OR-AMS September 28, 2006 Meeting Summary

 

  We tried something new—an informal gathering of members to share each other’s work at a popular pub, McMenamins-Broadway.  There were 14 who showed up.

 

  Charlie Feris, who has study the micro-climate of the Portland metro area since the 1960s, has updated his studies.  He showed us new detailed contour climate maps of maximum and minimum air temperatures for January, April, July, and October.  The old maps were an annual average.

 

   Chris Hill, a recently retired NWS manager from Seattle, said that he is now working as a private-sector contractor.  He is helping US-AID (U.S. State Department) to develop a tsunami warning system for the Indian Ocean basin.  Chris’ work focuses on three areas: (1) Spin-up an operations center, (2) Data network—buoys, seismographs, etc., and (3) Training institute on tsunami warnings.

 

   Tyree Wilde and Steve Todd, NWS-Portland, spoke of their agency’s new projects: (1) A new gridded data set that is available to all users, and (2) Upgrade the dynamic wave model for lower Columbia stage forecasts.

 

  Seth Hamilton, an amateur weather observer, has been collecting daily weather data (maximum and minimum air temperature) for the area around Mt. Scott since November 1985.  He even brought in his data books to show what detailed records he has kept.  Seth added wind chill and relative humidity data from 2000 to the present.

 

  Rasmus Kreipke, a foreign exchange student from Denmark, shared his observations of Denmark’s weather relative to Portland weather.  Danish winters have a little more snow and a little less rain, relative to Portland.  Danish summers tend to be a little warmer and winters slightly colder, relative to Portland.

 

  All those attended liked this new format and thought that we should do this once a year.  A different location was suggested for the 2nd Annual Weather Sampler.

 

Note-taker: Kyle Dittmer, OR-AMS President