Weather Geeks

Guest: Dr. William McDowell, University of New HampshireEcology is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans like you and me, and their physical environment. It seeks to understand the vital connections between plants and animals and the world around them! So why am I giving you a lesson on ecology in this episode of Weather Geeks? Well, what if I told you that hurricanes have a large impact on our ecology?! That is what my guest Dr. William McDowell from the University of New Hampshire is here to teach us all about. Unlike with flash flooding and storm surge, we may not know the direct impacts a storm has on our ecosystem until we are many months or even years down the road!

Special Tropical Edition - Tracking LauraWeather Geeks host Dr. Marshall Shepherd and Meteorologist & The Weather Channel's Dr. Rick Knabb discuss the latest forecast and impacts expected from Hurricane Laura threatening the Gulf Coast of the U.S.

Guest: Jamie Rhome, NHC Storm Surge UnitStorm surge…a tropical cyclone’s most deadly threat… Many may recall images that flooded news outlets in 2018 following Category 5 Hurricane Michael after it sent a nearly 15-foot wall of water into the seaside town of Mexico Beach, FL. If you’ve experienced storm surge, you know how quickly a hurricane can send a wall of water rushing into homes and businesses, washing away lives and livelihoods. Today, we’re joined by Jamie Rhome, leader of the Storm Surge Unit at the National Hurricane Center. Jamie will offer us an inside look to the inner-workings of this life-saving agency and its critical forecasts we depend upon. If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “Hide from the wind, run from the water,” today’s discussion will make you understand why...

Weather Geeks host Dr. Marshall Shepherd and Meteorologist & Weather Geeks Producer Sarah Dillingham discuss the latest forecast and impacts expected from Hurricane Laura threatening the Gulf Coast of the U.S.

Special Tropical Edition - Tracking Laura and MarcoWeather Geeks host Dr. Marshall Shepherd and Meteorologist & Weather Geeks Producer Sarah Dillingham discuss the latest forecast and impacts expected from the duo of tropical systems Laura and Marco threatening the Gulf Coast of the U.S.

Guest: Steve PouposIntroduction: When disaster strikes, establishing a reliable communication network is critical!  Someone who knows all too well about that is Steve Poupos, Director of AT&T’s Emergency Management Preparedness & Response.  This emergency response team has been aiding disaster communications for nearly 30 years, and that kind of effort certainly requires an experienced team of meteorologists, technicians, and first responders. We’ll learn about the inner workings of the recovery teams and how they’re able to spring into action at a moment’s notice. And as many of may have been wondering, we’ll discuss how they’re planning to adapt their team’s response during this global pandemic, as they gear up for what could be a very busy hurricane season...

Guest:  Sean Swarner, Mountain Climber & Cancer SurvivorIntroduction:The odds that you will ever find yourself in the middle of a snowstorm in Miami, Florida are slim to none.  Those are the same odds that young Sean Swarner had to survive when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer TWICE.  He survived and wanted to seize the life that he was lucky to still have.  Since then, he has climbed the highest peaks on all 7 continents, among other feats...while only having one lung.  We are talking to him today about the grueling environments he was subjected to while pushing the human body to impossible limits.

Guests:  Richard Henning & Kevin Doremus, Hurricane HuntersAs we’ve highlighted nearly a hundred of times on this podcast, there is a lot more to meteorology than what you see on TV!  A meteorologist can work in insurance, they can work for NASA, and they can work for airlines just to name a few.  But one of the most important and dangerous jobs that is in the field of meteorology is that of a Hurricane Hunter.  These brave men and women fly into the eye of a hurricane multiple times a day in order to bring back data that can help save lives.  I have two of these men with me today, Richard Henning & Kevin Doremus, so we can get an in-depth look at the life of a Hurricane Hunter through their eyes...

Have you ever heard someone say that they know a storm is coming because their joints start aching or they have a migraine?  Well there is a scientific basis to that, but what about general pain receptors during common weather patterns?  In past decades, it was difficult to answer such a general science question...but it’s not anymore!  Today’s guest is Dr. David Schultz from the University of Manchester to talk about his study and how smartphones helped his team complete their research!

The racial injustices experienced by millions of Americans have been brought to greater attention in recent weeks.  Among those Americans are members of our scientific community who have endured their own instances of racial discrimination along their paths to success.  Many have felt marginalized, placated, and that they are often not being offered the same opportunities as many of their fellow white colleagues. Joining me today are 3 incredibly talented atmospheric scientists: Dr. Brad Johnson, Dr. Melissa Burt, and Tevin Wooten .  While we each have had great achievements in our careers, we have still felt the added pressures of working twice as hard to be considered equals in our respective fields. Our goal in this discussion is to share the stories of our personal challenges throughout our careers and offer a guide for others to know they are not alone. The Weather Geeks team is proud to offer their support to our minority colleagues and show that by embracing diversity and inclusion, we

Guest : Dr. Andrew Grundstein, UGAIntroduction: Many of us have seen first-hand the impacts weather can have on our daily lives, and today we’re going to focus on the dangers associated with heat and thunderstorms. Heat related illnesses are often underrated and sadly, this can lead to many trips to the emergency room...or worse. Today’s guest, Dr. Andrew Grundstein of the University of Georgia, has been focusing on one particular aspect of the heat: how it impacts athletes and children in hot cars. These situations can lead to dozens of deaths each year, so we’re going to discuss the meteorological and even some of the psychological factors at play in these events. Finally, we’ll discuss the impacts of thunderstorms on asthma...an idea which may be counterintuitive to many of you...

Guest: Dr. Greg Dusek, NOAA Ocean ServiceThe oceans hold more than 96% of the Earth’s water, and it’s the motions of those oceans we’re focusing on today!  As people hit the beaches, many are unaware of underlying dangers lurking close to shore, and we’re not talking about JAWS…  We’re talking about RIP CURRENTS, which lead to some 30,000 rescues EACH YEAR!  Today’s guest is Dr. Greg Dusek, Senior Scientist at NOAA’s National Ocean Service, and he knows all about rip currents.  We’ll discuss how to spot these hazards and how you can break the grip of the rip. We also couldn’t let Greg get away without discussing a few other topics, so if you’re already wondering what a meteotsunami is...we’ll get to those later. Let’s dive in!

Guest: Dr. Daniel SwainIntroduction: If you’re not from California, what is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of its weather?  Severe droughts?  Constant wildfires?  75 and sunny every single day?  In any given year, those could all be correct!  But what about over the past 30 years to create a climate normal?  That’s where our guest today comes in… Dr. Daniel Swain is a climate scientist at UCLA and he’s been researching California’s weather patterns and finding the connections with our changing climate. From atmospheric rivers of moisture to raging wildfires, we’ll discuss why California and the West are so susceptible to these phenomena, and we’ll reveal the challenges that can come from studying these diverse, beautiful landscapes. 

Guest: Dr. Aaron Bernstein, Harvard UniversityIntroduction:  We all know that climate change has been detrimental to the health of our Earth, with increased deforestation and melting ice caps. But what about our own health? Or our children’s health? My guest today is Dr. Aaron Bernstein from Harvard University, who focuses on the health impacts of the climate crisis on children’s health and advancing solutions to address its causes to improve the health and wellbeing of children around the world. We are going to discuss this issue, especially related to our current COVID-19 pandemic and how that disease has a connection to our changing climate.

Guest: Marc Collins Chen, OceanixIntroduction:  When a hurricane is fast approaching, experts always say that you have to fear the water, whether it’s rain coming down from the sky or the surge from the ocean or the flood from the rivers. What if I told you that my guest today has created a concept that would make you flock to the water and live a safer life from hurricanes? Marc Collins Chen is the CEO of Oceanix, a company that builds floating structures that can hold up to thousands of residents. Could Oceanix’s plan be the future of hurricane and climate change protection?

Guest: Dr. Adam Sobel, Columbia UniversityIntroduction:  Most of the time when we bring someone on to Weather Geeks, they have a certain niche or a specific craft or an interesting line of research to discuss with us. But today, I have a guest with me who does it all! Dr. Adam Sobel is a professor of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics and of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University. He teaches everything from tropical meteorology to climate thermodynamics to differential equations, so he’s certainly going to teach us Geeks a thing or two... about a thing or two! 

Guest: Ryan Stauffer, NASAIntroduction:  The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we all live our lives, both in the present and in the future. We’ve all been stuck in our homes and adopted teleworking techniques in order to reduce as much time as possible with other people that may be sick. With these changes, we have noticed some positive impacts to our environment, including animals flocking to places they normally don’t and improved air quality in major cities. Today we’ve brought in Dr. Ryan Stauffer from NASA to discuss how this quarantine has impacted our current pollution output and how it is modeled out in the future.

Guest: Ivona Cetinic, NASA OceanographerIntroduction: NASA does a lot more than mapping our solar system...they have also been mapping our oceans for over 20 years! The ocean is extremely important in our Earth’s health, circulation, and economy, so it is equally as important that our ocean is in good health too! In 2022, NASA will be launching the PACE mission, which stands for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem, to further advance their understanding of our oceanic and atmospheric health. Today’s guest is Ivona Cetinic, who is the project science lead for Ocean Biogeochemistry on this mission and has devoted her entire career to better understanding our world’s oceans.

Guest: Bernadette Woods - PlackyIntroduction:The proper communication of climate science is just as important as communicating it at all! In an ever-changing world, keeping up with communication techniques is extremely important. The intersection of television and science has never been more vital than today! On this episode, we’re joined by Bernadette Woods Placky, Chief Meteorologist and Climate Matters program director, a division of Climate Central. As an Emmy Award winning on-camera-meteorologist Placky, can help us fully understand the line between proper and poor climate communication techniques!