Weather Geeks

ENSO & Climate Communication

Guest: Tom Di Liberto It’s baaack!! The NOAA Climate Prediction Center recently announced that La Nina has returned and will likely remain with us throughout the 2021-2022 winter season. But what exactly does that mean for us? For the globe? Luckily, we have someone who can help shed some light on its potential impacts. Tom Di Liberto is a meteorologist at Collabralink Technologies, and throughout his career, he has been researching, forecasting, and blogging about ENSO events for NOAA’s Climate...

Flooding & America's Infrastructure

Guest: Dr. Jeremy Porter When we talk about weather disasters, our minds often go towards tornadoes, hurricanes, and severe weather. But flooding is the most common, and most expensive, natural disaster in the United States. First Street Foundation, a science and technology nonprofit, has released a new study evaluating the flood risk to our nation’s critical infrastructure. The study evaluates the risk for every neighborhood, zip code, city and county in the country. Joining us today is Dr. Jer...

Forecasting the Road Ahead

Introduction: Technology is advancing at an amazing pace, creating products and services that were only dreams a decade ago. One of those long lasting dreams, and has been for decades, is an automobile that drives itself. We’re just now getting to the point where that technology is not only possible but available, and part of that process is for a vehicle to be able to sense conditions on the road. Joining us today is Dr. Bill Gail, CEO and co-founder of Global Weather Corporation, a company tha...

MLB Stadiums & Lightning Dangers

Guest: Chris Vagasky Introduction: The joy that fills sports fans' hearts as they loudly sing, “Take me out to the ballgame…” is almost palpable, but one thing that may not come to their mind is the threat lightning poses. We’ve seen the images of lighting bolts racing across the sky as fans hunker down in their seats, and this reminds us how deadly this phenomenon can be. Meteorologist Chris Vagasky, who is the Lightning Applications Manager at Vaisala, has dug through the data and found some s...

The Future’s A Little Cloudy

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 ...

Hurricane Ida - Communication & Impacts Revisited

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...

Berkeley Earth

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 cli...

50 Years of Service

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 l...

Epic Cleantec

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 con...

Let’s Talk Tropics: A Chat With The National Hurricane Center

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 fa...

Breeezeometer (Air Quality Monitoring)

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...

NOAA'S Role with Oceans

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...

Wildfire Misconceptions are Fueling the Problem

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 ...

Gulf of Mexico Dead Zones

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 event...

Forecasting Gold for the 2021 Olympics

Guest: Dr. Andrew Grundstein Introduction: The summer season is upon us and with it the Olympic Games in Tokyo! Today we’re going to focus on how weather comes into play not only during the events themselves, but also how it factors into planning a large-scale international sports event. Today’s guest, Dr. Andrew Grundstein of the University of Georgia, is on the International Olympic Committee for his weather-climate expertise and has been on the podcast before, for his focus on one particular ...

Going to Extremes

Guest: Dr. Kathryn Sullivan Introduction: “To boldly go where no man has gone before” has a great ring to it and it started many a Star Trek episode and movie, but breaking the glass ceiling to boldly go where no woman has gone before can describe our guest today who was: the 1st woman to walk in space, the 1st woman to go to deepest point in space, and the 1st woman to dive to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the Earth's oceans. These are just a few of her many acc...

DailyBreath: Crowdsensing to Better Health

Guest: Eric Klos Introduction: If you suffer from ailments like asthma and allergies, you know how difficult it can be to manage your symptoms in everyday life. While there have been advancements in the medical and pharmaceutical fields, many people would prefer never having their conditions aggravated in the first place! Today we’re sitting down with the CEO and Founder of the DailyBreath app that seeks to serve as a warning system for people to manage and even avoid their triggers that can mak...

Western Drought & Water Rights

Guest: Eric Kuhn Introduction: Exceptional drought conditions across the West have continued to worsen over the years. In fact, the past year has been the driest or second driest in most Southwestern states since record-keeping began in 1895. The worsening drought and warming western climate has led to record low levels in the Colorado River, the main source of water for much of the Southwest. Because the water is shared and the supply is dwindling, it’s important to bring up water rights. Today...

Lightning Safety Awareness Week

Guest: John Jensenius Introduction: When thunder roars, go indoors… You’ve all probably heard the saying, and I’m sure many of you have had your own close calls with this fearsome flash. This week is Lightning Safety Awareness Week, and today, we’re talking to the person who created this annual event! John Jensenius has spent his career keeping people safe as a meteorologist in the National Weather Service, and one of his legacies has been his work to educate and protect people from the dangers ...

Tropical Trouble on the Horizon

Guest: Dr. Greg Postel We’re only through the first couple weeks of the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season, and we’ve already had a named storm, a tropical depression, and we’re now eyeing the Gulf of Mexico for development heading into the weekend! Tropical cyclone forecasting has come a long way in recent decades, and there are even long-range signals we can monitor well ahead of time that show us where tropical activity could pick up. Today’s guest is Weather Channel Expert, Dr. Greg Postel, who ...

Climate's "New Normals": What Does That Mean For Me?

Guest: Jared Rennie Introduction: Just as we do with the census, every ten years it’s time to update some things in the weather world. Among those are the climate averages we use in our almanac data. Today's guest is here to talk about our climate’s “New Normals” and help us understand what does that actually mean for us? Jared Rennie is a research meteorologist at the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies and is here to provide some insight on the hows and whys on the need to update thes...

The Weather Ninja

Guest: Joe Moravsky, American Ninja Warrior To become a meteorologist, it can take a lot of determination and strength with all of the math & science involved. One meteorologist has used this determination and strength to propel himself into a new career…..becoming an American Ninja Warrior! Today we’re joined by Joe Moravsky of the famed NBC TV series, and we’re going to discuss how he made this amazing leap from meteorologist to obstacle course champion. And it may come as no surprise to m...

Hurricane Season 2021 & What's to Come

Guest: Dr. Rick Knabb Introduction: With a new year comes a new hurricane season! Following a record-setting Atlantic hurricane season, it’s understandable that many Americans, especially those living along our coastlines, are afraid of what might be on the horizon in 2021. Today, we’re talking with our Weather Channel Hurricane Expert & former director of the National Hurricane Center, Dr. Rick Knabb. We’ll discuss the latest projections for the upcoming season, the recent changes institute...

Communication During Hurricane Maria

Guest: Ada Monzón Introduction: The 2017 Hurricane Season was a memorable one for many in the Atlantic basin with 17 named storms, 10 hurricanes, and 6 major hurricanes. But, for Puerto Rico, it was especially memorable because of Hurricane Maria. The category 4 hurricane with winds of 155 mph pushed ashore near Yabucoa, Puerto Rico and became the deadliest and costliest hurricane in Puerto Rico’s history. Chief Meteorologist Ada Monzon covered the storm’s progression, landfall, and the lasting ...

“Supersonic” Weather

Artificial Intelligence in Weather & Earth Sciences

Guest: Neil Sahota Introduction: When we think about artificial intelligence, or A.I., what comes to mind for many folks are robots or even IBM’s Watson, which went head to head with some of Jeopardy’s greatest contestants on television among other things.. But what might not come to mind is how this branch of science and technology is being used to study weather and climate, and how these affect the global population. Our guest today is Neil Sahota, an IBM Master Inventor and United Nations Art...

Bridging the Gap: NWS Warnings to Public Consumption

Guest: Mike Chesterfield Introduction: Watch.. Warning… Advisory.. Special Weather Statement. For a lot of folks, especially the general public, weather alerts can get a bit confusing. In fact, an “Advisory” is cited as causing the most confusion among the public with a good portion thinking that an “advisory” is a downgrade from a “watch”, which isn’t the case. Our guest today is The Weather Channel’s own Senior Director of Weather Presentation, Mike Chesterfield. Mike’s been on the podcast bef...

Forthcoming Changes in NWS Advisories

Guest: Dr. Susan Jasko The purpose of a weather alert, whether it be a watch or warning is to reach the most people and save the most lives; but what if the message of those alerts isn't clear or causes confusion? That has been a concern of Meteorologists and Communication experts, and what sparked the reason for updating our current system. Our guest today is Dr. Susan Jasko, Senior Research Scientist at The University of Alabama . Today Dr. Jasko is here to talk about the importance of the com...

The Ups & Downs of the Great Lakes

Guest: Mark Torregrossa Introduction: The Great Lakes account for 84% of North America’s surface freshwater, and millions of people across the region depend on these Lakes for water supplies, industry, travel, and recreation. In recent years, these Lakes have seen a wide range of extremes from record high water levels to sudden, sharp declines, and it has been concerning local residents and officials. Mark Terragrossa serves as the Chief Meteorologist for MLive.com in Michigan, and he’s been clo...

Mission Control to Mars Perseverance: What’s the forecast?

Guest: Manuel De La Torre Juarez On February 18, 2021, the world watched in amazement as the next generation of Mars Rovers set foot on the Red Planet. Mars Perseverance is the vehicle that will venture out into the Martian desert to help create “the first weather network on another planet.” To explore the mission details of NASA’s latest rover, we’re sitting down with one of the experts, Dr. Manuel De La Torre Juarez of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. We’ll break down the suite of instruments...