Guest: Dr. Victor Gensini

When discussions are had about Billion-Dollar Disasters, odds are your mind goes to the biggest hurricane landfalls and tornadoes that struck the country this year.  But the sneakiest of disasters has become hail storms.  As the convective storm passes through a town and dumps tons of ice on cars, roofs, and windows, the costs very quickly add up and the infrastructure is put to the test.  But do we know all we can about these hail storms and how we can mitigate future disasters? Today, we are welcoming back a friend of the show Dr. Victor Gensini to discuss his upcoming field campaign, which is the largest one that has ever been funded that focuses solely on hail.

Chapters

1. Introduction to Hailstorms and Their Impact
2. Victor Gensini's Journey in Meteorology
3. Understanding Hail: Current Knowledge and Gaps
4. The IceChip Field Campaign: Goals and Logistics
5. A Day in the Life of a Field Campaign
6. Future Aspirations in Hail Research

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RECORDED MARCH 28, 2024 Originally released MAY 29, 2024

Guest: Dr. Paul Markowski, Penn State

We are in the throes of the springtime severe season and even as we transition to summer, the potential for supercells and tornadoes doesn’t slow down. In fact, the severe risk moves more from the Central Plains and into the Eastern states…and that’s where we find today’s guest! Dr. Paul Markowski is the Head of the Meteorology and Atmospheric Science Department at Penn State and an expert in tornado research. You will be surprised with how many papers he’s written on aspects of tornadoes you’ve probably never even heard of! We’ve also got Dr. Greg Postel on the show today so we can have an all-encompassing tornado geek out!

Chapters

1. 00:00 Introduction to the Guest and Topic
2. 01:26 How Dr. Paul Markowski Became Interested in Weather
3. 05:51 Dr. Markowski's Journey in Meteorology
4. 06:19 Dr. Markowski's Career at Penn State
5. 07:10 Dr. Markowski's Research and Field Work
6. 09:22 The Experience of Storm Chasing
7. 18:19 Transition to New Research and Theories
8. 29:02 Previous Understanding of Tornado Formation
9. 29:31 Dr. Markowski's Perspective on Tornado Research
10. 30:03 Statistically Identical Environments
11. 31:21 Sensitivity of Storm Behavior
12. 32:19 Discovering New Paradigms
13. 33:21 Role of Turbulent Eddies
14. 34:17 Impact of Cold Air
15. 35:16 Laminar Environments vs. Turbulent Environments
16. 37:18 Theoretical Outcome vs. Real Atmosphere
17. 38:34 Implications for Predictability
18. 39:04 AI in Tornado Warnings
19. 46:52 The Role of AI in Forecasting

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RECORDED JULY 9, 2024 Originally released JULY 31, 2024

Guest: Dr. Jessica Murfree, Assistant Professor at UNC Chapel Hill

The biggest event in the sporting world is taking place in Paris this summer! The Olympics brings in hundreds of athletes and even more spectators from all across the world from so many different backgrounds and ideologies. How do all of these minds come together not just to compete, but also think about our environment and climate as they do so? We have sports ecologist Dr. Jessica Murfree here on the show today to talk about the unique intersection of sports, our changing climate, and extreme weather events, and how that intersection can make all of us more future-thinking so we can go for the gold!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: Exploring the Intersection of Sports, Weather, and Climate

09:51 Understanding Sports Ecology: The Study of Relationships Between Sports and the Natural Environment

15:49 The Environmental Challenges of the Olympics: Heat and Climate Change

21:23 Adapting Sports to Climate Change: Considerations for Spectators and Infrastructure

25:47 The Impact of Climate Change on Sports: Spectator Experience and Adaptation

36:10 Rethinking Infrastructure and Practices: How Climate Change is Shaping Major Sports Leagues

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RECORDED MARCH12, 2024 Originally released MAY 15, 2024

Guest: Jared Rennie, NCEI Research Meteorologist

Gathering and analyzing data today to help us prepare for tomorrow. One sentence with a multitude of implications. NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information seeks to provide not just data, but solutions to help the U.S. and those around the world as our climate continues to change. Jared Rennie is a Research Meteorologist with NCEI and works to support the integration of both climate and socioeconomic data. His work encompasses an operational as well as a research aspect with respect to software used in data processing.

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RECORDED JULY 30, 2024 Originally released AUGUST 7, 2024

Guest: Rick Smith, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for NWS Norman

If you feel it, chase it! That is the tagline for one of the biggest movies of the summer and probably the biggest weather movie of the decade: Twisters. After the initial geek out took place, we were left with a lot of questions! Did it live up to its predecessor Twister, which inspired meteorologists all across the country to pursue their passion? Will we see a brand new wave of Kates and Tylers in the coming decades? Before we think too far ahead, we’ve got to break down the SCIENCE in the film, and who better to do that with than Rick Smith, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at NWS Norman…

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Twisters and Rick Smith
• 09:14 Involvement with the Movie Twisters
• 23:12 Accuracy of Science in Twisters
• 34:02 Weather Modification and Taming Tornadoes
• 36:42 The Future of Twisters and Potential Sequels

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RECORDED MARCH 15, 2024 Originally released JUNE 12, 2024

Guest: Dr. Jason Senkbeil, Associate Professor at the University of Alabama

Hurricane season is rapidly approaching! Many elements that go into a busy tropical season, like warm SST’s and the ENSO phase, already have forecasters worried that we could have a blockbuster season. I’m sure a lot of us Weather Geeks are prepared for what that could entail, but is the rest of the general public ready? And today we’re not talking about prep kits or boarded up windows, we’re talking about how the public understands the risks that they are under during a landfalling tropical cyclone. Let’s discuss that and many more topics with the University of Alabama’s Dr. Jason Senkbeil…

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RECORDED JUNE 7, 2024 Originally released JULY 17, 2024

Guest: Dr. Shepherd & the Creators of Weather Geeks

As long as there has been weather, we have had weather geeks. Before we had the radar to see storms from different layers and the satellites to see hurricanes from space, the fascination of weather has always been there. But only for the past 10 years has there been a Weather Geeks show; first starting as a half-hour geek out on The Weather Channel and now a podcast that you’re listening to wherever you are! And since the beginning, Dr. Marshall Shepherd from the University of Georgia has been your host and he’s sitting down with us to reminisce and regale about the past 10 years of Weather Geeks…

Chapters

• 00:00 The Fascination of Weather Geeks
• 02:14 Bitten by the Weather Bug
• 04:28 Creating a Meet the Press for Weather
• 05:07 The Reluctant Host
• 10:39 The Evolution of Hosting
• 16:17 Fascinating Guests
• 21:39 Geeking Out with Ginger Zee and Janice Hough
• 22:05 A Place to Geek Out
• 22:42 The Value of Weather Geeks in the Weathergeek Community
• 24:21 Challenges and Surprises of Hosting a TV Show
• 26:33 Influencing Teaching Strategies through Weather Geeks
• 29:03 The Future of Weather Geeks: AI, Social Sciences, and Immersive Mixed Reality
• 31:27 Exploring the Fascination of Weather with Weather Geeks

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RECORDED APRIL 1, 2024 Originally released April 3, 2024

Guest: Dr. C. Alex Young, NASA Heliophysicist

You may have noticed there’s been plenty of conversation concerning the closest star to us over the past year or so. From the total solar eclipse in April to the increase in solar storms as we approach the solar maximum, the sun has been getting plenty of attention. So we wanted to take a deeper look into our celestial neighbor and what better way to do that than to invite Dr. Alex Young, a heliophysicist, on the weather geeks podcast!

Chapters

1. 00:00 Introduction and Background
2. 06:21 Fascination with Eclipses
3. 09:02 Total Solar Eclipse and Eclipse Season
4. 12:34 Chasing the Eclipse
5. 15:16 Partial Eclipse and Viewing Techniques
6. 22:15 Factors for a Good Totality Location
7. 26:19 Scientific Opportunities during Eclipses
8. 30:45 Solar Maximum and its Impact
9. 32:27 What Drives Solar Activity
10. 37:23 Solar Maximum and the Corona
11. 40:07 Comparison of Solar Cycles
12. 43:28 Aurora Borealis and Australis
13. 46:17 Impacts of Solar Storms
14. 50:47 Space Weather and Rocket Launches
15. 53:21 Effects on Power Grids
16. 54:29 Protecting Infrastructure from Solar Storms
17. 01:00:29 Tips for Viewing Solar Eclipses
18. 01:03:35 Tips for Viewing the Aurora

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Guest: Dr. Dawn Wright, United States Science Envoy

RECORDED APRIL 18, 2024. Originally Released June 19, 2024

One of the greatest joys in being a scientist is passing your knowledge onto others, whether that is esteemed colleagues on the other side of a breakthrough or young minds that are infatuated with the field. Sometimes, passing that knowledge takes us out of our comfort zone and into other fields, and even other countries! Our guest today is one of the newly selected Science Envoys for the United States, where she will be sharing her wealth of knowledge while also collaborating and barrier-breaking along the way. Dr. Dawn Wright is an esteemed oceanographer with wondrous stories to tell us about her journeys to the bottom of the sea, and she joins us on the Weather Geeks podcast…

Chapters

1. 00:00 Introduction and Background of Dr. Dawn Wright
2. 18:28 The Importance of Ocean Mapping and Seabed 2030
3. 28:16 Becoming a Science Envoy for Ocean Sustainability
4. 34:35 Establishing Centers of Excellence
5. 46:51 Taking Responsibility for Protecting the Ocean

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Guest: Weather Geeks Team

Working as a meteorologist is never boring, because the weather changes every single day! With how volatile each day could be, there are a lot of notable weather events that occur over the course of the year, and 2024 is no exception! Dozens of billion-dollar severe weather events, multiple landfalling hurricanes, and major challenges in social science regarding weather communications. This year will go down in the history books in many different categories, and hopefully a lot can be learned from these events to set ourselves up for a safer and calmer 2025…

Chapters

1. 00:00 Weather Events of 2024: A Year in Review
2. 04:39 Tornadoes and Severe Weather Trends
3. 10:17 Derechos: Understanding Wind Storms
4. 17:59 Hail Events and Their Impact
5. 20:47 Wildfires and Flash Flooding: A Dangerous Cycle
6. 22:38 Preparing for Unpredictable Weather Events
7. 23:24 Analyzing the 2024 Hurricane Season
8. 28:14 The Impact of Rainfall in Hurricane Damage
9. 29:19 Understanding Predecessor Rain Events
10. 33:27 Addressing Misinformation During Hurricanes
11. 40:13 Looking Ahead: Climate Trends and Future Preparedness

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Guest: Dr. Robin Murphy, Professor at Texas A&M University

With many natural disasters it takes time to fully understand the scope of the devastation. We have seen that countless times over the past few years with landfalling major hurricanes. The way that we currently assess storm damage is sufficient, but AI has recently changed the game in the way natural disasters are assessed. Joining us today is Dr. Robin Murphy, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University joins us to discuss how AI is playing a role in the assessment of natural disasters.

Chapters

1. 00:00 Introduction to AI in Disaster Assessment
2. 03:18 The Evolution of Robotics and AI in Disaster Response
3. 05:44 The Role of Drones in Damage Assessment
4. 09:18 Real-Time Data Collection and Analysis
5. 16:27 Scaling AI for Large-Scale Disasters
6. 19:55 Unexpected Flooding and Rapid Response
7. 22:44 Advancements in AI and Operational Use
8. 25:48 Applications Beyond Hurricanes: Tornadoes and More
9. 28:30 Future of AI in Damage Assessment
10. 35:12 Conclusion and Future Directions

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