UAH NWS tour rolls on…

(Blue dots represent past tour stops, green dots are this week)

Over the past four years, we have done a lot of research at UAH on gravity waves (and how they affect the weather, including wind storms and tornadoes), and are now working on the interactions of rotating thunderstorms with mountains, wind channeling in valleys, and friction changes (I’ll explain these more in a blog later).  

However, as a former NWS employee of 9 years, I have not only done some of the research, published it in scientific journals, and given talks at a lot of conferences, but I have also done what I initially called “The UAH Gravity Wave Tour,” that is now simply the UAH NWS tour, due to the additional topics we discuss.  This tour helps in two ways.  First of all, we take the research, and how NWS forecasters can use it during severe weather, directly to the NWS offices.  Secondly, the NWS meteorologists give us feed back on research they need.

Today, I’m driving to UAH tour stop 9, NWS Nashville, TN.  I will then drive to Chicago (and hopefully beat the severe storms there, and do a seminar at NWS Chicago tomorrow, before going to Wrigley Field for the first time in my life tomorrow night!  I will give one more seminar, in Indianapolis, on Thursday, and head home.  It’s a fast 60 hours!  I hope to have another tour in the Carolinas, and maybe one in the Ohio Valley, before 2011 is over.

I’ll have updates from the road this week, with pictures.  Tonight could get interesting driving into Chicago…

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