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24 February 2010 Meeting Minutes |
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The February 2010 chapter meeting was held at the Peter Kiewit lodge at Mahoney State Park. Three students presented their research. Congratulations to Stephanie Ludwig of Creighton University on winning the contest. She plans to present her work on hodographs at the NWA Des Moines Conference this month. Barb called the meeting to order at 1858. Barb started by thanking the group for making the trek out to Mahoney. The tab for Greg Carbin’s travel was higher than the $200 allocated. Ended up spending $252.09. Unless there are objections, the AMS will cut the check for their part Karen Harder-Sittel: We need more science fair judges! Information about science fairs will be sent out separately. - Sat. March 13, OPS Metropolitan Science Fair @ UNO: 0800-1000 - Sat. March 27, @ Nebraska City 0930-1130 Treasurer’s Report: - Beginning balance: $1692.31 - Income: Meals from Anthony’s payments: $919 - Expenses: $915 to Anthony’s, $140 to Kiewit Lodge to reserve the conference room - Total expenses: 1055.24 - Bank account balance as of 2/24: $1546.17 - Petty Cash = $196.46 - Final Balance = $1742.63 Recording Secretary's Report: Patricia moved to submit the January minutes for the record. The motion passed. Jay Martinelli: Fri. May 7, OPS Science Fair at Metropolitan Community College, 0730-1400. Could someone cover the morning shift while Jay administers a final exam? Ken Dewey: Central Plains Weather Symposium @ UNL Saturday 27 March Motion made to adjourn at 1905. Submitted by Patricia Vollmer Recording Secretary 9 March 2010 |
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March 9th-2010-Omaha/Offutt AMS Chapter Meeting |
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Tuesday, March 9th - 2010 - Omaha/Offutt AMS Chapter Meeting Hello everyone, our next dinner meeting of the Omaha-Offutt Chapter of the American Meteorological Society will feature Dr. Adam Houston from the UNL faculty. Dr. Houston's talk is entitled "Using Unmanned Aircraft to Probe Tornadoes in VORTEX-2". We hope you can join us! Speaker Bio:
Dr. Adam Houston joined the UNL faculty as an assistant professor in the Department of Geosciences in 2006. Prior to this he served as a visiting instructor at UNL and visiting assistant professor and postdoctoral research assistant in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Purdue University. Dr. Houston received his Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his B.S. in meteorology from Texas A&M University. Dr. Houston’s research addresses fundamental mechanisms and environmental controls that regulate deep convection (deep tropospheric air transport manifested as cumulonimbus clouds). He is principally concerned with the initiation of deep convection and the impact of airmass boundaries (demarcations between large bodies of air that are roughly homogeneous in their horizontal extent) on deep convection morphology, propagation, rotation, longevity, and strength. His current projects include the development of unmanned aircraft systems for sampling the environment near supercells (rotating, sometimes tornadic thunderstorms) as part of the Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment 2 (VORTEX-2). He’s also testing a new theory for understanding and forecasting thunderstorm initiation, investigating the role played by airmass boundaries on storm organization, propagation, and rotation, and reassessing the environmental parameters used to forecast supercells. Dr. Houston’s Severe Storms Research Group (SSRG) consists of 3 M.S. students, 1 PhD student, and an undergraduate student all pursuing research related to the common themes of thunderstorm-boundary interactions and thunderstorm climatologies. Dr. Houston’s teaching interests include dynamic meteorology (the physics of atmospheric motion), radar meteorology, the dynamics of severe thunderstorms, and computational fluid dynamics.Date: Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Location: Nebraska Brewing Company, Shadow Lake Towne Center
7474 Towne Center Pkwy Suite 101 Papillion, NE 402 934-7100. Time: 5:30 – 9:30 p.m.
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.: Social Time
6:30 - 9:30 p.m.: Business meeting/Dinner/Speakers
Dinner Cost:
We will order off the menu which can be found at: http://www.nebraskabrewingco.com/menu.pdf.
The Nebraska Brewing Company has a number of sandwiches, burgers, pizza, pastas, and entrees to choose from that mostly range from $8.49 to $15.99 + tax , tip, drinks and brews. RSVP with the number of people to
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by Noon Monday, March 8th, 2010. The RSVP is to mainly have a head count for the restaurant for seating purposes.
Dues for 2009-2010: $10 for regular members and $5 for student members.
2009-2010 AMS Officers
President - Barb Mayes
Vice President - Rachel Hughes
Corresponding Secretary - Cathy Zapotocny
Recording Secretary - Patricia Vollmer
Treasurer - Becky Adams-Selin |
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Contest Ballot and Student Abstracts |
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Here is a sample ballot for the AMS Student Presentation Contest and the student abstacts are below. Copies of the student's abstracts and a copy of this ballot will be e-mailed with the meeting reminder notice the week of February 15th. Annual Student Presentation ContestOmaha/Offutt Chapter of the AMS24 February 2010 Student Presenter:___________________________________ Judging limited to dues-paying chapter members Research Topic (Originality, strength of hypothesis, suitability of hypothesis to be tested against a control or theory) Score (0-10): ______________ Experimental Design, Data Collection, and Analysis (Data gathering and analysis methods are thorough and mathematically correct, accuracy of results is proven with limitations addressed as necessary, unexpected results explained even if contrary to hypothesis) Score (0-10): ______________ Presentation (Uses correct scientific terminology, acronyms defined, speaker seems genuinely interested in their work, uses appropriate citations/references) Score (0-10): ______________ Total Score (max 30): _______________ Comments: _________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ The presenter with the highest average total score wins. In case of a tie a vote of the judges will be used to determine winner. ABSTRACTS Paul Fajman's Abstract: Improved Verification and Analysis of National Weather Service Point Forecast Matrices Paul Fajman Meteorology/Climatology Graduate Student Department of Geosciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Verification is the procedure of determining the quality of forecast information and an integral part to the forecasting process. Forecasts can be verified through both accuracy and consistency. Accuracy and consistency are equally important as the public won’t trust a forecast that is inaccurate or a forecast that has large swings and does not converge towards a final accurate result. This study does not present a new method for scoring forecasts but a new verification system using current skill scores and other measures to verify forecast performance. The goal of this study is to serve as a template that other National Weather Service Weather Forecasting Offices can use to verify their forecasts. To illustrate the usefulness of the new verification system and the methodology used, preliminary analysis has been performed on Point Forecast Matrices from the Omaha/Valley National Weather Service Weather Forecasting Office at all 21 Point Forecast Matrix locations. The preliminary analysis encompasses forecasts during high impact events such as periods of snow cover and temperature record or near record breaking days. Furthermore, forecast performance as a function of distance from the forecasting office and forecasts which produced large temperature errors were analyzed. In addition to the analysis of Point Forecast Matrices, Global Forecast System (GFS) Model Output Statistic (MOS) forecasts have also been analyzed for the same events to study a possible bias that the GFS MOS may exhibit during these events. Alexander Gibbs' Abstract: Alexander Gibbs: Climate Change and Water Law Policy: The Platte River Studies about climate change combined with societal impacts caused by that change are becoming increasingly more important, especially now as climatic change begins to manifest itself in the observed record. Water is arguably the most vital natural resource and changes in water quantity and availability are forecasted to change in a warming climate. Future changes in snowmelt timing and quantity, and river runoff could adversely affect Nebraska’s livelihood. Current water laws and interstate agreements based on equitable apportionment face an uncertain future in the face of these changes. Now is the time to re-examine laws and agreements dictating water use with a changing climate in mind. This research synthesizes research already performed along with the Modified Decree of 2001 to provide policymakers and scientists with insight into climate change relating to water resources and potential downfalls of the current Decree. The Modified Decree of 2001 provides for an equitable apportionment of the North Platte River, a major tributary of the Platte River, between Nebraska, Wyoming and Colorado. The purpose of the Decree is to ensure that Nebraska and Wyoming have sufficient water for irrigation season. Of specific interest is the date specific appropriation based on 20th century climate records. Research showing earlier peak stream flows due to climate change along with changing wintertime precipitation all threatens to undermine the Decree and damage Nebraska. Stephanie Ludwig's Abstract: Hodographs associated with significant outbreak days
Stephanie Ludwig*, Dan Miller**, Jay Martinelli*, Jon Schrage*
*Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Creighton University
**National Weather Service Forecast Office, Duluth, Minnesota
Abstract
Over the last 20 years, research has contributed to a better understanding of the environments supportive of tornadic supercell thunderstorms. In particular, many studies have focused on identifying potential “outbreak” days. Low-level wind shear has been one meteorological quantity that has been identified as critically important in environments supportive of tornadic supercells. On several significant “outbreak” days, a distinct combination of near surface (< 1 km AGL) speed and directional shear has been noted in pre-tornadic vertical wind profiles. Plotted graphically on a hodograph, this appears as a “sickle” shape.
Hypothesis: Given the necessary thermodynamic profile, the “sickle” shape is indicative of environments that produce significant tornado outbreaks.
Methodology: Data were obtained for approximately 20 significant “outbreak” days. The corresponding wind profiles were composited using a robust feature-preserving technique (Brown, 1992). The historical database of soundings was then analyzed against our composite profile in order to determine the prevalence of this feature and its validity as an indicator of potential outbreak days. |
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February 24th AMS Meeting at Mahoney State Park |
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Wednesday, February 24th - 2010 - Omaha/Offutt AMS Chapter Meeting Hello everyone, our next meeting of the Omaha-Offutt Chapter of the American Meteorological Society will be the "Student Competition" and will feature three students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Creighton University. The meeting will be held at Kiewit Lodge, Mahoney State Park near Ashland, NE. Please come and join us! Note...Mahoney State Park, does have a park fee, so you may want to carpool. Daily fees for 2010 are $4 and Annual park permits are $21. You can purchase your permits online at: https://ngpc-permits.ne.gov/NGPC-PS/faces/public/welcome Also, those just coming for dinner will be asked to pay a "meeting fee" of $3 to go toward the room charge of renting the Kiewit Lodge facilities.
Student Speakers:
Paul Fajman (graduate student at University of Nebraska-Lincoln): Improved Verification and Analysis of National Weather Service Point Forecast Matrices
Alexander Gibbs (graduate student at University of Nebraska-Lincoln): Climate Change and Water Law Policy: The Platte River
Stephanie Ludwig (graduate student at Creighton University): Hodographs Associated with Significant Outbreak Days
Date: Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Location: Kiewit Lodge, Mahoney State Park (Red Oak and Cedar Rooms) 28500 West Park Highway, Ashland, NE I-80 exit 426- 402 944-2523 Time: 5:30 – 9:30 p.m.
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.: Social Time
6:30 - 9:30 p.m.: Business meeting/Dinner/Speakers
Dinner Cost:
The cost of dinner/meeting will be $19. This includes the buffet, drink (water, coffee, or iced tea), tax, tip, and room charge. Dinner Buffet:
Cheese lasagna
Grilled chicken breasts in sauce
Seasoned potato wedges
Green beans almondine
Tossed salad (ranch and Italian dressings)
Tomato, mushroom, and cucumber basil salad
Fresh fruit salad
Oreo cookie fluff
Water, coffee, and iced tea
Please RSVP with the number of people to
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by Noon Monday, February 22nd.
Dues for 2009-2010: $10 for regular members and $5 for student members.
2009-2010 AMS Officers
President - Barb Mayes
Vice President - Rachel Hughes
Corresponding Secretary - Cathy Zapotocny
Recording Secretary - Patricia Vollmer
Treasurer - Becky Adams-Selin |
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21 January 2010 Meeting Minutes |
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21 January 2010 Meeting Minutes Barb called the meeting to order at 1830. President -- Barb Mayes: - Announcement on Cathy Zapotocny: Doctors discovered a blood clot in Cathy’s leg, some of the clot went into her lungs. Will be in the hospital 5-7 days, she needs to remain hospitalized while the clot fades. If anyone wants to pay a visit, Barb has the information. Barb is sending a get-well card around the group during the meeting for everyone to sign. - Welcome to Greg Carbin: we are very very fortunate to have him with us (funding issue!). Due to the AMS accepting federal monies for research, Greg, a federal employee, cannot accept money from the AMS for his travel. However, the National Weather Association (who does not take federal monies) was able to fund the travel and all is in balance with the world again. - Sign In Sheets: Barb is passing around sign-in sheets. Please update your contact information as well. There are pens at every table for the cards/sign-in sheets. - Student competition: Student competition will be held at the 24 Feb meeting at 5:30-9pm, Peter Kiewit Lodge. There is a fee to enter Mahoney State Park ($4 per vehicle, or an annual pass for $21). Recommend carpooling. Don’t forget to talk up the $400 stipend to the winner of the competition, the money is to be used to present the research at a local conference. John Zapotocny is heading up the judging, and has made up a judging sheet. The staff is currently working out the details of the judging criteria. Plea to faculty and students for more entries. Barb is accepting abstracts through 30 Jan. Barb will send the abstracts out to the membership ahead of time. Along w/ the judging form. All in attendance will be judging, if they so choose. - Science Olympiad: Barb and Jay Martinelli are working on a meteorology test. Jay Martinelli: Science Career Fair at Metro CC. Jay has been doing this solo, and would like some help this year. Secretary’s Report -- Patricia: December meeting minutes are on the website for anyone who’d like to review. Motion was made and carried to accept the meeting minutes into the official chapter record. Treasurer’s Report -- Becky: Beginning Balance: $2240.12, reimbursements: $319 for Spaghetti Works payments, payments: $397 to Spaghetti Works; $47 to Steve Augustyn for copy of MS Office for new laptop, $400 to Barb Mayes for computer/bag. Balance: $1692.31 in bank + $217.46 petty cash = $1909.77 Total Assets Barb opens up to floor for additional business: Jay Martinelli: METSAT Applications Award sponsored by NWA. 1 submission last year totoal. $400 cash award + free reg. for national meeting. Please submit if you know of a worthy candidate. Motion to adjourn: Motion made and carried at 1837 hours. Submitted by Patricia Vollmer Recording Secretary 28 January 2010 |
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7 Dec 09 AMS Meeting Minutes |
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7 Dec 09 AMS Meeting Minutes Barb Mayes opened the meeting at 6:35pm. - Barb announced the purchase of laptop/projector bag and laptop for just under $400 on Black Friday. - Becky Selin will get the academic rate for ~$50 for the Microsoft Office - Student competition. Barb needs abstracts by 15 Jan, but requires students’ statements of intent NLT 31 Dec. John Zapotocny will head up judging, and will request the membership to help with judging. Cathy will put out the e-mail announcement later in December. - The January and February meeting dates are still up in the air. Greg Carbin’s date needs to wait for Kansas City to confirm, will probably be 3rd wek of Jan, not to conflict w/ the AMS Meeting. - February’s meeting during which the students will be presenting their work for the competition will be at Kiewit Lodge at Mahoney State Park. Becky Selins’ Treasurer’s report: - Beginning Balance: $2458.29, 4 new members (+$40), withdrew $84.27 to John Zapotocny for AFWA’s Weather Station repeater. - Current balance: $2214.02 - Current membership = 58 Patricia Vollmer’s Secretary’s Report: Submitted minutes from November for the record, motion passed to accept the minutes. New Business: Discussion ensued about having enough people to judge at this season’s science fair. Bruce Telfeyan brought up that there was a science fair coming up this week, and encouraged people to take part in the judging. It’s a fun, rewarding way to give back to the community and encourage the sciences. Motion was made to adjourn the business portion of the meeting. Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 6:42pm. Submitted by Patricia Vollmer Recording Secretary 11 January 2010 |
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Save the Date - January 21 AMS Meeting |
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Save the Date: The January Meeting of the Omaha-Offutt Chapter of the AMS will be Thursday, January 21st, 2010. Greg Carbin from the Storm Prediction Center will be the featured speaker! More details will be sent as they become available.
2009-2010 AMS Officers
President - Barb Mayes
Vice President - Rachel Hughes
Corresponding Secretary - Cathy Zapotocny
Recording Secretary - Patricia Vollmer
Treasurer - Becky Adams-Selin
Chapter website: http://omahaoffuttams.org/ |
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Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership of more than 11,000 professionals, professors, students, and weather enthusiasts.The Omaha-Offutt AMS local chapter is one of many local chapters around the nation. 