WeatherBrains 236: Weather and Flying

WeatherBrains Episode 236 is now online (August 2, 2010). If you are crazy about weather, this is THE netcast audio program for you!

Guest panelist for this episode of WeatherBrains is Brenda Phillips. Brenda Philips is the leader of the End User Integration research at the Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA), an NSF Engineering Research Center headquartered at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. CASA is creating innovative weather radar systems. The End User Integration research thrust is a multidisciplinary group that interacts with users of weather data – such as the National Weather Service, emergency managers, academic researchers, the media, and the public – studying social, policy, behavioral and technical interface issues around the use of CASA systems in weather impacted decision making. She is also working with NOAA’s Hazardous Weather Test Bed where CASA data is being evaluated by National Weather Service forecasters in real time. She is a relative new comer to the weather scene (only 7 years or so), but enjoys spending hours and hours with weather weenies (mostly forecasters and emergency managers) learning about how CASA data might help. She has a BA and MBA from the Yale University and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Economics at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Our guest WeatherBrain for this show is Mike Smith. Mike Smith is the Founder and President of Weather Data, Inc., based in Wichita, KS. Weather Data provides weather forecasting, consulting, and weather risk management to companies and organizations around the US, Canada, and Mexico. The company was acquired by Accu Weather in 2006.

Mike founded the company in 1981. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and had a television career in Kansas City, St. Louis, and Wichita. Like many meteorologists, his interest in weather was sparked by a major weather event on May 20, 1957, when an F5 tore through Kansas City.

WeatherData just moved into new headquarters in Wichita. His approach is that the warning system isn’t broken, it’s the best in the world. In fact, he has a book coming out in May, 2010, about the warning system.

Other discussions in this weekly podcast include topics like:

Our email bag has been getting some input but Kevin is AWOL.

From The Weather Center:

WeatherBrains 101: An anvil can be something from a blacksmith shop or something in the clouds. In this case, the internationally renowned professor takes a look at one of the most interesting cloud formations that comes with cumulonimbus formations.

TWIWH: Bill Murray looks back at the week of August 3rd.

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 236:

WeatherData

Mike Smith Enterprises

CASA Web Site

Survey on point and click forecasts

Picks of the Week:

JB Elliott – Gets the Horn

Brian Peters – Gets the Horn

Brenda Phillips – New York City Hot July Stats

James Spann – Coverage of Delta 191 Crash

The WeatherBrains crew includes your host, James Spann, plus other notable geeks like JB Elliott and Brian Peters. They bring together a wealth of weather knowledge and experience for another fascinating netcast about weather.

Category: Pre-November 2010 Posts