WeatherBrains 224: Societal Impact of Weather
WeatherBrains Episode 224 is now online (May 11, 2010). If you are crazy about weather, this is THE netcast audio program for you!
WeatherBrains - May 11, 2010Our guest panelist comes to us from the National Weather Service in Jacksonville, FL. Pete Wolf is the SOO, or Science and Operations Officer, for the Jacksonville NWS office. One of Pete’s activities is working on a nationwide project to study the effectiveness of weather warnings.
Our special guest for this episode is Dr. John Scala, recent Past President of the National Weather Association and currently a broadcast meteorologist for WGAL-TV in Lancaster, PA. Dr. Scala served as the 2008 President of the National Weather Association (NWA), a professional nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and promoting excellence in operational meteorology. He was elected to a second three-year term as Councilor in 2010 and serves currently on the Committee on Societal Impacts of Weather and Climate as well as the Finance Committee. He received the NWA Member of the Year Award in 2009.
Dr. Scala is also a member of the American Meteorological Society, the American Geophysical Union, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. His published work consists of 18 authored or co-authored papers in the peer-reviewed literature and over 30 conference contributions. Dr. Scala wrote an invited chapter on forensic meteorology which appeared in the second edition of CRC Press’s number one best seller, Forensic Entomology, published in July 2009.
Dr. Scala began his professional career at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center where he focused on the observation and numerical modeling of storms. Dr. Scala holds a B.S. degree in Biology and Geology from the University of Rochester, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia.
Dr. Scala is often asked to address insurance underwriters and claims adjusters, first responders, emergency managers and coordinators at the municipal and county level, as well as public schools and community service organizations on disaster preparedness, severe weather awareness and hazard mitigation. He maintains a close working relationship with the National Weather Service by collaborating on research projects designed to improve operational forecasting as well as assisting in site surveys of tornado and severe storm damage. Dr. Scala consulted with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Association where he developed curricular-based materials for integrating service learning, scientific knowledge, and emergency response and preparedness activities.
Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:
The mail bag continues to see some great audience feedback and Kevin gives us a complete rundown on them.
From The Weather Center:
WeatherBrains 101: Fog is not nearly as exciting as severe weather but it is still quite fascinating. Our underpaid staff professor takes a look at this meteorological phenomena and some of the conditions that can lead to fog formation.
TWIWH: Bill Murray looks back at the week of May 12th.
Listener Surveys: Okay, we continue to drive this topic into the ground, but we really do like to hear from you. Many thanks to everyone who has taken the time to fill out the Listener Survey. The survey takes just a minute or two to complete and provides us with an opportunity to learn where you are and hear your thoughts and comments on the show. Click here to take the survey.
Web Sites from Episode 224:
Convective Warning Utilization Survey
Picks of the Week:
JB Elliott – Nope – no pick
Bill Murray – Tom Skilling’s 30th Annual Fermilab Tornado and Severe Weather Seminar
Brian Peters – StormReady web page
Kevin Selle – Severe Studios
James Spann – KFOR Tornado Video
The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like JB Elliott, Kevin Selle, Dr. Tim Coleman, Bill Murray, and Brian Peters. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating netcast about weather.
Guest panelist on WeatherBrains tonight is Dr. Josh Durkee. Dr. Durkee is a Professor of Meteorology at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY, and has been since 2008. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Western Kentucky University and his Masters Degree and doctorate from the University of Georgia. WKU has a small and relatively new meteorology program with the first graduating class coming soon.
Joining us this week as our special guest WeatherBrain is Sheldon Kusselson. Sheldon is a graduate of Penn State University. He is an Accu-Weather alumnus and has spent the last 31 years as a part of NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS). His branch actually does all hazards analysis besides precipitation.
