February 2004
| Chapter News February 2004 |
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ANCHORAGE
Minutes, Anchorage AMS Chapter Meeting, 24 Feb 04
Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order by Peter Olsson, Chapter President, at 12:00 a.m. The meeting was held at the Aviation Technology Center, Merrill Field. First order of business was to approve the meeting agenda.
Old Business:
The minutes from the Jan 2004 meeting were approved.
The entry period for the Minority scholarship has ended. One entry was received from the South Florida region. Amy is currently coordinating with the National AMS on how to handle this entry.
T-shirts are still available for $15.
Jennifer Kirk won the forecast contest entry for highest temperature between Dec 1and Jan 31 (39° F). She was not available to receive her award.
Treasurer's Report: Peter Olsson gave a report on the current status of the bank account. As of this meeting, there is $1480.12 in the account.
New Business:
The Anchorage AMS Year in Review summary is due to the local chapter committee by 27 Feb. The purpose of this summary is to identify successes and challenges of the Anchorage chapter for other local chapters to learn from. Next deadline is the submission for the Local Chapter of the Year, due May 1.
The Local Chapter Committee is looking for two members to serve in January 2005. Responsibilities include four to five meetings per year via teleconference. Interested members should contact Jim Peronto.
Next meeting is elections. Nominations will be submitted via e-mail in early April. All positions are open. To submit a nomination, interested members should e-mail their biography to ams@aeff.uaa.alaska.edu. The biography should cover the member's background and their interest in AMS.
The state science fair is happening 13 Mar at 8:30 AM. Weather/atmospheric science judges are needed. Contact Avee Evans for more information.
Guest Speaker: The guest speaker was James Partain, Chief of Environmental and Scientific Services at the National Weather Service (NWS) Alaskan Regional Headquarters. His topic was "From Typewriter to Grids: The NWS Goes Digital".
In the past, the forecast process usually consisted of a forecaster retrieving large amounts of data and then creating a mental forecast picture, mentally condensing data into forecast zones. The new digital process implemented by the NWS does this graphically, better translating knowledge into a forecast. The digital process vision: to bring advances in science and technology to the customer through high resolution products.
The new digital process was implemented with the Interactive Forecast Preparation System (IFPS). IFPS maximizes human contribution, provides more detail and enhances effective communication via graphics. At each weather forecast office, a 7-day digital forecast database, consisting of a specific set of grid points, has been established. The forecasters modify the contents according to actual weather data and knowledge of the local area. Then text, tabular, voice and graphic products are generated from the database. The database itself is also available as a product for customers and NWS partners.
IFPS is implemented on the Advanced Weather information Processing System (AWIPS). Forecasters interactively paint weather elements onto the grid. IFPS then creates the text products such as MOS data and weather summary, graphic visualizations of the database, and webpages and meteograms. IFPS can work around terrain, making it especially valuable in Alaska. After products are created, a consistency checker will look for simple mistakes, such as dewpoints higher than temperatures, or appropriate temperature ranges with a snow forecast. The program is not infallible however, and the forecaster will review afterward to ensure that the forecast makes sense. During the time the forecast is valid, the hydrometeorological technician (hydromet tech) will metwatch the forecast, ensuring that rapidly changing conditions don't skew the forecast.
The digital forecast process is still developing, so some growing pains are expected. The database must be initialized and edited, forecasters must still produce TAFs, and the text products must still be edited before release to the public. However, in spite of these problems, timeliness and forecast accuracy is increasing as forecasters become more familiar with the system and the bugs are worked out.
The National Digital Forecast Database is the collaborated mosaic of all the digital forecasts, nation-wide. It is available to all partners and customers to create new products as well. While this data creates one nationwide picture, a drawback to the NDFD is that inconsistencies between areas become more apparent. The NDFD can feed data to vehicles, heating and cooling devices as well as forecasting programs. Resolution of the NDFD is 3 - 6 km; this will increase when software capability increases.
Challenges of forecasting off the NDFD are some that Alaskan forecasters are familiar with: rough terrain forecasting, large areas, and areas with limited observations. The advantage of IFPS is that it helps resolve these problems.
IFPS will be undergoing an Operational Readiness Demonstration from Mar 15 - Apr 15. This is the final testing phase before the system is declared operational on June 30.
James concluded by opening the floor for questions.
Adjournment: Peter Olsson, president, adjourned the meeting at approximately 1:15 pm.---Louise Williams.
ARKANSAS
The first Chapter meeting for 2004 was held on February 12th. The meeting convened at 705 PM at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in North Little Rock with 18 members and guests present.
No formal business meeting was held.
The program for the evening was provided by Kevin Scharfenberg of the University of Oklahoma Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies. Kevin is working with the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) in Norman, OK on several projects including development of polarimetric radar. The National Weather Service's network of WSR-88D radars is expected to undergo a significant upgrade beginning in about 2007. The WSR-88Ds will be upgraded to be polarimetric radars, allowing the capability of improved rainfall estimation and the direct classification of radar returns. A major research and development project, called the Joint Polarization Experiment (JPOLE) has been ongoing at NSSL. JPOLE delivered data from an operational polarimetric WSR-88D radar to Norman, OK National Weather Service forecasters for their use in preparing forecasts and severe weather warnings. Basic polarimetric radar concepts and results from JPOLE were presented to the Chapter attendees, including polarimetric radar imagery from several significant severe weather events. Other major research projects at the NSSL were also discussed, including additional future enhancements to radar data, the development of phased array radar, studies on the electrification of storms, and ongoing research on supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes. During and after the presentation, the group participated in a question and answer session.
Then, light refreshments were served and the meeting adjourned at 830 PM.---Newton Skiles.
ASHEVILLE
Asheville AMS Chapter Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
The Asheville Chapter of the American Meteorological Society held its sixth meeting for 2003-2004 in Meteorology Lab, Robinson Hall, University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA), at 7:00 pm on Tuesday February 10, 2004. Fourteen people attended the meeting.
Business Meeting
New Business
Secretary Susan Tarbell spoke about the AMS Annual Conference in Seattle, January 12-16, 2004, that she attended. She also represented our chapter at the AMS Chapters' Breakfast meeting held Tuesday the 13th of January at the conference.
Guest Speaker
Our guest speaker for the evening was Dr. Akiyo Yatagai, a scientist from the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) in Kyoto, Japan. She spoke about the "People and Projects of the RIHN" and some of her duties. She is specifically interested in monitoring drought. Her travels took her from Kyoto, Japan, to California, to Lincoln, NE, to Asheville, NC; then to New York, London, Syria, and finally back to Japan.
The Research Institute for Humanity and nature (RIHN) was founded in April 2001. This inter-university research institute, under the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, was established to carry out integrated research that innovates solutions to problems related to the global environment. The Institute examines "How man interacts with nature."
It is planned that all national Inter-University Research Institutes will be privatized starting April 2004 (fiscal year runs April-March). RIHN will then become one of the member institutes of a new "Human Culture Research Organization" (tentative title). The roles of the Research Institute are: Integration, Fluidity, Globalization, and Leadership. The RIHN does not have research divisions or sections per se. They carry out cross-disciplinary, integrated studies according to a "project-based format" without dividing research activities into traditional disciplinary areas. There are about 100 employees and they occupy an old elementary school. Their new building should be ready for occupancy in 2006.
Dr. Yatagai is very interested in the relationship between hydrological circulation and climate change on a global scale. She would like to approach environmental issues with her professional experiences in data analysis and approach them from a point of view of a scientist and a mother. Her two main projects (called axes) are "Impact of Climate Changes on Agricultural Production," main region is Turkey; and "Historical Evolution of the Adaptability in an Oasis Region to Water Resource Changes," main region is Central Eurasia. Each project will be organized through a period of incubation study and tested in a feasibility study of about one year. Then the result of the feasibility study will be evaluated and, if assessed as suitable, will proceed to the full-scale study of about 5 years.--- Susan A. Tarbell.
CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA
The speakers at the February meeting were Ryan Boyles and Peter Childs from the State Climate Office (SCO) of North Carolina who discussed Observing and Modeling North Carolina Weather and Climate. Ryan spoke first, beginning with an overview of the State Climate Office, which was established as a Public Service Center by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors in 1998. The SCO currently has 8 full-time staff as well as several graduate and undergraduate students working as research assistants.
The SCO is involved with a wide range of outreach activities. The SCO is also heavily involved in education activities, ranging from visits by middle school and high school students, participants in science camps, and working with university undergraduate and graduate students.
Also, the SCO has been active in introducing new observational datasets as well as expanding access to the data itself. For example, in 2001 the North Carolina Environment and Climate Observing Network (NCECONet) was created. NCECONet combines the automated weather network currently operated by the SCO with other stations maintained by the National Weather Service, Federal Aviation Administration, and the US Natural Resource Conservation Service. More recently, the NC CRONOS database was created. NC CRONOS is a comprehensive database of all high-quality surface observations in North Carolina and surrounding areas was recently unveiled. This data is available to the public through the Internet using the Java ECONet tool (JET). The public can use the JET interface online at http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu/cronos/, where they can access data for the last 60 days. The data can be graphically plotted, or output in a webpage or in a comma-delimited text file.
Also, in 2002, the SCO hosted a conference to address the drought affecting the state at that time. The conference attracted over 100 attendees from government agencies and the media, and resulted in the governor calling for a 25% reduction in water usage in all the counties in the drought region immediately after the conference.
Next, Pete Childs discussed real-time modeling work at the SCO. Real-time modeling began at the SCO in 2002, with the ARPS model. MM5 real-time modeling began in April 2003, with the addition of real time SST ingestion and ECONet data assimilation in recent months. The operational MM5 is run four times a day out to 48 hours with a 12 km domain centered on North Carolina and surrounding areas. Initial and boundary conditions are provided by the NCEP Eta or GFS model. The model runs in about 2.5 hours.
The ingestion of real time SST data has already shown benefits during the summer of 2003 when upwelling produced a pool of unusually cool SSTs along the northeast coast of North Carolina. MM5 was able to resolve the colder water offshore and adjust the forecast for near shore locations accordingly, showing improved skill against models using a less-frequently updated SST dataset.
Future modeling work will focus on tailoring products for agricultural use in North Carolina as well as coupling the MM5 to a dispersion model such as CALPUFF for air-pollution and fire management applications. As a final note, Ryan and Pete encouraged potential partners interested in working with the SCO on current or future projects to visit the webpage at http://www.nc-climate.ncsu.edu or contact them at sco@nc-climate.ncsu.edu.
The talk ended around 8:35 p.m., and after questions, the meeting ended at 8:50 p.m.---Michael Brennan.
CHICAGO
Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service
On February 3, 2004, William Morris, Service Hydrologist, from the National Weather Service office in Romeoville, Illinois gave a presentation to the Chicago Chapter of the American Meteorological Society. The topic of Mr. Morris' presentation was the National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS). The subtitle of the presentation was "Water Predictions for Life Decisions."
The Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) is intended to be the frontline solution for improving river and flood forecasting. The AHPS initiative began after the 1993 Mississippi River basin flooding. Partners in this project include the USGS and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Flooding has tremendous impact on lives and the economy. Seventy five percent of all Presidential disaster declarations are due to flooding. The average annual death total from 1990 through 1999 due to flooding was 99. The average annual cost in the United States due to flooding is 13.1 billion dollars.
AHPS will help answer questions such as, how high will a river rise, when will the river reach it's peak, where will flooding occur and how long will a flood or a drought last. AHPS will provide increased warning lead time, provide river forecasts for risk-based decisions and produce easier to use graphic products. The estimated annual monetary benefit due to AHPS is $766 million dollars annually.
Hydro power generation facilities, water navigation interests, flood reduction and irrigation water supply concerns will benefit from AHPS. Dam operators, farmers, irrigators, the navigation community, emergency managers and recreationists should gain from the AHPS capabilities.
The observing tools utilized by AHPS include satellite information, automated rain gages, data from cooperative observers, ASOS, Radar, stream gages, Snotel and remote sensing. Forecasting tools within the AHPS include flash flood monitoring and prediction, inundation mapping and ensemble streamflow prediction.
Flash flood monitoring and prediction provided through the service provides instantaneous rainfall rates, average basin rainfall and flash flood guidance. Information concerning how much rain has fallen and what the current rainfall rate is are critical for flash flood forecasting.
The local hydrologic model uses a smaller time and spatial scale than previous models. The local hydrologic model can generate forecasts for fast rising streams as it operates on a one hour time step. The local model also utilizes radar precipitation estimates.
Long range probablistic ensemble forecasting is another function of AHPS. The long range forecasts use historical precipitation and temperature data as well as forecast conditions.
Information concerning AHPS can be found through River Forecast Center web sites and local National Weather Service office web sites.---Mark T. Carroll.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The 03 February 2004 meeting of the Washington DC Chapter of the American Meteorological Society (DC AMS) was held at National Weather Service (NWS) Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. The Guest Speaker at the lunchtime meeting was Dr. John "Jack" Hayes, the Director of the NWS Office of Science and Technology.
A short business meeting preceded Dr Hayes' talk.
Dr Jack Hayes followed the business meeting with a talk on the NWS Science and Technology Infusion Plan (STIP) - 2004. The following excerpt from the Preface to the STIP, used with his permission, closely mirrors Dr Hayes' remarks. The full document is available at: http://www.weather.gov/ost/
"Over the last decade, infusing new science and technology (S&T) into National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operations has significantly improved weather, water, and climate forecast and warning lead times, accuracy, and overall National Weather Service (NWS) product and service quality. Deployment of the Weather Surveillance Radar - 1988 Doppler (WSR-88D), Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS), geostationary and polar-orbiting environmental satellites, advanced high-performance computing, and data assimilation and modeling systems, coupled with restructuring field operations and forecaster training, have enabled major improvements in critical information about environmental conditions affecting virtually every facet of people's lives and the economy. For example, tornado warnings, which generally had no lead time in the 1970s, are now issued with an annual average lead time of 12 minutes - and as much as 30 minutes lead time in some cases - allowing precious time for people to seek protective cover. Similarly, the annual average lead time for flash flood warnings has increased from 8 minutes to nearly 50 minutes - giving people approximately six times the period of alert they once had. Hurricane forecasts have been extended from three to five days providing emergency managers and urban-planners two extra days to plan for orderly evacuations and disaster preparedness activities. New temperature and precipitation outlooks extending to two weeks, a month, and a season give resource managers additional information they can use to make better decisions.
HOUSTON
Over the next decade, continued improvements in forecast accuracy and other NWS products and services are required. Emergency managers need hours, not minutes, of lead time to prepare the public for hazardous weather and water conditions; and businesses and natural resource managers need days, not hours, advance notice to prepare for environmental changes that will affect their bottom line and threaten precious resources. To meet these improvement challenges and sustain service excellence to the Nation, the NWS must stay near the leading edge of S&T supporting its mission. This Science and Technology Infusion Plan (STIP) defines strategies and capability improvements the NWS will pursue to meet operational requirements and exploit scientific opportunities. The plan emerged from a national workshop attended by experts from academia, the private sector, NOAA, and other agencies. It is linked to the NWS Service Improvement Plan and other plans all working together toward NWS and NOAA strategic goals. The STIP is a "living" plan, which will respond to changing needs and opportunities, and evolve as necessary to best serve NOAA and the Nation. Jack Hayes, Director, NWS Office of Science and Technology"---Lauraleen O'Connor.
Chapter News - February 2004
Our monthly meeting was held on Wednesday, February 18th 2004 at the Spaceflight Meteorology Group (SMG) in NASA Johnson Space Center. Several of the AMS members from SMG hosted the meeting. A short briefing on their NASA Weather Support will be given along with a tour of the SMG operations area, Mission Control Center and the Apollo Mission Control Center. Meteorologists from SMG went through great lengths to provide us access to the facilities that are under high security. Please see attached photos of the group visiting historic mission control as well as the new operations center.
Also this month, Chapter members volunteered for the initial screening of Minority Scholarship Applications.---Liz Murphy.
MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY
Meeting Minutes
February 4, 2004
This meeting was a short brief meeting to discuss the Northeast storms conference and collect dues from members who had not paid the week before. Anyone who was interested in attending the storm conference on March 12-14 must let one of the officers know by Friday, February 6th, so we can send in the final count. The cost to attend the conference will be $65, which includes the registration, the hotel room, and the banquet. After the meeting we had a fun evening of bowling. There will be a meeting on February 11th for only those who are going to the Northeast Storm Conference. The next AMS meeting will be March 3rd at 9pm in Caputo Hall, room 210.
Meeting Minutes
February 11, 2004
This was a very brief meeting held for those members who will be attending the Northeast Storm Conference on March 12-14 in Saratoga Springs, NY. Everyone must pay the $65 by Friday February 13th. We also needed those going to choose there meal for the banquet dinner at the conference. Those who have attended the conference in previous years then answered general questions students had regarding it.---Wayne MacKenzie.
NORTH FLORIDA
General Meeting Minutes
February 19, 2004
President Clark Evans called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. The following executive members were present: President: Clark Evans, Vice -President: Joe Marzen, Treasurer: Ariel Rodriguez, Secretary: Robert Banks and Officer-at-Large Richie Schwerdt. Approximately 40 members were present including the executive board. The meeting began with President Clark Evans discussing what will be addressed in the meeting.
Minutes from the Last Meeting
Secretary Robert Banks quickly went over the minutes from the January 22, 2004 general meeting and he reminded the membership that the minutes are now available online at www.northflams.org. He also stated that this part of the meeting will be shorter due to the fact that the minutes are posted online now.
Funstation Social
Vice-President Joe Marzen announced that the local chapter would be having an informal, come-as-you go social at Tallahassee FunStation off of Sharer Road Friday, February 27. All members are invited and it will not be out of the chapter's funds.
Update on Chapter T-Shirts and Pizza Hut Card Fundraisers
Vice-President Joe Marzen is the chair of the Program Subcommittee and he updated us on a few fundraisers and events happening in the coming months. The first fundraiser was the sale of chapter t-shirts. The shirt proof was available for viewing and he noted the prices for each type of shirt and the final ordering date. T-shirts are ready for distribution and a reorder will be made if there is enough demand for more shirts. The next fundraiser Joe announced was the Pizza Hut pizza card promotion. These are cards good for free pizza and they are only $10 each. They have been going for about a month but the deadline will be extended. Joe said that any profits made from these fundraisers would be used for the First Annual Awards Banquet in April to help lower costs for member attendance. The banquet is set for April 15, 2004 at 7:00 PM at the Silver Slipper Restaurant.
Science and Education Update
Chair Chris Bennett gave an update on how we are progressing with the science education outreach programs that are underway at various schools throughout Tallahassee. President Clark Evans announced the continuation of the first annual Clothing Drive for the ECHO foundation. He noted that donations can be made up until Spring Break.
Officer Nominations
President Evans announced that new officer elections will be held at the March general meeting. A formal call for nominations was held at the February general meeting and will be followed by Robert's Rules of Order. To run for an office, current dues must be paid and you must be an active member of the chapter for the year. The offices available are President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary. For the office of President, Chris Bennett was nominated by himself and it was seconded by Jeff Taylor. For the office of Vice-President, Geoff Wagner was nominated by Matt Sitkowski and was seconded by Collette Blessing. For the office of Treasurer, Ariel Rodriguez nominated himself and he was seconded by several. And finally for the office of Secretary, Robert Banks was nominated by Richie Schewerdt and he was definitely seconded by several also.
Presentation - WCTV Chief Meteorologist, Mike McCall
Vice-President Joe Marzen introduced tonight's speaker. He is Mike McCall. Mike is the Chief Meteorologist at WCTV Channel 6 here in Tallahassee. He is here tonight to talk about experiences in his life, the field of meteorology, and his occupation as a weather forecaster. Some of the highlights from his talk were his experiences when he was an undergraduate at FSU, his beginning years as a television personality, and his website for weather links, www.mikeweather.com.
Next Meeting
The next meeting is tentatively set for Thursday, March 18 at 7:00 PM in Room 353 Love Building. Guest Speaker will be Paul Duval from the NWS-Tallahassee and the highlight will be Officer Elections.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 PM.
The above minutes are a true and correct reflection of the February 19, 2004 meeting.---Clark Evans, President; Submitted by: Robert Banks, Secretary.
OMAHA-OFFUTT
The Omaha-Offutt chapter of the AMS held its February meeting on February 20, 2004, a lunch meeting at the Super Buffet restaurant in Bellevue.
At 12:09 PM chapter President Jeremy Wesely called the business meeting to order.
Recording Secretary John Roth announced 43 members and guests were in attendance, and read the minutes from the January meeting. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Gene Wall and seconded by Randy Falzgraf, and the minutes were accepted.
Treasurer Matt Sittel presented the treasurer's report. There were 2 new memberships paid, for a total of 54 for the year, including 4 student memberships.
Corresponding Secretary Dave Keller announced that Karen Harder-Sittel won the January forecast contest. Also, anyone who has not been receiving email announcements for upcoming meetings was asked to provide an updated email address to Dave or Jeremy.
From the education committee, Phil Johnson announced the schedule for upcoming science fairs, made a pitch for encouraging members to volunteer as judges, and passed around signup sheets. John Eylander described the committee's outreach with local schools. For the high schools, questionnaires had been sent to guidance counselors, and about 40% returned responses. Committee members had followed up on some of these, providing information on local universities' meteorology programs. Committee members also discussed with the Omaha Children's Museum a new outreach program to students and teachers in elementary and middle schools. For the students, chapter members would give presentations to students and answer questions. Signup sheets for these sessions were also provided. Teachers would be offered a prebuilt curriculum from the AMS. The museum will do the administrative work on these programs, and the funds raised will be used to resume work on interactive exhibits.
Omaha-Offutt AMS Chapter members enjoy lunch during the business meeting. 
Omaha-Offutt AMS Chapter President, Jeremy Wesely thanks Major Trey Cade for his presentation.
Old business:
Jeremy read a note from Gordon Brooks of Weather Explorers Post #999 regarding its loss of Offutt/AFWA sponsorship and the proposal that it be sponsored by the local AMS chapter as a pre-college chapter. A discussion ensued on what the Omaha/Offutt chapter's role would be if it assumed the sponsorship. Questions raised included what was the Weather Explorers Post's charter date, what kind of participation responsibility the chapter would have in the Weather Explorers Post, and whether any liability would be involved. Liability should be assumed by the Learning for Life Organization. Joe Hanser made a motion to form a committee to investigate these matters, Phil Johnson seconded the motion, and Jeremy agreed to set up a three member committee.
New business:
The national AMS needs two people from local AMS chapters to be on the Local Chapter Affairs Committee. Anyone interested see Jeremy.
Jeremy announced work has begun on our nomination as local Chapter of the Year.
Announcements:
Dr. Ken Dewey announced the upcoming Central Plains Severe Weather Symposium in Lincoln on March 20, and made available posters for members to post on the event.
A motion to adjourn the business meeting was made by Gene Wall and seconded by John Garner. The meeting was adjourned at 12:31 PM.
Guest speaker:
The guest speaker was Major William "Trey" Cade, chief of the Applied Technology Division, Air and Space Sciences Directorate, Air Force Weather Agency. Maj Cade's presentation was "Space Weather and its Impacts", a thorough yet easy to understand description of the basics of space weather. His talk described the solar wind, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and a discussion of the earth's magnetic field. It included a number of animations detailing recent solar events as seen from Earth-based monitoring equipment, including the record X28 solar flare in November, 2003, and subsequent auroral displays visible to many at the mid-latitudes. Potential effects to communication satellites, navigation aids and power plants were explained, as well as a review of significant historical events and their impacts to man. Jeremy presented Major Cade with a Weather and Climate of Nebraska book as a token of the group's appreciation.---John Roth.
PACKERLAND
On Thursday, February 19, storm chaser and artist Kinney Adams wowed the Packerland Chapter of the American Meteorological Society. Chapter members, students, and community members gathered in Rose Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus and were treated to the sights and sounds of Adams' severe weather footage.
Adams' formal training was in the fine arts but, in 1994, he discovered the "photogenic" potential of the supercell. His interest was peaked at a severe weather seminar he attended in Oklahoma in the spring of 1995. Just months later, Adams found himself in Amarillo, TX where he met the veteran storm chasers that became his mentors. Since then, he has been stalking supercells all over the Great Plains, both for his own enjoyment and for Tempest Tours, a storm chasing guide service that caters to the curious and thrill-seeking public.
Adams is currently producing a video titled "The Sky Dance Alliance, Volume I." The finished product will be a 48-minute extravaganza of non-stop significant weather images set to music. For this project, Adams has resurrected his fine art background, this time using digital video as his paintbrush and the sky as his canvas to create a high-energy video like no one has put on the market before. He gave the Packerland Chapter a special sneak preview of the video and received a rousing round of applause.
We also got a peek into the "Storm Cruiser," Adams' chasing vehicle. His photographs of the inside and outside of the cruiser revealed numerous antennas, a pivoting center console complete with TV, notebook computer, GPS, cell phone, and internet access, and 180 feet of cable! He warned us that one of the most dangerous aspects of storm chasing is the drive itself, so he designed his cruiser to minimize driver distraction.
Adams' energy-charged presentation was truly thrilling. His unique approach mixes music, art, and meteorology and provides a little something for everyone.
Join us for our next meeting on March 16. This meeting will be the "Weather Broadcaster's Forum," a chance to discuss meteorological issues with weather broadcasters and TV meteorologists from northeast and north-central Wisconsin. It will be held at 7:00pm in the Brown County Central Library Auditorium. Hope to see you all there!---Katie Hemauer.
PLYMOUTH STATE COLLEGE
American Meteorological Society
Monday February 9, 2004
7:00 PM
Allocations meeting 5:45 Monday 16th… Presence needed!
Storm Conference
March 12-14
$30 due by Friday Feb. 13th
Sign up for food choice - chicken, prime rib, shrimp, pasta
Are you interested in taking a bus?
Sign up for rooms
Second Semester dues - $5
T-shirts
Check the list for your name.
Please come and pick them up if you haven't already.
5 on 5 Basketball
Anyone want to make a team?
Deadline Thursday
Acadia Camping Trip - Sign up if interested
Snowshoeing - Sign up if interested
National Weather Service - Taunton - Sign up if interested
Email
Who's not getting the emails?
Please come see Molly
Local Chapter of the Year
Seattle Experience
National Membership
PSC Day
Community Service - talk to schools, cancer walks, etc.
Adopt a freshman
Interested in joining exec board
Meetings Thursdays 4:45
More T-shirts?
Name and #'s on back?
Fundraising Committee
Talk to Chris W. if you are interested---Molly Montgomery.
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
2/25/04
Members of PUMA met this evening to discuss upcoming trip ideas and the upcoming skywarn severe weather spotter training course to be held on 3/10. T-shirt ideas were discussed along with guest speaker ideas. Several members stuck around to view a collection of storm chasing footage after the business portion of the meeting concluded.---Joe Nield.
SOUTHEAST ARIZONA
Southeastern Arizona Chapter's February Meeting Notes:
On February 17, 2004 the Southeastern Arizona Chapter of the American
Meteorological Society was visited by Erik Pytlak, Science and Operations
Officer for the National Weather Service in Tucson, Arizona. Erik
presented information about the ongoing Northern American Monsoon
Experiment (NAME), which is all about gaining a better understanding of
the North American monsoon. NAME researchers will be gathering the
bulk of the data during this coming monsoon season. This
international effort will have two operational bases this summer: one in
Mexico and one in Tucson, Arizona. Forecasters from around the
western United States and Mexico will provide the researchers with
forecasts so that mobile weather equipment can be dispatched into the
most useful locations. A ship, an airplane and portable doppler
RADAR are among the possible equipment available for this project.
For more information on NAME please see the following web
site: http://www.joss.ucar.edu/name---Tom Evans.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Here are the minutes from the Tuesday, February 10, 2004 meeting at Texas A&M.
President Travis Herzog welcomed the members to our February meeting.
The Secretary report was given by Roger Gass followed by the Treasurer's report given by Paul Roller.
Travis spoke about our Ground Hog Day Party and thanked all those who attended. Then Travis announced that Tim Heller from ABC 13 out of Houston, TX would be speaking on Tuesday, March 23rd at 7:30pm. Also, he announced that we will be taking our trip to NASA on March 27th, 2004.
Jason Sippel and Kevin Walter spoke about TAMMSSDA and the TESSA conference that will be held in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Vic-President Morgan Gallagher spoke about the First 90 degree day contest.
Paul Roller discussed new t-shirt ideas and took a poll on how many people wanted certain types of shirts. Paul also talked about Texas Adopt A Beach that will be held in late April.
Roger Gass encouraged people to come out to Texas Adopt A Beach and told a little about last semesters fun event.
Social Chair Brad Hlozek talked about members getting together to go dancing on Thursday night and asked for as many people to attend the basketball game wearing their meteorology shirts to show sprit.
Travis then announced the next meeting to be held on March 2nd, 2004 and reminded everyone that shirts and car stickers were still on sell.
The meeting was followed by food and snacks upstairs and even karaoke.---Roger Gass.
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA - LINCOLN
Second AMS meeting spring semester
2/10/04
Started at 5:00p.m.
The first agenda of the day was a forecasting contest. Our meteorology department is holding a forecasting contest through this second semester, for all meteorology/climatology majors.
Second on the agenda was upcoming trips. There are many different conferences this year. Our student chapter will be sponsoring a trip to the Des Moines conference in March. We handed out a sign up sheet for all who were interested. Several other students will be attending other conferences on their own such as the National Severe Weather Workshop in Norman, OK. Also, the High Plains Climate Center will be holding the Central Plains Severe Weather Symposium here in Lincoln on Saturday, March 20th. The website for this symposium is: http://www.hprcc.unl.edu/nebraska/cpsws2004.html
One featured guest speaker is Rick McCoy of the Van Wert Ohio Emergency Management.
Third on the agenda was a calendar fundraiser. We asked members of our club to bring some of their weather pictures if they possibly wanted them on our calendar. Our chapter is also selling hockey tickets to a Lincoln Stars game on March, 9th.
Fourth we talked about the BAMS student section. Our president explained to the club members present about the student section in BAMS, and invited everyone to participate.
Fifth on the agenda is the Hawthorn Elementary Science fair. Several members of our meteorology club volunteered to be members of the Hawthorn Elementary Science Fair on February 10th, right after the meeting. All the people who participated enjoyed the experience and we were invited to possibly help judge in their district competition. I am currently gathering pictures of this event to put on display.
Several other students have gotten together to sponsor a booth in our Student Union during severe weather awareness week. At our booth we will be handing out severe weather safety tips and candy! We plan to have several posters made and put on display as well, promoting severe weather safety.
Ended at 5:30p.m.---Kelly D. Faltin.
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
Meeting Minutes
Thursday, February 19, 2004
3:30 P.M., INSCC 490
*Fifth meeting of the 2003/2004 school year.
*An update on the photo contest was given by President Todd Foisy.
Volunteers were solicited for posting photo contest advertisements on
bulletin boards around campus. Table-top advertisements are currently in
place at the Student Union. Photo contest entries have begun coming in,
and some prizes have been donated by area businesses.
http://www.met.utah.edu/photocontest
*Educational Outreach opportunities were presented by Vice President
Maura Hahnenberger. There are two science fairs and one science olympiad
between now and the end of the school year and volunteers are needed to
help judge science projects at various locations. More educational
outreach opportunities for spring will be announced soon.
*Reminders for snow skiing at Brighton Ski Area on February 28, bowling
on March 26, and Utah Grizzlies ice hockey on April 3 were given by
President Todd Foisy.
Ski Day at Brighton Ski Resort
*The Chapter voted that it would give a minimum of $100 to the Red Cross
Disaster Relief Fund even if there is less than $100 of photo entries
for the photo contest after Jay Shafer motioned for a vote.
*Todd Foisy gave some ideas that the Chapter may be spending more than
$100 for the year-end picnic. More details are forthcoming.
*The meeting was adjourned by President Todd Foisy.---Todd Foisy.
WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA
AMS MEETING MINUTES
February 18, 2004
National Weather Service
Ruskin, FL
Our third convergence of the season was held at the National Weather Service in Ruskin. For this meeting we were treated to a SKYWARN Storm Spotter training session given by warning coordination meteorologist Daniel Noah.
Mr. Noah began by handing out an Advanced Spotters Field Guide along with a Florida Hazardous Weather Awareness Guide. The guides are filled with useful information for the weather spotter, as well as, practical safety information for all types of severe weather.
Daniel began a power-point presentation starting with the basics, and explained the importance of the Storm Spotter Program to the NWS. The SKYWARN program is designed by the NWS to save lives and reduce injuries by using trained weather spotters. The spotters are trained by the NWS to insure consistency of reporting severe weather events. The NWS trains approximately 700 spotters a year, with additional training at least once every 3 years. There are over 3,000 spotters volunteering for the Ruskin NWS. The spotter, upon completion of the written test, is issued a spotter ID that is used when calling in the report.
The basic role of the weather-spotter is to provide in-field reports to the NWS. "TEL" (time, event, location) is the format used for calling in reports. The spotter will call anytime severe weather is observed. Some examples to report include winds > 50mph, any recent storm damage, hail, flooding, heavy rain (>2" per hour), tornadoes, funnel clouds, and wall clouds. These reports give credibility to warnings issued and greatly help the meteorologist.
Daniel used humor in his presentation. To show examples of the Fujita scale, there was "Dodger the Dog", who's fur became increasingly matted and whipped around with the strength of the tornado! (an F5 showed a bald dodger the dog!) In addition, he gave useful safety information. He showed a film of cars attempting to cross flooded streets and the dangerous results. He also provided useful information on lightning, the greatest danger, and number one killer in this area. It was an informative and very interesting (as well as entertaining) presentation.
After Daniel's presentation, the members were treated to a brief tour of the operations center of the NWS.
The following are excerpts from the Storm Spotter Training. General weather spotting techniques were reviewed. In addition, severe weather information relating specifically to OUR AREA (The Tampa Bay area) was highlighted.
Skywarn Spotters are critical to the warning and verification process in the National Weather Service. Usually the warning comes first based on radar information. Then the Skywarn Spotters call in with follow-up reports. However, the reports themselves can lead to warnings if none have been issued. The training helps to ensure the quality of the reports. Much of the general public is not aware of true signs of severe weather and can give overly pessimistic reports. They want all reports, whether there is a warning or not. This helps to verify what the meteorologists see on the radar. All reports go into a database called StormData. These reports are used by lots of people, including the meteorologists at the NWS as a training tool for future severe weather events. In addition to the Ruskin and other local offices, there are also several national centers which are part of the NWS. They include the Tropical Prediction Center in Miami, FL (which includes the National Hurricane Center), the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK (responsible for all severe thunderstorm and tornado guidance to the local offices) and the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center, responsible for basic weather guidance and running the computer models we use for forecasting in the NWS. The forecast area runs from Chiefland to the north to Bonita Beach to the south and Baseball City to the east. They also create marine forecasts for the gulf coast of the Florida peninsula out to 60 nautical miles offshore between Cedar Key and Bonita Beach.
Once the warning decision has been made based on either a report or on radar information, the warning is sent to the public. The public can receive these reports on NOAA all-hazards radio, commercial radio and television, cable television, cell phones, pagers, the Internet, local warning sirens, and others. Excessive lightning is not a cause for a warning, even though it is the number one weather killer in west central and southwest Florida. It only takes one flash to kill someone. Exact locations are critical in determining the content of a warning the NWS issues. This is especially critical for tornadoes because the parent thunderstorms are much larger than the tornado itself. If possible, always relate your hail report to the size of a coin. If the hail is smaller than a penny, it is not considered severe. Severe weather watches are issued for many counties at one time. These are issued in our area most often in September through May. They are usually issued from several severe thunderstorms are possible on a given day, not just one or two. Severe weather warnings are issued whenever a thunderstorm is expected to cause severe weather, which can happen any time of year. F0 tornadoes are typically the size we have in the summer, small and short-lived. Cold season tornadoes tend to be larger and more dangerous. It is not uncommon for waterspouts to briefly come ashore and be classified as tornadoes. It is important when reporting a waterspout to also report the direction it is moving if possible. Obviously, a waterspout moving toward the coast is much more of a threat than one moving away into open waters.
The darkest red counties indicate the most tornadoes. Notice that the most tornadoes are reported in the counties that are the most populous, such as Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, and Lee counties. Coincidence? No.
Notice that the most tornado deaths are in the cold season, with a peak in the February through April time frame. However, the most tornadoes are reported in the summer. Those tornadoes are usually much weaker, hence not as likely to be fatal. Still, there have been tornado deaths in Florida in EVERY month. The strongest tornado on record to hit west central Florida was an F4 in April of 1966.
The vast majority of tornadoes in Florida are F0 and F1. There has never been an F5 recorded in Florida, but there have been several F4s. Nationally, flash floods kill the most people on average in a given year. However, lightning is the biggest killer in Florida. An interesting note is that more people in Florida die from cold than heat.
Most lightning deaths occur at either the very beginning or the very end of the storm. People can be killed well away from the center of the storm by lightning strikes. The temperature of lightning is hot enough to melt sand into a formation called a fulgurite, which is essentially a naturally formed glass caused by the heat. The shape of the fulgurite mimics the path the lightning traveled in the sand. Some of the more unusual conditions after a lightning strike include the inability to feel pain and a permanent ringing in the ears.
The map shows several favored areas for tornado formation. The most prominent is "tornado alley" in the plains states, but there are also local maximum areas in the Ohio Valley, across northern Alabama and Georgia, in southern New England, and along the southwest Florida coast.
Similar to large tornadoes, large hail is most likely in the spring in this area. We see very little wind shear in the summer. That is why the tornadoes are mostly weak (F0 or F1) that time of year. When you are surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Florida Straits, you have plenty of moisture sources nearby if the wind is from the right direction.
The low level winds are critical in determining the location of the two sea breeze fronts. If the low level winds are from the west, the sea breeze that develops along the Florida west coast moves quickly inland during the late morning and early afternoon hours, giving the biggest threat for severe weather to the eastern part of the state. If the low level winds are from the east, the west coast sea breeze is held near the coast, and the east coast sea breeze moves across the state in our general direction The two fronts will then collide in our area during the late afternoon or early evening hours with the threat of severe weather.
The overshooting top is one sign of a potentially severe thunderstorm. It means the instability in the environment of the storm is quite high and the upward vertical motion was strong enough to carry the cloud into the stratosphere. These can be seen quite a bit in the early summer when looking east toward strong storms affecting the east coast of Florida.
This is a low precipitation supercell, so the wall cloud is easily identified. You will usually not be so lucky here in Florida.---Andy Johnson.
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