Weather Geeks

Guest: Dr. Jeremy PorterWhen 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. Jeremy Porter, who leads the research & development efforts at First Street Foundation, to break down the findings and impacts of this expansive research study.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 that is helping to predict road conditions all across the globe. He’s also the former president of the American Meteorological Society, so we’ll be picking his brain a bit on other areas as well! Please welcome Dr. Bill Gail.Guest:Dr. Bill GailSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Chris VagaskyIntroduction: 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 shocking statistics for some of the league’s most popular stadiums. We’ll break down who’s most at risk for lighting and discuss how his research is being used to improve MLB’s weather safety policies. Get your peanuts & join us for the discussion...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Allison WingIntroduction: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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Rick KnabbIntroduction: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...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Robert RohdeIntroduction: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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Louis W. UccelliniAfter 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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Aaron TartakovskyIntroduction: 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Ken GrahamIntroduction: 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...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Ran Korber & Paul WalshIntroduction: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!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Rear Admiral Timothy GallaudetIntroduction: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!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Chad Hanson2020 was the worst year on record for wildfires in the state of California as more than fourmillion acres were burned. Words like ‘apocalyptic’ were used to describe the aftermath. Theloss of lives and property are devastating, but are we making the problem worse withmisconceptions about the role wildfires play in the forest ecosystem? Fire ecologist Dr. ChadBenson joins us today to talk about some of the reasons that wildfires have increased over pastdecades and how our actions have helped to fuel this increase.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Tracy FanaraToday’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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Andrew GrundsteinIntroduction: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 aspect of the heat: how it impacts athletes. So we’re going to focus on Dr. Grundstein’s experience with how weather and climate went into the planning for the Tokyo Games and how weather can affect the athletes competing.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Dr. Kathryn SullivanIntroduction:“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 accomplishments. Today we’ll talk about breaking barriers and the amazing career of Dr. Kathryn Sullivan.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Eric KlosIntroduction: 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 make them sick, and in the worst cases, send them to the emergency room. We’ll talk about his motivation behind this innovative application and his future plans to help keep people well.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Eric KuhnIntroduction: 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 we’ll explore the impacts of the drought on the Colorado River and water rights with Eric Kuhn.Privacy Policy and California Privacy Notice.

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 of lightning. Each year, lightning kills 49 people on average, so we’ll talk about the ways you can stay safe and even debunk some myths about lightning that may be putting you at risk. Now let’s begin what is sure to be an electric discussion!Privacy Policy and California Privacy Notice.

Guest: Dr. Greg PostelWe’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 is well versed in medium and long-range forecasting, as well as tropical cyclones. Our discussion will highlight what these signals are and how we can leverage them to alert local residents before a storm arrives.

Guest: Jared RennieIntroduction: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 these averages.