Center Flying into the eye of a hurricane is extremely dangerous but critical to broaden our understanding of these powerful storms. Commander Taggart has logged more than 5,000 hours flying into more than 160 hurricanes. He'll share his personal experiences and answer any questions you might have about this thrilling and valuable job.
12:45 p.m.		Florida - The Thunderstorm Capitol of the Nation Dennis Decker, National Weather Service Forecast Office, Melbourne, Florida Come learn about Florida tornadoes, hail, microburst winds, flash flooding and lightning.
1:00 p.m.		Lightning Safety William P. Roeder, 45th Weather Squadron, Patrick Air Force Base Lightning is the #1 weather killer in Florida, killing more people than all other weather phenomena combined! Lightning also inflicts life-long severe injury on many more than it kills. Fortunately, the vast majority of lightning casualties are easily, quickly, and cheaply prevented. Public education is the key! This presentation will cover the lightning threat, especially in Florida, and review the recommendations from the Lightning Safety Group.
1:15 p.m.		Scientific Storm Chasing Daphne Zaras, NOAA National Severe Storm Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma Most storm chasers shown on TV chase storms as a hobby. But storm chasing started as a scientific pursuit to understand tornadoes. Although much has been learned and many studies are now done on computers, scientists at the National Severe Storms Lab still occasionally study storms through field studies. Find out how they conduct the science and what they are looking for when they chase storms.
1:30 p.m.		Another Great Electronic Theater Presentation
1:45 p.m.		Weather Support For Those Who Fly Jim Henderson, Aviation Weather Center The Federal Aviation Administration regulations require that pilots certified to fly in the United States for all classes of flight receive weather information before beginning a flight. The National Weather Service has been mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration to be the source of the weather information for most classes of flight. The Aviation Weather Center in Kansas City, Missouri is the official source of en-route warnings, advisories and forecasts issued over the national airspace of the contiguous 48 states. This short talk will show the kinds of weather information available and changes that are coming to that weather information.
2 p.m.		A Behind The Scenes Look At The 2002 Olympic Winter Games Weather Forecasting Vickie Nadolski, National Weather Service Western Region Take a behind the scenes look at how the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Utah have formed a unique partnership to provide weather support during the Games. Whether its providing today's and tomorrow's forecasts to the Games' organizing committee, athletes and coaches, the public or the world-wide viewing audience, weather information will be a main topic of conversation and will be a key topic covered by media.
2:15 p.m.		Florida Winter Weather Glenn Richards, WFTV-ABC Channel 9 Learn more about the tornado outbreak of 1998 here in Central Florida and the forecast for severe weather potential this winter season.
2:30 p.m.		Florida Wildfires Charles Paxton, National Weather Service Tampa Bay Area Wildfires have caused significant damage to the state of Florida in recent years. They also impact Florida's tourism and agricultural industry. Did you know many wildfires are caused by weather and that accurate and timely weather prediction is critical to controlling and preventing wildfires? Learn more about wildfire causes, wildfire forecasting, and wildfire prevention.
2:45 p.m.		Weather Impacts On Space Launch Col. Neil Wyse, 45th Weather Squadron, Patrick Air Force Base Weather has the single biggest impact on space launch. The 45th Weather Squadron is the US Air Force unit that provides weather support to the space program at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center. Most people are aware of some of the weather impacts on space launch, but not all the impacts. Most people are unaware that weather is even more important to preparatory launch operations in the weeks before space launch. Weather also is important to 24/7 operations for personnel safety and resource protection to over 25,000 people and over $17 billion in facilities. This presentation will briefly survey all the weather impacts on space launch.
3 p.m.		A Final Electronic Theater Presentation

SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS

One of the best ways to learn about meteorology and science in general is to touch it and see it happen in front of your eyes. These great science demonstrations will certainly peak your interest.

Cooking Up A Storm — Mike Mogil, "How The Weather Works"
Mike Mogil will explore thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, jet streams and more in this hands-on mini-science lab. What's even better is that most of what we'll do here you can easily replicate at home. Mike will also autograph his latest book, Tornadoes, available from the AMS Resource Center.

Weather Wizard Corner — Jill Hasling, The Weather Research Center
Drop by The Weather Museum's Weather Wizard Corner and watch the Weather Wizard's weather spells. Also build your own anemometer.

"Professor Weather" — Dennis Cain, National Weather Service
Professor Weather demonstrates the basic how's and why's of weather to students leading them to lessons about weather safety. From his lab coat to his interactive experiments, Professor Weather will capture your attention.

Wind and Surface Currents —
Barbara Walton-Faria, Thompson Middle School, Middletown, Rhode Island This simple demonstration is designed to show students how unequal heating causes convection, which causes wind, which helps determine surface currents in our oceans.

The Atmosphere: Its All Over My Head —
Kathleen Murphy, Ladue Middle School, House Springs, Missouri This hands-on activity will use a parachute to explain the unique properties of our atmosphere.

Cotton Clouds —
Ann Kelly, Our Lady of Sorrows School, St. Louis, Missouri What do you get when you mix cotton balls, glue sticks, construction paper, and a little imagination? A great hands-on activity and a lot of fun. Stop by to make your cotton clouds.

Hurricane Watch —
Join Jack Williams, founding editor of the USA Today Weather Page, and Dr. Bob Sheets, former director of the National Hurricane Center, for a book signing of their book - Hurricane Watch: Forecasting The Deadliest Storms On Earth.

The Mount Washington Observatory —
The Mount Washington Observatory is a private, non-profit organization which staffs a year-round weather observatory on the summit of the northeast United States' highest peak, which is home to some of the most intense weather on earth. Join Bryan Yeaton, a Mount Washington Observatory "Explainer" as he demonstrates the physics of lightning and lightning safety, thunderstorm formation and air pressure, and air currents.

The Windbag and Egg In A Bottle —
Frankie Vann, Lakewood High School, Salemburg, North Carolina These simple science demonstrations using a windbag and an egg in a bottle will teach you basic atmospheric science principles. Come and see for yourself.

EXHIBITS AND RESOURCES

Want to learn more? Want to know what science courses you might need to become a meteorologist? What colleges and universities offer atmospheric science programs? Want to learn more about your local forecast office? All these and many more questions will be answered in the exhibit and resource area. Walk through and talk with the experts. All exhibits will be open from 12 - 3 p.m.

National Weather Service and the American Red Cross — Learn about how the National Weather Service and the American Red Cross, part of the National Disaster Education Coalition (NDEC), are promoting consistent educational information to the public about disaster awareness and preparedness. Working together, scientific and safety information is understood by all and develops consensus on disaster education messages.

AMS Resource Center — The AMS Resource Center, Book, and Electronic Publications Exhibit features many books, journals, charts, slides, CD ROMs, and online services representing the latest in scientific and technical information published by the AMS and major publishing houses. AMS hats, T-shirts, scarfs and other goodies will also be available. Stop by for a Career Guide or information on colleges and universities with atmospheric science programs.

Melbourne, Florida, National Weather Service Forecast Office — Come and talk to the experts from the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Melbourne, Florida. They will teach you about their role in providing weather information for you and your family and about the life-saving capabilities of the NOAA Weather Radio system.

WFTV-Channel 9 Booth — WFTV Channel 9 Chief Meteorologist Glenn Richards and others from the stations' weather team will be on hand to shake hands and show you how forecasts are done at the station. They'll also have lots of handouts and other giveaways.

AMS Cape-Canaveral, Florida Institute of Technology, and the West Central Florida Chapters — WeatherFest is sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, the nation's leading professional society for those involved in the atmospheric and related sciences. Stop by and learn more about the local American Meteorological Society chapters.

AMS Educational Activities — Scientists John Moore and Robert Wanton will showcase great hands-on activities for K-13 teachers.

National Weather Association — The National Weather Association supports and promotes the excellence in operational meteorology and related fields. Learn more about membership, awards, student scholarships, and grants for K-12 teachers.

Rainwise Home Weather Station — Solar powered, wireless weather stations that transmit to displays and data logging computer interfaces specifically oriented to the weather enthusiast. Rainwise produced the first digital home weather stations and the first solar powered and wireless weather stations. These stations measure and record wind speed & direction, barometric pressure, relative humidity, rainfall, inside and outside temperature. The heat index, dew point and wind chill are calculated and recorded. This equipment will be demonstrated.

NASA's Earth Science Enterprise — Beginning in the 1960s, NASA pioneered the study of the atmosphere from the unique perspective of space with the launch of its Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS-1). Thanks to new satellite and computer technologies, it is now possible to study the Earth as a global system. Through their research, scientists are better understanding and improving their forecasting of short-term climate phenomena.

AccuWeather.com — AccuWeather.com, The Best Weather On The Web™, offers the broadest, deepest, and most accurate suite of weather data, forecasts and information available on the web. Premium and Super-Premium AccuWeather.com are designed for the weather enthusiast. They offer real-time radar and satellite images, the latest numerical model forecasts, UltraGraphix® high-resolution graphics, worldwide observations, Hour-by-Hour™ and 15-Day forecasts, and new surface plot images in a quick-loading, ad-free design. Come and see AccuWeather.com in action.

Special thanks to The Weather Channel, The Blue Sky Nuts™ from the KOOKLA KOOKS™ Toy Company, and many other organizations for making WeatherFest a success. WeatherFest is sponsored by the American Meteorological Society.