In this episode of Disaster Discussions we sit down with IBHS research scientists Dr. Ian Giammanco, Brenna Meisenzahl, and Jake Sorber to recap this year's hail field study. We discuss this year's active weather pattern that led to a record number of operating days and the characteristics of some of the storms teams were able to survey. We also discuss the nomadic elements of the trip and the logistics of operating a multi-day scientific operation. Plus, we highlight some of the unique field opportunities teams were able to participate in this year, including cross-sectioning and 3D scanning giant hailstones and assisting with verifying a possible new record hailstone. We also discuss how the data collected on the trip will inform current and future hail research at the IBHS lab.

In this episode of Disaster Discussions we sit down with Bill Read, former director of the National Hurricane Center, to talk all things tropics as the Atlantic hurricane season kicks off in the month of June. Read reflects on accomplishments during his time as director, discusses some of the challenges he faced, and highlights the successes. We also discuss the active hurricane season forecast, changes coming to the "cone of uncertainty" this season, and how a hurricane expert prepares his own home for hurricane season. Read also discusses his experience installing a FORTIFIED roof on his own home in south Texas.

Now in its fifth edition, IBHS’s Rating the States  report evaluates the 18 states along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts based on residential building code adoption, enforcement, training, education and contractor licensing. In this episode of Disaster Discussions, we’re joined by Dr. Ian Giammanco, IBHS Managing Director of Standards and Data Analytics and Dr. Milad Shabanian, IBHS Codes and Standards Engineer, to discuss the results of the latest report. The episode covers the history and mission of Rating the States, the methodology used to calculate state scores, and a deep dive into the results. We highlight several states and what they’re doing right to achieve high scores, as well as looking at ways low-scoring states can improve their scores in the next report.