Category: Archive

Tropical Storm Andrea came to an end as the first named storm of the 2013 hurricane season, but without having reached category hurricane status. The effects of the storm were felt throughout the U.S. eastern Gulf and East Coasts however, with driving rains, heavy winds, and flood watches issued from Georgia to Maine. Andrea’s formation was considered early in terms of historical records, as the first storms of a typical hurricane season are generally expected to begin in mid-July or…

In June 2012, one of the most destructive thunderstorm complexes in North American history swept through the D.C area. For many, the previously unknown word “derecho” – a term used to describe a powerful, tornado-like storm – became an immediate and distinct addition to local vocabularies. “It’s interesting when a word like that catches so many people’s attention”, said NOAA’s Dr. Scott Rudlosky, an ESSIC/CICS Visiting Assistant Research Scientist and host of ESSIC extreme weather blog, “It’s …

ESSIC Research Associate, Min Xu was a guest speaker at this year’s Research Symposium on Environmental and Applied Fluid Dynamics. Held at Johns Hopkins University on May 21, the symposium consisted of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from the Burgers Program at the University of Maryland, The Johns Hopkins Center for Environmental & Applied Fluid Mechanics, and the George Washington University group. Xu’s talk featured regional climactic events on the Great Lakes….

ESSIC Director and Council on the Environment Chair, Antonio Busalacchi, was quoted by Brazilian publication, “EBC,” in its coverage of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) annual meeting, held for the first time in Brasilia, Brazil. Busalacchi, who chairs the 18 member WCRP panel, was mentioned in an article citing Brazil’s leading efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, such as the commitment to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. “Brazil is among the leaders in several …

On May 20, a powerful tornado more than a mile wide killed 24 people as it tore through 17 miles outside Moore, Oklahoma. On Friday, an even stronger tornado – the widest ever recorded on Earth – killed 18 after touching down in Oklahoma City and its suburbs. In light of this destruction, it may be surprising to learn that tornadoes have actually been occurring less often than they have in more than 20 years. Scott Weaver, a research meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s …

Robert Hudson’s favorite part of teaching is connecting with his students. “I’m interacting with very intelligent people,” he said. “Intelligence has nothing to do with whether a person is good at science or not. It has to do with the person’s thought process. That’s what science is — it’s trying to figure out why something happens.” That was the philosophy that defined Hudson’s 23 years with the university’s atmospheric and oceanic science department. On Tuesday, he gave his final lecture …

By: Scott Rudlosky

The Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites-Maryland (CICS-MD) at ESSIC has launched a summer program to provide training and outreach opportunities for both graduate (4) and undergraduate (8) students.

The CICS-MD Summer Initiative (CSI) pairs students with mentors to conduct original scientific research and help train future NOAA scientists. The 2013 CSI provides a framework that includes software tutorials, informal student presentations, weather/climate discussions, and

ESSIC Research Associate Michael Folmer and Visiting Assistant Research Scientist Scott Rudlosky, recently presented at the NOAA Science Days Briefing in Silver Spring, Maryland. NOAA Science Days was created as a vehicle to highlight recent NOAA work and to inform senior NOAA leadership of happenings in the agency. The pair presented talks on two exciting new instruments that will be housed on the future GOES-R satellite. Folmer’s presentation described the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), …