DANBURY, CONN. — Nationally recognized meteorology experts in fields ranging from hurricane and tornado formation to winter storms and media forecasting will share their scientific insights and weather-tracking experiences at the Third Tri-State Weather Conference on Saturday, Oct. 9, at Western Connecticut State University.

Joe Furey, director of New England Weather Service and chief meteorologist for WTIC News/Talk 1080 and the Fox Connecticut Morning News in Hartford, will serve as master of ceremonies for the conference. Sixteen talks and a closing panel discussion will be presented during the daylong program from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Room 125 of the Science Building on the WCSU Midtown campus, 181 White. St. in Danbury. Check-in for conference registrants will be from 8 to 9 a.m. in the Science Building Atrium.

Conference registrations are open to the public and may be submitted online at www.wcsu.edu/weatherconference. The registration fee is $30 per person, and includes a continental breakfast, lunch and refreshments during breaks.

Gary Lessor, assistant to the director of meteorological studies and the Weather Center at WCSU, observed that the Tri-State Weather Conference offers one of the region’s most prestigious programs covering meteorological topics across a broad range of interests. The Tri-State Conference has grown from its origins as a regional gathering to become a forum for leading researchers and forecasters from across the country, affording an opportunity for professionals and students as well as weather enthusiasts to exchange current information on themes ranging from cutting-edge meteorological research and technology to storm-chasing in the Great Plains tornado belt.

“When you give people exposure to a wide variety of topics at various levels of expertise, it makes for a more interesting and exciting conference,” Lessor noted. “For people who are interested in meteorology and weather but may not have thought of this as a possible career, this conference gives them a unique opportunity to hear from some of the top researchers from universities across the country as well as media and National Weather Service forecasters.”

In the midst of an active hurricane season, the conference will present talks by several internationally recognized experts in the field of hurricane forecasting, tracking and research. Philip Klotzbach, research scientist at Colorado State University and coauthor with Dr. William Gray of the widely publicized CSU annual forecast of Atlantic Ocean hurricane activity, will provide an overview of the 2010 hurricane season in the Atlantic basin and discuss the methodology and limitations of seasonal hurricane prediction. Tropical development of hurricane conditions will be the theme of a presentation by Dr. Kerry Emanuel, professor of tropical meteorology and climate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Emanuel, author of “Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes” and “What We Know About Climate Change,” will discuss the effect of lower-stratosphere transition layers on the development of cyclones in tropical regions.

Jason Dunion, meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hurricane Research Division in Miami, will speak on “Tropical Cyclone Genesis and Rapid Intensification in the North Atlantic.” Dunion is a specialist in satellite remote sensing of hurricane conditions and has participated as a research scientist on many “Hurricane Hunter” flight missions to track and analyze major storms during his 10-year tenure at the NOAA.

Leading hurricane researcher Dr. Brian Soden, professor of meteorology and physical oceanography at the University of Miami, will explore how climate change influences hurricane frequency, tracks and intensity. Soden’s research interests include the use of satellite monitoring of the global hydrological cycle to design more accurate models for projecting future trends in global warming. Another view on hurricane development will be offered by WCSU Meterological Studies and Weather Center Director Dr.Albert Owino, who will speak on “Large-Scale Circulations during the Atlantic Hurricane Season.”

The media’s role in reporting and forecasting weather conditions will be among the featured themes of the conference. Longtime WTNH-TV meteorologist Dr. Mel Goldstein, director emeritus of the WCSU Weather Center and founder of the university’s degree program in meteorology, will discuss the next generation of the DAX (differential advection index), which he created to gauge conditions for severe-storm development. Media performance and responsibilities in predicting and reporting severe weather will be the theme of the presentation by Lonnie Quinn, chief weathercaster of CBS 2 News in New York and national weather anchor of the Saturday CBS Early Show.

The conference will provide several perspectives on the forecasting and development of localized severe weather systems. Jim Bishop, a Shelton native and head meteorologist for the Westport-based hedge fund Sasco Energy Partners, has been a committed storm chaser for the past decade and will discuss his experiences in chasing major tornadoes, thunderstorm supercells and other severe storms. Hayden Frank, forecaster at the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) office in Taunton, Mass., will speak on the causes and effects of significant snowstorms that develop outside the meteorological winter season. Brian Frugis, weather forecaster at the NWS office in Albany, will discuss “Preparing for the One-Inch Hail Transition.”

Other speakers will include Kevin Lipton, forecaster at the NWS Albany office, on recent ice storm trends in the upper Hudson valley region; Eleanor Vallier-Talbot, meteorologist and outreach program leader at the NWS office in Taunton, on record rains and flooding in southern New England last March; Stony Brook University (SBU) graduate student David Stark, on winter snowstorms over Long Island; and SBU graduate student Mike Erickson, on weather forecasting technology.

Poster presentations will be displayed throughout the conference in the Science Building Atrium. Poster themes will range from forecasting models used to manage industrial energy operations, to climate patterns in recent major regional snowstorms and video images of tornadoes in progress.

Sponsors for the conference include WCSU and the WCSU Meteorology Program; the WCSU student chapter and the New York City/Long Island chapter of the American Meteorological Society; and the NOAA National Weather Service stations in Taunton, Mass., and Upton, N.Y.

The conference website at www.wcsu.edu/weatherconference provides the full schedule of presentations as well as links to obtain additional background on conference speakers.

For more information, contact Lessor at lessorg@wcsu.edu or (203) 837-8552.

 

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics
of New England’s best small private universities.