Winter/Spring 2019 • Volume 1, Issue 2 The University of Oklahoma Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies Newsletter

A Letter From the Director Training provides forecasters tools for better decision making NOAA forecasters now have updated I am happy to be training available on demand to help them provide critical informa- writing the Director’s tion when floods threaten the areas they serve. letter for the second The NWS Warning Decision Training Division, also known as newsletter of the WDTD, recently updated the Warning Operations Course Flash Cooperative Institute Flood Track. Warning Operations Courses, or WOCs, are extensions of Mesoscale to WDTD’s Radar & Applications Course — a rigorous curriculum Meteorological Studies. with more than 65 hours of online lessons culminating in a week- It is hard to believe long workshop in Norman, Oklahoma. that I have been CIMMS Director The WOCs provide more advanced training in several focus director of CIMMS for Greg McFarquhar areas: severe weather, winter weather, flash flooding and forecaster well over one year now and am still decision-making. incredibly energized by all the exciting * Forecaster training story continued on page 6. activities going on and planned within CIMMS. In this newsletter, we are celebrating the CIMMS researcher receives AMS awards of some staff members, recounting Editor’s Award our amazing celebration of the 40th anniversary of CIMMS and the first work- The American Meteorological Society shop on predictability and uncertainty, honored 2019 award and honor recipients updating you about our presence at the during its 99th Annual Meeting in January. recent annual meeting of the American Among those named was CIMMS Meteorological Society, where we had more Researcher Kimberly Klockow-McClain. than 60 employees attend, talking about our Klockow-McClain received an Editor’s new online video describing the work of Award for Weather Climate and Society for CIMMS, and highlighting the establishment her “insightful, constructive, and extremely of a Diversity and Inclusion Committee knowledgeable reviews.” within CIMMS. Working with NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory, her research involves Further, we have our usual features Kim Klockow-McClain giving profiles of CIMMS staff members, behavioral science focused on weather and including highlighting one CIMMS climate risk, especially issues in the communication of forecast employee who works in another state and uncertainty and hazardous weather warnings. introducing our first winner of the Peter She received her bachelor of science degrees in meteorology and Lamb PostDoctoral Fellowship Award. As economics with concentrations in communication and psychology. always, I hope you enjoy hearing about our She received her master of science degree in professional meteo- activities and please feel free to forward rology with an economics concentration and a doctorate in human contributions for future newsletters. geography. * Read more about AMS on page 5

cimms.ou.edu • [email protected] • (405) 325-3041 Winter/Spring 2019 • Volume 1, Issue 2

Our 40th Anniversary Celebration in November Other activities completed in the second half of 2018 was well attended by both those inside and out- 2018 include the reorganization of CIMMS into side of CIMMS. CIMMS has promoted collaborative different teams, the establishment of a mentoring research between NOAA and University of Oklahoma program for interested employees and the completion scientists for the last 40 years on issues designed to of a Workplace Culture Survey. help produce better forecasts and warnings to I’ve also had the opportunity to travel to Beijing ultimately protect lives and property, and enhance in November 2018 in efforts to start discussions for economic viability. Presentations made by current and enhanced collaborations with the Institute of previous CIMMS employees included such topics as Atmospheric Physics and other organizations there. the history of CIMMS, radar Look for more details about these activities in meteorology and engineering, subsequent newsletters. We will be storm-scale modeling, forecast and continuing similar activities in the spring, warning, CIMMS role in field along with trying to quantify the benefits campaigns and societal impacts. of CIMMS to the NOAA mission using Discussion about future CIMMS ac- various metrics that have been established tivities also took place, and a poster by the directors of the Cooperative session and reception allowed lots Institutes. And, of course, the spring of time for informal interactions. always brings the excitement of weather, Another activity we sponsored in which is reflected in the spring the fall of 2018 was to conduct the experiments at NOAA’s Hazardous first CIMMS workshop on Weather Testbed. “Uncertainty in Radar Retrievals, In the meantime, please enjoy the Model Parameterizations, and description of our activities in this news- Assimilated Data and In-situ Rex Inman providing a tour of sev- letter. Here we profile staff members Observations: Implications for the eral radars on NSSL’s former North Temple Lee, the Peter Lamb Predictability of Weather.” This Campus in Norman, Oklahoma. Post-Doctoral Fellow Cassandra workshop brought together graduate (Photo from Sooner Magazine) Williams-Shivers and several award students, postdoctoral fellows and winners. senior researchers working in the atmospheric sciences We also feature work being conducted by CIMMS at United States and international universities, as well research associates in the National Weather Service as government laboratories, to discuss how Warning Decision Training Division. They provide uncertainties affect the predictability of weather. training for NWS forecasters. The extensive Future strategies for reducing the uncertainties and curriculum in their courses is ever-evolving. Learn better understanding their impacts were discussed in what is new in their course and the impact for NWS in the second day of the workshop in a series of our newsletter. breakout sessions. In summary, I am once again happy to renew An article is currently being prepared for the connections with our staff members, alumni, collab- Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society highlighting orators and friends and to share the excitement of all the findings, and future workshops on the impacts of the activities we have ongoing at CIMMS. We welcome the Arctic on lower latitudes and on landfalling updates from you all and hope to have an Alumni hurricanes are under preparation. Corner soon so you can communicate what you are I’d also like to note that we have welcomed 11 up to: if you are a former member of CIMMS, please new graduate research assistants and 26 new full-time take a few minutes to email us and update us on your employees since July 2018 and currently CIMMS has activities. another 12 open positions. - Greg McFarquhar, CIMMS Director

2 cimms.ou.edu • [email protected] • (405) 325-3041 Winter/Spring 2019 • Volume 1, Issue 2 Working to improve forecast models: Q&A with Temple Lee The Cooperative Institute for I also like that I am able to work on a variety of tasks Mesoscale Meteorological and no day is the same — some days I’ll be writing Studies at the University of computer code or reviewing a paper, whereas on other Oklahoma is highlighting those days I’m out in the field launching weather balloons. CIMMS researchers outside the in Q: Tell us something that might surprise us about Norman, Oklahoma. you. Temple Lee is a CIMMS A: I did wilderness search and rescue for eight years and research scientist based in Oak was a volunteer emergency medical technician for three Ridge, Tennessee, where his work years. This work made me briefly consider becoming a Temple Lee supports NOAA’s Air Resources physician, but my interest in the weather won out. Laboratory’s Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division. Lee completed his Q: What one day sticks out to you during your ca- doctorate from the University of Virginia in 2015. reer? Do you remember one day in particular detail? For his research, Lee uses observations from surface A: Having done lots of field work, both during graduate towers, small unmanned aircraft systems - also known school and now as a research scientist, I can think of as drones - and weather balloons, as well as sophisti- several days that stick out, both for good reasons and cated high-resolution models of the atmosphere. The bad reasons! However, the day I received my doctorate goal is to improve scientific understanding of processes degree still sticks out the most -- seeing years of hard occurring within Earth’s atmospheric boundary layer work finally pay off was very gratifying. -- roughly the first mile of Earth’s atmosphere. Knowl- edge gained from his work can improve weather forecast Q: Where is your favorite place to be? models, ultimately resulting in better weather forecasts. A: The Outer Banks of North Carolina — my family had a cottage there while I was growing up, so I have Q: How did you get into your field? many fond memories of playing in the ocean and A: I have had a passion for weather since the age of catching blue crabs off our dock. three when I would watch the local news out of Washington, D.C., for hours just so I could see the weather guy come on television. I also fondly recall Temple Lee during getting excited about big northeast snowstorms (the the Verification of the 1993 Superstorm and Blizzard of 1996 particularly stick Origins of Rotation out, when we received nearly three feet of snow at my in Tornadoes EXper- parents’ house in northwestern Virginia), and awaiting iment-Southeast, or VORTEX-SE, project advisories from the National Hurricane Center so that in Alabama in 2017. I could plot the latest hurricane coordinates onto my Here he was preparing hurricane tracking chart. Those things, coupled with the Graw radiosonde receiving a Davis Weather Monitor II weather station package for a compar- when I was 10 (best Christmas gift ever!), cemented my ison flight. The flight consisted of a weather trajectory into the field. balloon with five dif- ferent types of radio- Q: What is it about the job that interests you? sondes to make sure A: I really enjoy the intellectual freedom my job data was consistent. provides, as my job allows me to pursue different areas (Photo by Ed Dumas/ NOAA/ATDD) of research in the atmospheric sciences that excite me.

cimms.ou.edu • [email protected] • (405) 325-3041 3 Winter/Spring 2019 • Volume 1, Issue 2 OU Cooperative Institute celebrates 40 years of innovative research and the future N umerical weather models, Doppler radar, The partnership was easy. Inman worked with NSSL quanititative precipitation estimates. These are all words Director while utilizing his position as that can be heard within the National Weather Center, director of the School of Meteorology. a building created to foster severe weather research and CIMMS was created through an OU and NOAA innovation. But what if entities within the building never cooperative agreement in 1978. It shared space with the existed? school in OU’s former engineering laboratory building. Brick and mortar house the largest research entity at “Cooperative Institutes have many advantages,” said the University of Oklahoma. OU’s Cooperative Institute Jeff Kimpel, former NSSL director and former School for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies fosters symbiotic of Meteorology chair. “CIMMS got off to an early start relationships between the university and the National with some NOAA and OU funding and good things Oceanic and Atmospheric happened — students and faculty were Administration. CIMMS “ Over the next several years supported, research was supported and celebrated 40 years of innovative we intend to continue improv- things got done. CIMMS really, really severe weather research in helped collaboration November. The institute began in ing our knowledge of weather between NSSL and OU, particularly the 1978 the way most things are creat- systems and processes by con- School of Meteorology. CIMMS was ed – by a person with a dream. centrating on a range of topics the bridge.” “CIMMS has promoted The relationships between the collaborative research between from research university and the laboratory NOAA and OU scientists for the and tool development to the established a precedent for government- last 40 years on issues designed to use of probabilistic forecasts university collaboration while help produce better forecasts and providing jobs for students. NSSL was warnings to ultimately protect lives, to better represent uncertain- the first government laboratory for property and enhance economic ties in forecasts. severe storms and the Oklahoma Board viability,” said CIMMS Director ” of Regents emphasized the need for Greg McFarquhar. - CIMMS Director, growth in the meteorology department Setting a precedent Greg McFarquhar. in the late 1970s and early ’80s Rex Inman met Bill Smith at CIMMS set a precedent and was one a scientific conference. Smith was the founder of the of the first research groups in meteorology at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies University of Oklahoma. in Wisconsin in 1976. Inman wanted that for the uni- For more, visit cimms.ou.edu. versity and it just so happened it also housed the federal National Severe Storms Laboratory. Left: National Weather Center residents, CIMMS employees and invited guests enjoy festivities during CIMMS 40th Anniversary event. More than 200 people attended formal presentations, poster presentations and gathered to learn the history of CIMMS and its research. From CIMMS’s humble beginnings in 1978, it now employs nearly 200 people located in the Natioanl Weather Center, Missouri, Tennessee and Colorado. CIMMS is the largest research organization on OU’s campus. For more photos, history and presentations, visit cimms. ou.edu under the “History” tab.

4 cimms.ou.edu • [email protected] • (405) 325-3041 Winter/Spring 2019 • Volume 1, Issue 2

More than 60 CIMMS researchers attend American Meteorological Society’s 99th Annual Meeting More than 60 researchers from the University of radar technologies to satellite data products to Oklahoma Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale societal impacts. Please check us out on Facebook Meteorological Studies attended the American and Twitter for our updates and more photos from Meteorological Society 99th Annual Meeting. the conference! Researchers presented on topics ranging from

Left: CIMMS Research Scientist Heather Reeves, whose research supports NOAA’s Na- tional Severe Storms Laborato- ry, presents on the Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor system. She was Below: CIMMS Graduate invited to speak at AMS on a Assistant Precious Jatau new product suite introduced presents a poster on, to MRMS aimed at aiding in “Classifying Bird and Insect transportation systems decision Radar Echoes at S Band, at support. the AMS Annual Meeting in (Photo by Tracy Reinke/ January. CIMMS)

Right: CIMMS Director Above: CIMMS Research Greg McFarquhar speaks to Scientist Stephen Cocks, whose conference attendees at the research supports NOAA’s National Weather Center NSSL, gives a poster Exhibit Booth. He spoke presentation on quantitative about his research in cloud precipitation estimates across microphysics and CIMMS’s the United States. mission.

cimms.ou.edu • [email protected] • (405) 325-3041 5 Winter/Spring 2019 • Volume 1, Issue 2

*Forecaster Training continued from page 1 The topics covered in WOC Flash Flood include conceptual models of flash floods, forecasting tools and warning best practices. Updates to this year’s WOC Flash Flood include new practice simulations using case data from a 2018 flash flood event in Des Moines, as well as eight new or heavily updated lessons. “The course is ever-evolving,” said Jill Hardy, CIMMS research associate with NWS WDTD. “We provide training to help forecasters make the best decisions possible when working flash flood events. Our training aims at helping them process information faster, which ultimately helps save lives, property and reduces economic impact.” Hardy said relevant and consistent upgrades to the Flash Flood track are possible because of the hydrometeorologi- cal expertise among the WDTD team, as well as collaborations with other subject matter experts within NOAA, CIMMS and universities. In addition to Hardy, CIMMS Research Associates Brad Workman and Katarina Christian both have backgrounds in flash flooding. Their experiences led to a significant over- haul of the conceptual models section of the course, with three new lessons and updates to three existing lessons. “Better training provides forecasters the tools they need to make better decisions in their office,” Hardy said. The team — consisting of Hardy, Workman, Christian, Andy Wood and NWS WDTD Meteorologist Instructor Above: Screen shots of the NWS Warning Decision Training Justin Gibbs — provide the 12-hour training course Division recently updated Warning Operations Course Flash annually from January through September, with the target Flood Track. The curriculum provides more advanced training audience being all NWS forecasters with flash flood in several focus areas: severe weather, winter weather, flash flooding and forecaster decision-making. warning responsibilities. For more information, visit NWS WDTD.

Meet the first CIMMS Peter Lamb Post-Doctoral Fellow The University of Oklahoma doctorate in social psychology and her master’s Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale degree in psychology from Howard University. Meteorological Studies welcomed Shivers-Williams’ research focuses on the first ever Peter Lamb behavioral sciences and pertains to how the Post-Doctoral Fellow in fall 2018. public responds to weather information. Stay tuned Cassandra Shivers-Williams is to learn more about Shivers-Williams and her work within the Societal Impacts Group online and in future newsletters. Cassandra Shivers-Williams at CIMMS. She received her

6 cimms.ou.edu • [email protected] • (405) 325-3041 Winter/Spring 2019 • Volume 1, Issue 2 On the Calendar

• April 24-26, 2019: Polar Prediction Workshop OU’s School of Meteorology and CIMMS are hosting a workshop at the NWC on addressing the impact of the Artic on lower latitudes, as well as discussing polar prediction. The workshop will bring together diverse communities working on sea ice prediction, cold air outbreaks, models with varying temporal and spatial resolutions and various observ- ing systems (radar, in-situ measurements, satellites) and those who use these products to explore the impact of the Arctic on lower latitudes as well as to produce weather, seasonal to subseasonal and weath- er forecasts. To register and/or submit an abstract, please use CIMMS Research Scientist Corey Potvin speaks about opportunities this online form: https://bit.ly/2talI9y afforded to him since working at CIMMS in the newly released video “Discover CIMMS.” The video, produced by Video & Media Services Abstract submissions open until March 15, 2019. at the University of Oklahoma, highlights CIMMS research, For more information, contact Missy Coulson at opportunities and the many collaborations researchers work on at [email protected]. CIMMS. Watch the video at cimms.ou.edu.

Recent Awards Several CIMMS researchers and administrators accepted awards in late fall, winter 2018 and spring 2019. Those include: • Executive Director for Finance and Operations Tracy Reinke, who received the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences Dean’s Award for Outstanding Service in August 2018. • CIMMS Post-Doctoral Research Associate Elizabeth Smith, who was an outstanding poster award winner in September 2018 at the Oklahoma Women Impact STEM and Entrepreneurship Conference, also known as OK-STEM. • Graduate Assistant Siddhant Gupta, and School of Meteorology Doctoral student, was awarded a NASA Above: CIMMS Research Scientist Kim Elmore accepts the Na- Earth and Space Science Fellowship for the 2018-2019 tional Weather Association Larry R. Johnson Award on behalf of academic year. Gupta was honored at an OU reception the mPING team. The team awarded included CIMMS members in November for this fellowship award. Elmore, Jeff Brogden, Brian Kaney, Heather Reeves, and other • CIMMS Graduate Research Assistant and SoM PhD team members Zac Flamig, Aaron Anderson, Darrel Kingfield, Vicki Farmer, Susan Cobb and Valliappa Lakshmanan. The project student Eric Loken, who received first place in the 2019 is supported by NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory. AMS AI student contest for the presentation, “Postprocessing HREFv2 Heavy Rainfall Forecasts Using Machine Learning.” cimms.ou.edu • [email protected] • (405) 325-3041 7 Winter/Spring 2019 • Volume 1, Issue 2 #ICYMI: In Case You Missed It

• CIMMS hosted its first workshop on “Uncertainty in Radar Retrievals, Model Parameterizations, Assimilated Data and In-situ Observations: Implications for the Predictability of Weather” at the National Weather Center. The workshop, held Oct. 31 -Nov. 2, 2018, had more than 60 attendees and several invited speakers. The three-day workshop hosted formal presentations to discuss how uncertainties affect the predictability of weather and informal discussions. The second day of the workshop involved break-out sessions. Future strategies for reducing the uncertainties and better understanding CIMMS is hiring! Check our website - cimms. their impacts were discussed as attendees were ou.edu/index.php/careers/ - for all current job encouraged to sit-in on sessions not in their area of ex- listings and more information on how to apply! pertise. The goal of the workshop was to allow researchers opportunities to gain a better understanding in the area while increasing project collaboration Donate! As OU CIMMS continues to grow and excel, we possibilities. strive n continuing our goals of furthering research by providing staff resources and travel opportunities. • In late 2018 CIMMS created the Diversity & We are grateful for your support of CIMMS through Inclusion Committee, consisting of 10 volunteers, the OU Foundation’s CIMMS Development Fund! including undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and early-, mid- and late-career scientists. More information to follow. Keep us up-to-date! • In the News : CIMMS Researcher Kim Elmore and was Change jobs, win an award, want to reach out to featured in a story by Weather Underground. The story other CIMMS alumni? Contact discusses researchers working on self-training software [email protected] with a short paragraph. to improve Doppler radar’s tornado detection.

Contact Us Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies Email: [email protected] National Weather Center, Suite 2100 Find us on Twitter: @OUCIMMS 120 David L. Boren Blvd. Find us on Facebook: OU Cooperative Institute for Norman, OK 73072-7304 Mesoscale Meteorological Studies Voice: 405-325-3041 See more on our website: cimms.ou.edu

This publication, printed by CIMMS, is issued by the University of Oklahoma. Copies have been prepared and distributed at no cost to the taxpayers of the State of Oklahoma. The University of Oklahoma, in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, age, religion, disability, political beliefs, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This includes, but is not limited to: admissions, employment, financial aid and educational services. Inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies may be directed to: Bobby J. Mason, Institutional Equity Officer, (405) 325-3546, [email protected], or visit www.ou.edu/eoo. 8 cimms.ou.edu • [email protected] • (405) 325-3041