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Gregg Gallina Biography Gregory Gregg Gallina Biography Gregory (Gregg) Gallina is forecaster at NOAA's Weather Prediction Center (WPC) in College Park, MD since 2015 with a focus on heavy rainfall and model diagnostic discussions as part of rotation on the Metwatch Desk. Like most meteorologists, Gregg's weather obsession started very early in life, growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, mainly as a fear of thunderstorms and tornadoes (having an over-sensitivity due to the 1974 Super Outbreak and an early morning Oct 1, 1977 tornado touch down very close to home). The need to know when thunderstorms were coming grew into understanding, and then obsession while watching early Weather Channel and local on-air meteorologists, and was particularly enamored with animated satellite and radar imagery particularly hurricanes. Gregg received his B.S. degree in meteorology and geography from Valparaiso University in 1999. While at Valpo, he was the captain of the Men's Swimming and Diving program his junior and senior seasons; and continues to love watching/analyzing swimming at all levels of competition having traveled to multiple Olympic Trials and World Championships. Gregg moved onto completing his Master's Thesis in Atmospheric Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001 with a focus on Satellite Analysis/Applications and Tropical Cyclones. After school, he worked at the Satellite Analysis Branch (SAB) as a senior meteorologist with eXpertise in tropical cyclones, volcanic ash, fire/smoke analysis, oil detection as well as a heavy rainfall analysis utilizing satellite imagery and derived products. This dovetailed nicely to the current Mesoscale Discussion (MPD) when the function was transferred to WPC from SPC in April 2013; with Gregg eventually transferring from SAB to WPC in 2015. Gregg, also remains an avid weather observer and continues to serve as the CoCoRaHS coordinator for Anne Arundel County in Maryland since 2005. His obsession with all forms of satellite analysis is not limited to weather; which also led to discovery credit of two comets using the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite in 2004 and 2005, as well as contributions to the discovery of a few near-earth asteroids utilizing social science websites. .
Recommended publications
  • Article a Climatological Perspective on the 2011 Alabama Tornado
    Chaney, P. L., J. Herbert, and A. Curtis, 2013: A climatological perspective on the 2011 Alabama tornado outbreak. J. Operational Meteor., 1 (3), 1925, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15191/nwajom.2013.0103. Journal of Operational Meteorology Article A Climatological Perspective on the 2011 Alabama Tornado Outbreak PHILIP L. CHANEY Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama JONATHAN HERBERT and AMY CURTIS Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama (Manuscript received 23 January 2012; in final form 17 September 2012) ABSTRACT This paper presents a comparison of the recent 27 April 2011 tornado outbreak with a tornado climatology for the state of Alabama. The climatology for Alabama is based on tornadoes that affected the state during the 19812010 period. A county-level risk index is produced from this climatology. Tornado tracks from the 2011 outbreak are mapped and compared with the climatology and risk index. There were 62 tornadoes in Alabama on 27 April 2011, including many long-track and intense tornadoes. The event resulted in 248 deaths in the state. The 2011 outbreak is also compared with the April 1974 tornado outbreak in Alabama. 1. Introduction population density (Gagan et al. 2010; Dixon et al. 2011). Tornadoes have been documented in every state in Alabama is affected in the spring and fall by the United States and on every continent except midlatitude cyclones, often associated with severe Antarctica. The United States has by far the most weather and tornadoes. During summer and fall tornado reports annually of any country, averaging tornadoes also can be produced by tropical cyclones. A about 1,300 yr-1.
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  • Another Look at the 11 April 1965 Palm Sunday Outbreak
    Central Region Technical Attachment Number 15-02 December 2015 Another Look at the 11 April 1965 Palm Sunday Outbreak JON CHAMBERLAIN National Weather Service, Rapid City, South Dakota ABSTRACT The 11 April 1965 tornado outbreak was one of the most devastating tornado outbreaks in recorded history, affecting six Midwestern states with significant loss of life and property. This storm system was particularly interesting for the number of discrete tornadic supercells in the southern Great Lakes, especially given the number of F3+ tornadoes. In addition, many supercells were observed to contain multiple funnels and multiple tornado cyclones (some occurring simultaneously). Dr. Theodore Fujita performed a comprehensive analysis of this event in the late 1960s, featuring a detailed analysis of both the meteorology and tornado damage paths. However, technology and science have progressed much between 1970 and 2015, with new forecast parameters and techniques available to forecasters. The Palm Sunday Outbreak of 1965 was re-examined using modern-day severe weather forecast parameters derived from observational data to help understand why this storm system produced such violent thunderstorms, particularly across extreme northern Indiana. In order to do this, approximately 200 handwritten surface observations were obtained from the National Climatic Data Center’s Electronic Digital Archive Data System web interface. Once these observations were put into a database, several surface weather maps, synthetic soundings, hodographs, and upper-level analyses were constructed. These data, along with archived upper-air data, were used to calculate several severe weather forecast parameters, which truly revealed the magnitude of the event. 1. Introduction The 11 April 1965 tornado outbreak was one of the most devastating tornado outbreaks in recorded history.
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  • U.S. Violent Tornadoes Relative to the Position of the 850-Mb
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  • 1974 Tornado Super Outbreak Report
    Analysis and Reconstruction of the 1974 Tornado Super Outbreak RMS Special Report TM Risk Management Solutions I NTRODUCTION The Super Outbreak of tornadoes that occurred on April 3-4, 1974 was the most intense and widespread tornado outbreak in recorded history. In total, 148 tornadoes spanned 13 states producing about 900 square miles (2331 square km) of tornado damage in less than 18 hours. This report reviews the event’s meteorological and damage characteristics, describes the impact subsequent research had on tornado risk models, and examines the property losses possible if the outbreak were to occur today. 1 1974 Super Tornado Outbreak Copyright 2004 Risk Management Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. April 2, 2004 M ETEOROLOGICAL C HARACTERISTICS Looking back, the atmospheric characteristics preceding the super outbreak provided clear evidence of the high potential for widespread tornado development. On the evening of April 2, 1974 a deep area of low pressure (983 millibars) over the Colorado-Kansas border created strong winds blowing from the south over the lower Mississippi River Valley. This forced high-humidity air northward from the Gulf of Mexico to the lower Midwest and Ohio Valley states. This moist layer of air was “capped” by warm, dry air, which limited thunderstorm development and created highly unstable atmospheric conditions. Recognizing this, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued preliminary severe weather alerts on the morning of April 2 for much of the central and southern plains states. During the morning of April 3, the center of low pressure moved northeastward to the Iowa- Illinois border. As the air warmed up during the day and winds converged near the ground, an explosive and sudden outbreak of thunderstorms developed around 2:00 pm Central Daylight Time (CDT).
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  • Observational Analysis of the Interaction Between a Baroclinic Boundary and Supercell Storms on 27 April 2011
    OBSERVATIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE INTERACTION BETWEEN A BAROCLINIC BOUNDARY AND SUPERCELL STORMS ON 27 APRIL 2011 by ADAM THOMAS SHERRER A THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in The Department of Atmospheric Science to The School of Graduate Studies of The University of Alabama in Huntsville HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA 2014 ABSTRACT The School of Graduate Studies The University of Alabama in Huntsville Degree Master of Science College/Dept. Science/Atmospheric Science Name of Candidate Adam Sherrer Title Observational Analysis of the Interaction Between a Baroclinic Boundary and Supercell Storms on 27 April 2011 A thermal boundary developed during the morning to early afternoon hours on 27 April as a result of rainfall evaporation and shading from reoccurring deep convection. This boundary propagated to the north during the late afternoon to evening hours. The presence of the boundary produced an area more conducive for the formation of strong violent tornadoes through several processes. These processes included the production of horizontally generated baroclinic vorticity, increased values in storm- relative helicity, and decreasing lifting condensation level heights. Five supercell storms formed near and/or propagated alongside this boundary. Supercells that interacted with this boundary typically produced significant tornadic damage over long distances. Two of these supercells formed to the south (warm) side of the boundary and produced a tornado prior to crossing to the north (cool) side of the boundary. These two storms exhibited changes in appearance, intensity, and structure. Two other supercells formed well south of the boundary. These two storms remained relatively weak until they interacted with the boundary.
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  • AC Rebuttals Tornadoes 042621
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  • Louisville, Kentucky
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  • Virginia Has Seen More Tornadoes in April Than Any Other Month
    Virginia has seen more tornadoes in April than any other month By JOHN BOYER - Richmond Times-Dispatch Apr 4, 2019 Tornadoes can strike Virginia in any month of the year, but there’s something ominous about April in particular. We've experienced many of our worst tornado outbreaks in this early-to-middle part of spring. An outbreak is a group of tornadoes organized by the same weather system. Tornadoes in outbreaks are often more violent, long-lived, and widespread than ones made by a lone thunderstorm. That heightens the risk for damage and loss of life. April can bring about a potent combination of tornado outbreak ingredients in our region: air that’s finally warm and humid enough to fuel violent thunderstorms, and strong winds aloft that can shape those storms into rotating supercells. Because of that, Virginia has seen more tornadoes in April than any other month of the year. Summer tornadoes are common, but they’re usually more isolated events. By the time we get to late summer and early fall, we see more large outbreaks spawned by hurricanes and tropical storms. Though tropical tornadoes are usually smaller and weaker than their springtime counterparts, they are still dangerous. Here’s a list of the outbreaks that produced ten or more tornadoes in Virginia. Together, these events account for nearly 20 percent of all the state’s tornado reports since 1950, but 30 percent of the tornado-related fatalities and 60 percent of the injuries. Note that central Virginia was affected by all of the major outbreaks shown here, with the exception of the April 3-4, 1974 “Super Outbreak.” 38 Tornadoes – Sept.
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  • A Study of Fetal Exposure to the 1974 Super Tornado Outbreak Sok Chul
    The Long-Term Human Toll of Natural Disasters: A Study of Fetal Exposure to the 1974 Super Tornado Outbreak Sok Chul Hong* Dongyoung Kim† Eutteum Lee‡ Abstract This study investigates the long-term effect of fetal exposure to the 1974 Super Tornado Outbreak on health and socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood. Using the 2008-2014 American Community Survey and a difference-in-differences framework, we estimate that, in the 30s, this stressful in-utero shock increases the probability of vision/hearing difficulty by 17 percent and cognitive difficulty by 8 percent, and lowers the socioeconomic status by 1 percent compared with unaffected cohorts. An estimate implies that the annual income loss from disaster- driven health problems was $136 million in 2014. Keywords: natural disaster; fetal exposure; the 1974 Super Tornado Outbreak; sensory difficulty; cognitive difficulty; socioeconomic status; long-term cost of natural disaster JEL codes: I15, O10, Q5 * Corresponding Author, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea (e-mail: [email protected]) † Department of Economics, Sogang University, 35 Baekbeom-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, 04107, Republic of Korea (e-mail: [email protected]) ‡ Department of Economics, Sogang University, 35 Baekbeom-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, 04107, Republic of Korea (e-mail: [email protected]). Research reported in this article was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2016S1A3A2924944) and the Institute of Economic Research (Center for Distributive Justice) at Seoul National University. 1 Although forecasting technologies have improved substantially, the occurrence of natural disasters is still unpredictable in many cases, and the tremendous damage is difficult to avoid despite forethought.
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  • Newsletter Communication, and Service
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  • Rose, Hon. Thomas M
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  • Rebuttals Tornadoes
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