Articles

An important key to improving weather forecasts, especially short-term forecasts on regional scales, is increasing the amount of observational data that can be assimilated into the computer forecast models. While remote sensing from satellite and radars continues to be enormously important, direct measurements from instruments such as those making up a weather station, called in-situ measurements, add great value.

Distinguished Professor of Meteorology Paul Markowski of Penn State University provides a special inside look and first hand stories about how scientific “storm chasing” and state-of-the-art computer simulations have helped us better understand and predict tornadoes. 

AMS Councilmember, Policy Fellow, and Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Erica Grow leads the conversation following Professor Markowski's presentation. 

In the photograph file of the U. S. Weather Bureau at Washington is an odd-appearing weather map, as big as an ordinary letter head, done in pale blue-green ink on white paper, and carefully preserved under a celluloid "glass." Someday this rather crude little map will possess great historic interest. If you examine it carefully you see that its every line is made up of many short lines, running parallel to each other and very close together, in the top-to-bottom direction on the paper.

Any beachgoer could find themselves in trouble or see someone else in danger. For our own safety, we can learn how to think like a lifeguard. 

Join the AMS Weather Band for a webinar series on weather related careers! We are learning from a variety of professionals how they use meteorology in their jobs, and what type of weather knowledge matters most for them. 

This webinar features Ryan Bennett, who is the Data Manager at NASA's National Suborbital Research Center, Bay Area Environmental Research Institute. 

Lt. Col. Nicole Mitchell takes the AMS Weather Band inside the missions and experiences of the renowned Hurricane Hunters! This special event also features discussion with Bryan Norcross as moderator.

Millersville University Weather Information Center (WIC) Director Kyle Elliott shows how to recognize and analyze the large-scale weather patterns that are favorable for winter storm formation.

The Northeastern Storm Conference is the largest and longest running student led conference in the nation. What once was a small meeting of students on the Lyndon State College campus has grown into a three-day conference with hundreds of attendees from across the country.

The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 undoubtedly IS the one to which all other New England hurricanes are sooner or later compared. There have only been three others of comparable combined strength and widespread devastation since the colonization of the region.

It's official! We're inviting you to share your love of weather and photography in our very first AMS Weather Band photo contest!

The contest runs from May 31, 2021 to August 20, 2021. We're seeking photos of weather, water, and climate from the subtle to the extreme; think clouds, waves, storms, and other atmospheric, oceanic, or hydrologic conditions. We can't wait to see the weather moments and stories you've captured. 

Featuring Jeremy Bower of JRBStorm Photography and Paul Smith of Paul M. Smith Photography, it covers tips and tricks for thunderstorm photography as well as the larger role that photography plays in education and safety messaging. 

Unleash the passion you feel for the weather – the raw power of water, the fragility of our climate, and the vulnerability that exists within our communities. Expert speakers. Interactive discussions. The latest science. The most impactful topics.

How do we predict the size of hail? What environmental parameters should forecasters be looking at in order to predict hail? These are just some of the questions driving the meteorological research of Professor John Allen and his team at Central Michigan University (CMU).

What do we plant? What do we wear? What weather hazards do we prepare for?

Climate classifications make it easier to provide answers to all of those questions. As a framework for identifying the general weather patterns and climate characteristics of a region, classifications are not just for researchers. They also create a shorthand that helps take effort out of day to day activities, long term planning, and travel and vacation plans.