Talking Up A Storm - OWL

Dr. Lance Bosart is an NCAR Affiliate Scientist and Distinguished Professor with the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the University at Albany/SUNY. He gives us a brief background of himself and how his interest sparked in meteorology, tells us how students can get a job in meteorology which tests their mathematics and physics skills, and talks about understanding risks and how probabilities are important in meteorological forecasts.

With spring and severe weather season just around the corner, for many, the memories of last May's destructive tornadoes are still fresh on their minds. Mr. Rick Smith, Warning Coordination Meteorologist from the National Weather Service Warning Forecast Office in Norman, OK takes a look back at the devastating storms that impacted the state in May 2013 and describes how to prepare for this year's severe weather season.

For every forecast meteorologist, several components are required for composing an accurate forecast. One of the major facets of the accurate forecast is that of the forecast model. Forecast models give meteorologists an eye into how future weather conditions might occur. Dr. Alan Thorpe, the Director General of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, explains what weather models, how they work, and how they are utilized.

2011 was a catastrophic year in regards to tornadic impacts, with 550 fatalities and approximately $20 billion in damage. James Hocker, program manager of OK-First, and Patrick Marsh, National Severe Storms Laboratory Lesion to the Hazardous Weather Testbed, talk about how active the 2011 tornado season was, as well as how to prepare for upcoming tornado seasons.

Climate change is something many people have heard of but don't know much about. Learn from one of leading experts in the field of climate change of what exactly climate change is, how it's measured, where it currently stands, and what the future holds for climate change. Dr. Bjorn Stevens is the current director of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology located in Hamburg, Germany. Dr. Stevens was also the 16th Annual Tzvi Gal-Chen Memorial Lecture Speaker at the University of Oklahoma.

Learn from the experts how the El Nino and La Nina climate patterns impact us globally, as well as locally in the Southern Plains of the United States. Dr. Mark Morrissey, a professor with the University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology, and Gary McManus, Associate State Climatologist with the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, talk about how the El Nino/La Nina - Southern Oscillation occurs and its impacts on the climate on a global scale, as well as locally in the Southern Plains of the United States.