Weather Geeks

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Voyages Beyond the Horizon Jun 19, 2024

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Guest: Dr. Dawn Wright, United States Science Envoy

One of the greatest joys in being a scientist is passing your knowledge onto others, whether that is esteemed colleagues on the other side of a breakthrough or young minds that are infatuated with the field. Sometimes, passing that knowledge takes us out of our comfort zone and into other fields, and even other countries! Our guest today is one of the newly selected Science Envoys for the United States, where she will be sharing her wealth of knowledge while also collaborating and barrier-breaking along the way. Dr. Dawn Wright is an esteemed oceanographer with wondrous stories to tell us about her journeys to the bottom of the sea, and she joins us on the Weather Geeks podcast…

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background of Dr. Dawn Wright
18:28 The Importance of Ocean Mapping and Seabed 2030
28:16 Becoming a Science Envoy for Ocean Sustainability
34:35 Establishing Centers of Excellence
46:51 Taking Responsibility for Protecting the Ocean

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Improving Hurricane Risk Perceptions Jun 12, 2024

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Guest: Dr. Jason Senkbeil, Associate Professor at the University of Alabama

Hurricane season is rapidly approaching! Many elements that go into a busy tropical season, like warm SST’s and the ENSO phase, already have forecasters worried that we could have a blockbuster season. I’m sure a lot of us Weather Geeks are prepared for what that could entail, but is the rest of the general public ready? And today we’re not talking about prep kits or boarded up windows, we’re talking about how the public understands the risks that they are under during a landfalling tropical cyclone. Let’s discuss that and many more topics with the University of Alabama’s Dr. Jason Senkbeil…

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D-Day: How the Weather Saved NATO Jun 05, 2024

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Guest: John Ross, author

Whether you’ve heard about D-Day or the Battle of Normandy through a textbook at school many years ago or from a documentary on TV, the images you’ve seen of the seaborne invasion surely are etched into your mind. All of the troops storming the beaches from the sea, flanked by gunfire and explosions. Of course the logistics of conducting such an organized siege is one thing, but one aspect that many people don’t know is how much of an impact the weather had on that pivotal battle. And if that battle did not happen, there would be cascading effects that would change our history forever. Ahead of the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, we have author John Ross on the podcast today

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Let's Geek Out About Tornadoes! May 29, 2024

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Guest: Dr. Paul Markowski, Penn State

We are in the throes of the springtime severe season and even as we transition to summer, the potential for supercells and tornadoes doesn’t slow down. In fact, the severe risk moves more from the Central Plains and into the Eastern states…and that’s where we find today’s guest! Dr. Paul Markowski is the Head of the Meteorology and Atmospheric Science Department at Penn State and an expert in tornado research. You will be surprised with how many papers he’s written on aspects of tornadoes you’ve probably never even heard of! We’ve also got Dr. Greg Postel on the show today so we can have an all-encompassing tornado geek out!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Guest and Topic
01:26 How Dr. Paul Markowski Became Interested in Weather
05:51 Dr. Markowski's Journey in Meteorology
06:19 Dr. Markowski's Career at Penn State
07:10 Dr. Markowski's Research and Field Work
09:22 The Experience of Storm Chasing
18:19 Transition to New Research and Theories
29:02 Previous Understanding of Tornado Formation
29:31 Dr. Markowski's Perspective on Tornado Research
30:03 Statistically Identical Environments
31:21 Sensitivity of Storm Behavior
32:19 Discovering New Paradigms
33:21 Role of Turbulent Eddies
34:17 Impact of Cold Air
35:16 Laminar Environments vs. Turbulent Environments
37:18 Theoretical Outcome vs. Real Atmosphere
38:34 Implications for Predictability
39:04 AI in Tornado Warnings
46:52 The Role of AI in Forecasting

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Weather On Top of the World May 22, 2024

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Guest: Charlie Peachey, Mount Washington Weather Observer

The United States sees almost every kind of meteorological phenomena imaginable, but there’s one place where the weather can be amplified. Located at over 6000 feet in New Hampshire, Mount Washington is famous for its weather extremes. The Mount Washington Observatory is a world renowned institution with a mission to advance understanding of the natural systems that create Earth’s weather and climate. Our guest today is a Weather Observer and Research/IT Specialist with the observatory… welcome to the show Charlie Peachey!

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Behind the Scenes at NCEI May 15, 2024

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Guest: Jared Rennie, NCEI Research Meteorologist

Gathering and analyzing data today to help us prepare for tomorrow. One sentence with a multitude of implications. NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information seeks to provide not just data, but solutions to help the U.S. and those around the world as our climate continues to change. Jared Rennie is a Research Meteorologist with NCEI and works to support the integration of both climate and socioeconomic data. His work encompasses an operational as well as a research aspect with respect to software used in data processing.

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New Developments in Rapid Intensification May 08, 2024

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Guest: Dr. Falko Judt, Research Meteorologist at NCAR

In tropical meteorology, the term ‘rapid intensification’ describes a tropical cyclone that does just that: it rapidly intensifies. The official definition is a tropical system whose maximum sustained winds increase by at least 35 mph in a 24-hour period. Sometimes though, it’s much more intense. In 2023, Hurricane Otis in the Eastern Pacific saw its winds increase by 115 mph in less than 24 hours before slamming into Mexico as a rare Category 5 storm, while Hurricane Idalia intensified by 55 mph from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in the day before making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend. The ‘how’ and ‘why’ some storms rapidly intensify is still shrouded in a bit of mystery. Here today to help us unveil a bit of that, we welcome Falko Judt, a research meteorologist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

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Let’s Clear the Biases in Weather AI May 01, 2024

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Guest: Dr. Amy McGovern, University of Oklahoma

We as humans all have biases whether we like to believe it or not, especially when it comes to meteorology. You may have heard of confirmation bias, Dunning-Kruger effect, survivor’s bias, cognitive dissonance and more! However, humans aren’t the only ones who are susceptible to bias: it has been shown in newly-evolving AI. How can we nip these glitches in the bud before they could potentially get out of hand? Our guest today Dr. Amy McGovern from the University of Oklahoma is working to tackle that exact problem…

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High Elevation Weather Stations Apr 24, 2024

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Guest: Dr. Baker Perry, National Geographic Explorer

When it comes to the highest places on Earth, the Rockies, the Andes and of course, the Himalayas come to mind. And while hikers have scaled these peaks, real-time weather data is scarce at these high altitudes. These are not highly populated areas, so why would we need to have weather stations installed in these remote frontiers? Joining us today to explain why and what it means for not only our understanding of the present climate, but the past as well, is National Geographic Explorer Dr. Baker Perry.

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Weather & Fashion Apr 17, 2024

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Guest: Dr. Nicole Mölders, Professor at University of Alaska Fairbanks

If you grew up in a colder climate, your parents always told you that you have to dress in layers, all the way down to your socks! But if you grew up in a warmer climate, you were told to wear lighter fabrics and colors so the sun’s heat wasn’t too intense on your body. These are more than just pieces of advice that have been passed down through the years, they have foundations in science! On Weather Geeks today, we have Dr. Nicole Mölders, who is the leading expert on the intersection of weather and fashion and we’re going to dive into her latest book about the certainly geeky topic…

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