Weather Geeks

Latest Episodes:

The Future’s A Little Cloudy Sep 29, 2021

Show notes

Guest: Dr. Allison Wing

Introduction:

We’ve got our heads in the clouds today on Weather Geeks! When you see clouds dotting the skyscape, you may only think about how picturesque they look, but they actually play very important roles in weather and climate. Today’s guest is Dr. Allison Wing who has been studying the presence and patterns of clouds in a warmer world and how they’re accounted for in our climate models. Since clouds can affect our planet’s radiation balance, it’s important we know how they will behave in an increasingly warmer world. Dr. Wing and her colleagues have developed climate models to help answer some of these questions.

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Hurricane Ida - Communication & Impacts Revisited Sep 22, 2021

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Guest: Dr. Rick Knabb

Introduction:

Hurricane Ida became a storm for the record books as it made landfall in Port Fourchon, LA on August 29th with sustained winds of 150 mph. The devastation from Ida’s high-end category 4 hurricane winds, storm surge, and torrential rainfall were widespread across Louisiana, but the devastation didn’t end there. As Ida’s remnants tracked into the Northeast, it produced prolific amounts of rainfall, breaking records and claiming dozens of lives. With such extreme events on the rise, communication of their potential impacts can bring challenges for forecasters and emergency managers. Here to highlight those challenges is The Weather Channel’s own, Dr. Rick Knabb, former Director of the National Hurricane Center. Let’s discuss...

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Berkeley Earth Sep 15, 2021

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Guest: Dr. Robert Rohde

Introduction:

While the science of humans’ impact on climate change is now clear, there are still a lot of skeptics out there. One group of scientists was tasked with evaluating concerns of climate skeptics to disprove climate warming, but once they dug into and processed the data, their work only confirmed the warming. We’re talking with Dr. Robert Rohde, lead scientist at Berkeley Earth about the work he and his organization have been doing to further the science of climate change. To create accurate assessments and projections of our climate requires scientists to process A LOT of data, and Robert is one of the key people helping to do that. We’ll talk about how Berkeley Earth is working to educate people about climate change and how they hope to build partnerships with environmental and industry groups around the world.

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50 Years of Service Sep 08, 2021

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Guest: Dr. Louis W. Uccellini

After an incredible career that has spanned more than 50 years, the Director of the National Weather Service, Dr. Louis Uccellini, has announced he will be retiring on January 1, 2022. As one of our most esteemed returning guests, we are honored to have this opportunity to speak with Dr. Uccellini and recollect the countless contributions he has made to the weather and climate enterprise. Throughout his career, he has been a dedicated public servant, an innovative leader at the highest levels of NOAA and the National Weather Service, and led the charge in having the United States become a Weather-Ready Nation. His legacy will have lasting impacts on the field of meteorology, and today, we’re excited to celebrate his accomplishments and discuss what’s next for him.

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Epic Cleantec Sep 01, 2021

Show notes

Guest: Aaron Tartakovsky

Introduction:

Water is one of our most precious natural resources. We can’t live without it and we have a finite supply of it. That’s why it’s so important to not only manage how we use it, but also how we reuse it. Today we’re joined by CEO and co-founder of Epic Cleantec, Aaron Tartakovsky, who’s company has been working to create more sustainable methods for water and wastewater management. With the world’s growing population, aging infrastructures, and increasing concerns of water scarcity due to climate change, we have a greater responsibility to ensure this vital resource keeps flowing to everyone who needs it. We’ll talk about how new strategies are being implemented by Epic Cleantec, and hopefully, you’ll learn a little more about ways you can help.

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Let’s Talk Tropics: A Chat With The National Hurricane Center Aug 25, 2021

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Guest: Ken Graham

Introduction:

June 1st through November 30th, it’s a time many people, especially those who live along the U.S. coastline, are watching for what’s going on in the Atlantic Ocean. Following a record-setting 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, and a quick start to the 2021 season, many are wondering what may lie ahead. Today, we’re talking with the director of the National Hurricane Center, Ken Graham. We’ll discuss some of the recent storms from last season and the 2021 season so far, changes to certain storm products, and messaging to the general public. Let’s get started...

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Breeezeometer (Air Quality Monitoring) Aug 18, 2021

Show notes

Guest: Ran Korber & Paul Walsh

Introduction:

When it comes to keeping ourselves healthy, we know about eating right and keeping active, but there’s another thing we should keep an eye on as well: air quality. And it’s not just smog we’re talking about: it’s also things like wildfires and pollen that affect the air we breathe. Today’s guest started his business because he was looking for a new place to live with his wife, who has asthma. They were looking for a city where air quality wouldn’t have as big of an impact on her health but found the data to help make that decision was hard to come by. Ran Korber founded Breezeomter, a company that helps fill in the gaps in existing air quality monitoring and joins us today to discuss what goes into air quality monitoring and some of the ways this data is used might surprise you!

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NOAA'S Role with Oceans Aug 11, 2021

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Guest: Rear Admiral Timothy Gallaudet

Introduction:

When we think of weather, climate and oceanography, one of the main organizations that comes to mind in the United States is NOAA: the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Today we want to dive into the ‘O’ in that acronym and look at the role NOAA plays with our planet’s oceans. Who better than the former Administrator of NOAA, Rear Admiral (ret) Timothy Gallaudet of the U.S. Navy. He has almost two decades of service in the Navy, and was also appointed as Commander of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. Welcome, Rear Admiral Gallaudet!

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Wildfire Misconceptions are Fueling the Problem Aug 04, 2021

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Guest: Dr. Chad Hanson

2020 was the worst year on record for wildfires in the state of California as more than four

million acres were burned. Words like ‘apocalyptic’ were used to describe the aftermath. The

loss of lives and property are devastating, but are we making the problem worse with

misconceptions about the role wildfires play in the forest ecosystem? Fire ecologist Dr. Chad

Benson joins us today to talk about some of the reasons that wildfires have increased over past

decades and how our actions have helped to fuel this increase.

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Gulf of Mexico Dead Zones Jul 28, 2021

Show notes

Guest: Dr. Tracy Fanara

Today’s topic may sound like something you would see in a Sci-Fi movie… We’re talking about Dead Zones! No, it doesn’t have anything to do with zombies, but these dead zones can be very harmful and even deadly to aquatic life. Dr. Tracy Fanara is a scientist and engineer who has been studying these and other types of phenomena to help educate the public and work to change our practices that contribute to them. Today we’ll be focusing on the Gulf of Mexico, but these events can occur in water bodies across the globe where conditions are right.

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