Severe Weather

Warnings, Watches, and Advisories:  What You Need to Know
March 16, 2023
Warnings, Watches, and Advisories: What You Need to Know

Whenever weather happens, you will find a Watch, Warning, or Advisory (WWA) issued by the National Weather Service (NWS). These WWA alerts provide a heads up for when, what kind, and where a weather hazard will impact a region. While these alerts are specific to hazards like tornadoes, thunderstorms, flooding, etc., there are universal definitions for all of them at large.

By Amber Liggett
2023 Winter Season...Won't Soon Be Forgotten
February 25, 2023
2023 Winter Season...Won't Soon Be Forgotten

Experts highlight the many notable events from this winter.

What is Reality? Trends in U.S. Severe Weather
February 24, 2023
What is Reality? Trends in U.S. Severe Weather

Determining how and what has changed about severe thunderstorms is difficult. In the first Jamposium session, expert speakers talk about what we do and can know and where the challenges are ahead.

July 8, 2020 EF4 Tornado Story
February 10, 2023
July 8, 2020 EF4 Tornado Story

Brad Nelson is a meteorologist with 18 years of experience, working for the world's largest private sector weather company DTN. On July 8, 2020, he and his friend Melanie Metz decided to storm chase after consulting the forecast and noticing a warm front. They chased a storm near Fergus Falls, Minnesota and saw an explosive updraft develop into a tornado, which they reported to the National Weather Service. The tornado became an EF-4 with winds of 170 mph.

By Brad Nelson
The Past, Present, and Future of the Northeastern Storm Conference
The Past, Present, and Future of the Northeastern Storm Conference

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.

By Gabrielle Brown
How Blue Can A Blue Norther Be?
November 22, 2022
How Blue Can A Blue Norther Be?

Temperature swings can be subtle, stunning, or somewhere in between, depending in large part on what you’re used to. In a moist tropical climate, like the one that prevails over much of Hawai’i, the typical difference between nighttime lows and afternoon highs may be less than 20°F.

By Bob Henson
The Texas-Minnesota MCV - Bow Echo
November 21, 2022
Bow Echo

Bow echoes indicate the potential for severe weather. Ted Best documents the evolution of a bow echo MCS across southern Minnesota. 

By Ted Best and Ruth Milburn
Winter Weather: Forecasting Snow and the Challenges That Come With It
Winter Weather: Forecasting Snow and the Challenges That Come With It

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.

Chasing Weather with Matthew Cappucci
August 6, 2021
Chasing Weather with Matthew Cappucci

Join Matthew Cappucci of the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang as he describes his path to success, offers advice for building your career your way, and reflects on what the meteorologist of the future will be like. 

Inside the Hurricane Hunters
Inside the Hurricane Hunters

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.

Tags: cruising
Being a Meteorologist at a National Weather Network
May 31, 2022
Being a Meteorologist at a National Weather Network

Take a step into the studio at a national weather network to see how a 24/7 production of weather forecasts works.

Hurricanes: An Eye on the Future
November 22, 2022
Hurricanes: An Eye on the Future

The second annual event of the “Eye Towards the Sky” speaker series covers hurricanes and the effects of a warming atmosphere on their intensity and frequency.

Inside the NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center
August 19, 2022
Inside the NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center

Bill Bunting takes Weather Band members along as he describes the day-to-day operations of the Storm Prediction Center as it fulfills its mission of protecting life and property from severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and critical fire weather conditions.

How Time Flies...10 years since Superstorm Sandy
October 27, 2022
How Time Flies...10 years since Superstorm Sandy

In this webinar, a panel of distinguished guests discuss Superstorm Sandy's legacy, its lasting impacts, and the lessons we have learned from that remarkable storm. 

Subtracting Storms
November 15, 2022
Subtracting Storms

Scientists have encountered difficulty determining long-term hurricane trends “Only hurricanes that affected people’s lives were known and reported,” notes Suzana Camargo of Columbia University. However, Camargo and colleagues created an algorithm that identified tropical cyclones back to 1850 in the Twentieth Century Reanalysis (20CR) dataset, which uses historical global climate observations to reconstruct weather patterns.

Numerical Weather Prediction & Model Performance: What Everyone Should Know
Numerical Weather Prediction & Model Performance: What Everyone Should Know
Interview with a Weather Photographer: Keith Minor
Interview with a Weather Photographer: Keith Minor

Already an experienced chemist, with a doctorate and years of experience in the field, Keith Minor is now working on his PhD in geology/paleontology with Professor Ron Steel in the Dynamic Stratigraphy Working Group at the University of Texas at Austin.

Wildfire Smoke and a Weather Ready Nation
Wildfire Smoke and a Weather Ready Nation

Tanja Fransen's presentation from the 2022 AMS Community and Citizen Science Symposium covers the increasing issues with wildfire smoke intrusions and public health and how a Weather Ready Nation needs to include partners in the public health arenas.  

SKYWARN and BIDE at the National Weather Service
SKYWARN and BIDE at the National Weather Service

In this presentation from the 2022 AMS Weather Band Community and Citizen Science Symposium, Davyon Hill of the National Weather Service discusses how he has built and sustained a successful SKYWARN program even while transitioning to a virtual environment because of the pandemic. He also presents on spearheading his office's Belonging Inclusion Diversity and Equity team; and the impact that spotters have for their local communities both for public safety, and as mentors for youth from underserved and under represented communities. 

Wind and Wildfire-Associated Smoke Event, September 2020
Wind and Wildfire-Associated Smoke Event, September 2020

In this presentation from the 2022 AMS Community and Citizen Science Symposium, Candice Erdmann describes how, during a severe windstorm on Labor Day 2020, several wildfires began to tear through parts of the Oregon Cascades Range. This includes a discussion of the topography, air quality monitors used, and data verification processes.