WeatherBrains 543: Money I Laid Down at the Venetian

WeatherBrains Episode 543 is now online (June 13, 2016). If you are crazy about weather, this is THE netcast audio program for you!

Our Guest WeatherBrain for this episode is Todd Lericos, the Meteorologist-in-Charge (MIC) of the National Weather Service (NWS) Office in Las Vegas, NV, a position he has held since November, 2012. Todd grew up in Southwest Florida and began his career in meteorology by joining the Air Force in 1991 as a Weather Observer. His first assignment was Homestead AFB, arriving just eight months before Hurricane Andrew hit the base in August, 1992. A passion for weather forecasting in high impact situations was instilled in Todd by that event and he later deployed all over the world to provide weather forecast support to various military operations. This included a deployment to Haiti in 1994 for Operation Uphold Democracy and an assignment to the Middle East to support Operation Southern Watch in 1995.

After leaving the Air Force in 1997 to pursue a civilian career in meteorology, Todd attended Florida State University (FSU) from 1997 to 2002. While at FSU he conducted award-winning research projects in both the use of lightning data in operational forecasting and theoretical modelling of squall lines at land-sea interfaces. He holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Meteorology. An opportunity to serve in the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) at the Tallahassee, FL, NWS office in 1999 began Todd’s career in the NWS.  That opportunity led to a permanent position in the NWS in 2002 as Journeyman Forecaster in Spokane, WA. Todd then served as Science and Operations Officer (SOO) at the NWS office in Caribou, Maine from 2006 to 2011. He moved to become the SOO at the NWS Office in Tallahassee replacing his long time mentor in that position. When the opportunity emerged to lead a Weather Forecast Office in October, 2012, he accepted his current position at NWS Las Vegas.

Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:

• Extremes: 106 at Death Valley, CA, & Pecos, TX, and 26 at Mount Washington, NH, & Bridgeport, CA
• Tropical Atlantic remains quiet after Colin
• Tropical Pacific has one area of disturbed weather
• Severe weather threat along eastern slopes of Rockies
• Severe threat moves out into Plains States Tuesday and Wednesday
• Astronomy Outlook with Tony Rice
• and more!

Our email bag officer is out this week trying to do some catching up at her own station. And the accelerant, Kevin, is also out this week due to illness. Both are expected to return next week.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: Last week our guest WeatherBrain introduced the audience to something that many have heard little about. That was certainly my case, so this week the topic is the Wet Bulb Global Temperature used to provide a better index to quantify heat stress, especially in direct sunlight.

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 543:

NWS Las Vegas, NV, web site

NWS Announcement about TDWR Upgrades

Caesars Flood of 1975

To subscribe to the new SkyWritings, an email newsletter from the WeatherBrains gang, click HERE.

Picks of the Week:

Justin Gehrts – Cli – MATE, Midwestern Regional Climate Center

Bill Murray – Tornado hits Norfolk Southern Train

Brian Peters – Cliff Mass blog post on need for local NWS offices

Rick Smith – The Weather Social

James Spann – Extreme and Weird Weather of the World

SkyDavers Blog – The Fog Bank

The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like Nate Johnson, Bill Murray, Aubrey Urbanowicz, Rick Smith, Kevin Selle, and Brian Peters. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating netcast about weather.

Category: WeatherBrains