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From the Chair
Dear CCM Colleagues,
Fall weather has arrived here in Wisconsin with morning temperatures dropping into the 40s on a few nights, with plenty more of that (and colder) on the way. Average daily temperatures change rapidly here in the western Great Lakes between now and early December. 30-year average highs in the low 70s in late September drop to the upper 30s by early December. That is a significant drop in the next 75 days. If you can tell, while meteorologically interesting, I am not a fan.
After a well-earned break from oral exams in June and July, the BCCM performed two virtual oral exams in August. Our next virtual oral exam is scheduled for early October. More CCM applications have come in since our last update. The BCCM has received 10 applications in 2021. We are on pace for 13 to 14 applicants for 2021.
The BCCM met on September 15th for the third quarter meeting. We continue the work of previous years of developing and improving rubrics for the written and oral exam. Improved rubrics assist graders of the exam and the applicants by having a consistent criterion for assessing answers to questions. We feel strongly that this enhances the application process for all participants. The board voted on and passed rubrics for 8 questions on the written exam. I want to thank Charlie Paxton, Tom Bellinger, and Sam Miller for their work on this matter.
The board nominated Jen M. Call, Doug Stolz, and Mike Hammer to join the BCCM in January 2022. After discussion, all three nominations passed unanimously. Congratulations go out to all three and thank you for serving the AMS on the BCCM.
A nomination, discussion and vote for Chair Elect occurred at the September meeting. Dr. Sam Miller was nominated for Chair Elect. After discussion a move to vote occurred and was unanimously passed. Congratulations to Sam. He will start serving as Chair Elect after our annual BCCM meeting in January 2022. Sam will serve the board well over the next two years.
Our meeting continued the work of previous years – refining and improving the exam procedures. Beyond the work on the rubrics, we discussed developing more exam questions, slide shows and essays. These will continue to be a work in progress. Julie Gaddy, Tom Bellinger, and Morgan Yarker are on a sub-committee to gather, review, refine, and develop new essay questions. They are looking for topics outside of forensics to expand the amount and diversity of topics in our library of essays. If you have a report that can be used after some editing, feel free to contact me. I can forward your email to the sub-committee. Any contribution is significant to the BCCM and very much appreciated.
For the AMS Annual Meeting, the BCCM plans to hold their annual meeting on Tuesday, January 25, 2022. The Certification Breakfast is scheduled for Wednesday, January 26, 2022.
Finally, Gerry Mulvey, CCM, reached out to me. Gerry is the Chair of the Board of Best Practices for the AMS. Gerry is interested in having CCMs serve on the drafting committee starting in 2022. You can learn more about the board on their website. If you are interested in serving, you can reach Gerry by email.
If you have any questions or concerns, I can also be reached by email. If you are interested in serving on the board, in the future, please email myself or Chair-elect Tom Bellinger. Enjoy the cooler weather!
Mark McGinnis (CCM #722)
Chair, Board of Certified Consulting Meteorologists
American Meteorological Society
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AMS Election Voting is Open! | |
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You can now vote for the next leaders of the AMS. You can cast your ballot until November
24th. Learn about the candidates for president-elect and councilors then decide on the future of the Society.
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AMS Annual Meeting Webinar Series: October Edition
Wednesday, October 20th at 1:00 PM Eastern
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AMS and the 102nd Annual Meeting Planning Committee invite you to attend the fourth installment of our Annual Meeting webinar series where members of the Committee and AMS Meetings Staff will update and take your questions on all things Annual Meeting. We'll update you on where we are in the Annual Meeting planning process, talk about some of the exciting programming planned for the meeting , and address any new and exciting topics. Questions from the audience will drive this discussion so
please submit your questions on this form or via chat during the webinar.
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AMS Certification Breakfast
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If you will be attending the AMS Annual Meeting in Houston, and would like to meet up with other AMS certification holders at a free breakfast,
please RSVP by November 15th. The breakfast will be held Wednesday, January 26th, 2022 from 7am-8:15am at the convention center and is open to all CCMs, CBMs, Sealholders, and CATs who will be at the meeting. An RSVP is required for attendance at the breakfast.
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Below you will find links to the new MetEd lessons published by COMET in the past quarter, including two satellite lessons, on RGB imagery and climate data records, one on extratropical transition, and an updated lesson on rip current forecasting. COMET also published three lessons in Spanish, two on sea level change, and one on creating partnerships for IBF implementation. Six lessons were published in French.
NOTE: You now need to login to view course details. Please use the button at the end of this article to view the catalog, and then search for the specific course you are interested in.
New COMET Lessons in English
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Rip Currents Forecasting, 2021 Edition
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Communicating Hazards and Impacts During Extratropical Transition
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Satellite RGB Composite Imagery and Applications
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An Introduction to Satellite-based Climate Data Records
New COMET Lessons in Spanish
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Estrategias de comunicación para crear alianzas
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Cambio del nivel del mar: conceptos básicos
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Cambio del nivel del mar: datums y terminología
New COMET Lessons in French
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The easiest way to see the six new lessons in French (five on hydrology and one on datums)
is to display a listing of lessons in French from the MetEd lesson catalogue.
Currently, these materials are freely available to everyone, courtesy of COMET's primary sponsors. These sponsors include NOAA's NWS, NESDIS and NOS programs, EUMETSAT, the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, the Meteorological Service of Canada, Bureau of Meteorology, the USACE, DOI/Reclamation, and the World Meteorological Organization.
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UPCOMING TALK:
Operational Weather Radar in the United States and Canada: Past, Present, and Future |
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Contributed by Dr. Samuel Miller, CCM
For those that might be interested, please considering attending or participating in the International Symposium on Remote Sensing in Meteorology that will be held virtually on December 1-2, 2021 and is organized by ITU METEO IRS Team. Participation as a listener is free of charge. Samuel Miller will be giving a talk on "Operational Weather Radar in the United States and Canada: Past, Present, and Future."
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WATCH:
Changing Sea Surface Temperatures and their Impacts on Tropical Cyclones Reaching Europe
Contributed by Gerald Mulvey, Ph.D., CCM #571
For those that might be interested, please consider watching Gerald Mulvey's recent talk "Changing Sea Surface Temperatures and their Impacts on Tropical Cyclones Reaching Europe" based on the unpublished work of Luis Leyva. The talk, given to the Irish Meteorological
Society on September 30th, was recorded and the video of the presentation will be available on the Irish Meteorological Society website on October 4th. The presentation is 35 minutes with a 15-20 minute Q&A session.
Summary: Tropical cyclones that develop in the 10°N to 30°N boundaries are able to reach Western Europe. If the cyclones make the transatlantic migration around the Bermuda High over warm waters, the cyclone could possibly re-intensify or transition into an extratropical nature before making landfall in northern Europe. The impacts associated with such storms include high winds, storm surge, and heavy rainfall. Warming of the northern branch of the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Drift increase the chances for tropical cyclones to make the journey across the North Atlantic in the future. Haarsama et al. (2013) and Baatsen et al. (2014) describe the possibility of an increase frequency of tropical cyclone/extratropical reaching Western Europe due to warmer waters in the Atlantic. Haarsama’s conclusions were that this survival was due to latent heat release in the atmosphere from energy contained in the ocean. Baatsen used the EC Earth model to provide future simulations of SST increases across the Atlantic. This analysis showed an increase in SSTs across the areas of interest. A case study was performed by (Pokhil and Glebova 2009) on Tropical Cyclone Omar’s showed the impacts on European weather after its extratropical transition. These studies all point to an increasing tropical cyclone/extratropical cyclone frequency and intensity impacting northern Europe.
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Contributed by Gerald Mulvey, Ph.D., CCM #571
Non-Academic Director - Texas Academy of Science
Owner and Chief Scientist, Nighthawk Weather LLC
There is a strong linkage between successful Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students and the world of Certified Consulting Meteorologists (CCM). Students can learn only so much during their time studying meteorology at a university. The other side of mastering meteorology is the real-world application of classroom lessons. CCMs in commercial business and government can provide this on-the-job training to bridge the gap between university training and the early career professionals’ jobs. Activities that promote
this out-of-class learning are internships (see the internship board on the AMS website), mentor programs, part-time jobs, and publication or presentation of results in scientific journals or conferences. Benefits are accrued for both the students and the companies with whom they engage. Such activities strengthen students’ problem-solving abilities, public speaking and writing. The businesses can also evaluate the students, during their work, for potential staff positions.
Enhancement of skills involving writing, presentation development, and presentation to an audience can be fostered by non-profit organizations like the Texas Academy of Science (TAS) at the regional level. The TAS is dedicated to promoting scientific research in Texas colleges and universities, as a part of student learning and enhancing the professional
development of its professional and student members. Similar organizations exist is other states, such as New York, and Virginia. These organizations provide an opportunity for students to present the results of their work to peers and the professional community without having to travel long distances. It is in the best interest of CCMs in private business and government to engage students (future employees) and hone their skills through such organizations at the regional level. Such confidence building presentations at regional meetings will prepare them for customer briefings and national and international presentations such as at American Meteorological Society, and American Geophysical Union meetings.
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Congratulations to the following individual who completed all requirements for certification and was added to the roll of AMS's active CCMs:
Kaj O'Mara #774
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Upcoming Meetings
Please see information on AMS meetings and COVID-19.
102nd AMS Annual Meeting
23–27 January 2022, Houston, TX
13th International Conference on Southern Hemisphere Meteorology and Oceanography
8–12 February 2022, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand/Aotearoa
2022 AMS Washington Forum
25–28 April 2022, Washington, DC
35th Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology
9–13 May 2022, New Orleans, LA
49th Conference on Broadcast Meteorology/Sixth Conference on Weather Warnings and Communication
14–17 June 2022, Milwaukee, WI
20th Conference on Mountain Meteorology
27 June–1 July 2022, Park City, UT
24th Symposium on Boundary Layers and Turbulence
11–15 July 2022, Šibenik, Croatia
Collective Madison Meeting
8-12 August 2022, Madison, WI
30th Conference on Severe Local Storms
24–28 October 2022, Santa Fe, NM
40th Conference on Radar Meteorology
27 August–1 September 2023, Minneapolis, MN
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LinkedIn
Please join the CCM LinkedIn group if you haven’t already! The group is accessible and open only to CCMs. Follow the link anove and click "Request to join." LinkedIn is an easy way for CCMs to communicate with each other and to keep abreast of news, developments, and items of interest.
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Twitter
For all CCMs, colleagues, and the general public, we also have a Twitter
account. If you are on Twitter, please follow the handle @AMS_BCCM and use it to promote your activities and events.
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Thank you to all of our contributors for this issue
We encourage you to share your experiences, views, findings, or studies for the next newsletter. E-mail your articles to Kelly Savoie and Rex Horner. This newsletter as well as past issues are available online.
The Winter 2021 newsletter submission deadline is December 15, 2021.
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