Guest: Campbell Watson, Senior Research Scientist at IBM Research

As artificial intelligence, or AI, continues to become more pervasive in our technology, it’s only natural to wonder what it means for meteorology and climatology. Believe it or not, AI is already revolutionizing how we develop models in the Earth and Space sciences. Joining us today is Campbell Watson, a Senior Research Scientist at IBM Research, to discuss how we are creating these AI models, and the opportunities and advancements we hope to learn from using them.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to AI in Meteorology and Climatology
• 01:35 Campbell Watson's Background and Interest in Weather
• 04:18 The Use of AI in Weather Forecasting
• 05:24 The Evolution of AI in Weather Forecasting
• 06:26 Understanding AI at its Core
• 08:09 Difference Between AI and Conventional Weather Model Forecasting
• 10:44 The Difference Between AI and Conventional Weather Model Forecasting
• 13:31 AI Models Learning from Weather Models
• 20:30 Foundation Models and Unsupervised Learning
• 25:12 Verification of AI in Weather Forecasting
• 27:57 The Robustness of AI Models
• 28:24 Learning from Observations
• 29:23 AI Models Learning from Observations
• 30:09 The Importance of Observations
• 30:38 Comparing Deep Learning and AI with Traditional Weather Forecasting Models
• 35:38 Trustworthiness in AI Forecasting
• 36:12 Adopting AI in Weather Forecasting
• 41:46 Nowcasting with AI
• 44:03 AI in Climate Forecasting
• 47:38 The Future of AI in Weather Forecasting

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Guest: Dr. Amanda Schroeder, NWS Fort Worth

Description: Flooding can occur any time of the year and in any part of the United States. It is a weather catastrophe that knows no limitations. Each year, too many people lose their lives to flooding. Communicating the risks of flash flooding can be just as difficult as forecasting flash flooding itself. No one understands that better than Dr. Amanda Schroeder, a Senior Service Hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. She was key in the development of the Flash Flood Severity Index, a scale designed to help convey the risks associated with flood events.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:42 Dr. Amanda Schroeder's Background
• 04:04 Early Work on Flash Flood Research
• 05:16 Work on the Spread Project
• 08:52. Role of a Senior Service Hydrologist
• 10:21 Challenges of Flood Forecasting
• 11:34 Impact-Based Forecasting
• 13:17 Flash Flood Severity Index
• 19:06 Implementation of the Index
• 20:17 Potential Global Application
• 23:16 Memorable Flooding Events
• 26:01 Impact of Climate Change on Flooding
• 28:11 Takeaways for the Public
• 31:08 Overcoming Challenges in the Field
• 32:27 Availability of Information on the Flash Flood Severity Index
• 33:46 A Day in the Life of a Senior Service Hydrologist
• 35:45 Conclusion

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Guest: Clinton Wallace, Director of the SWPC

Weather Geeks often spend their time looking up at the sky, but there are some Geeks that look even farther up! Forecasters at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center are tasked with looking at everything PAST our atmosphere to warn us of any impending threats. However, sometimes those threats can be visualized as a spectacle with the Northern Lights, which we were ALL treated to one of the greatest shows of our lifetimes back in early May. How did the Space Weather Prediction Center forecasters know this event was coming? Well they were led by Director Clinton Wallace, and we have him on the show!

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Guest: Dr. Dawn Wright, United States Science Envoy

One of the greatest joys in being a scientist is passing your knowledge onto others, whether that is esteemed colleagues on the other side of a breakthrough or young minds that are infatuated with the field. Sometimes, passing that knowledge takes us out of our comfort zone and into other fields, and even other countries! Our guest today is one of the newly selected Science Envoys for the United States, where she will be sharing her wealth of knowledge while also collaborating and barrier-breaking along the way. Dr. Dawn Wright is an esteemed oceanographer with wondrous stories to tell us about her journeys to the bottom of the sea, and she joins us on the Weather Geeks podcast…

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Guest: Dr. Jason Senkbeil, Associate Professor at the University of Alabama

Hurricane season is rapidly approaching! Many elements that go into a busy tropical season, like warm SST’s and the ENSO phase, already have forecasters worried that we could have a blockbuster season. I’m sure a lot of us Weather Geeks are prepared for what that could entail, but is the rest of the general public ready? And today we’re not talking about prep kits or boarded up windows, we’re talking about how the public understands the risks that they are under during a landfalling tropical cyclone. Let’s discuss that and many more topics with the University of Alabama’s Dr. Jason Senkbeil…

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Guest: John Ross, author

Whether you’ve heard about D-Day or the Battle of Normandy through a textbook at school many years ago or from a documentary on TV, the images you’ve seen of the seaborne invasion surely are etched into your mind. All of the troops storming the beaches from the sea, flanked by gunfire and explosions. Of course the logistics of conducting such an organized siege is one thing, but one aspect that many people don’t know is how much of an impact the weather had on that pivotal battle. And if that battle did not happen, there would be cascading effects that would change our history forever. Ahead of the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, we have author John Ross on the podcast today

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Guest: Dr. Paul Markowski, Penn State

We are in the throes of the springtime severe season and even as we transition to summer, the potential for supercells and tornadoes doesn’t slow down. In fact, the severe risk moves more from the Central Plains and into the Eastern states…and that’s where we find today’s guest! Dr. Paul Markowski is the Head of the Meteorology and Atmospheric Science Department at Penn State and an expert in tornado research. You will be surprised with how many papers he’s written on aspects of tornadoes you’ve probably never even heard of! We’ve also got Dr. Greg Postel on the show today so we can have an all-encompassing tornado geek out!

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Guest: Charlie Peachey, Mount Washington Weather Observer

The United States sees almost every kind of meteorological phenomena imaginable, but there’s one place where the weather can be amplified. Located at over 6000 feet in New Hampshire, Mount Washington is famous for its weather extremes. The Mount Washington Observatory is a world renowned institution with a mission to advance understanding of the natural systems that create Earth’s weather and climate. Our guest today is a Weather Observer and Research/IT Specialist with the observatory… welcome to the show Charlie Peachey!

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