Saturday, July 14, 2012: 5:00 pm (Nutt): In recent years, real time weather data and numerical forecast model information has moved from proprietary systems and closed distribution methods to the Internet, and huge amounts of taxpayer-funded weather data in easy to understand formats is now free for all to use. This has made it easier than ever for anyone to get a good forecast anytime and anywhere, while also allowing storm chasers to leverage their meteorologic knowledge and use mobile Internet technologies and GPS location tracking to chase tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning, and other severe weather. The presentation will give an overview of weather data gathering methodologies, from ground stations and radar to satellites and weather balloons; give an overview of free or cheap web resources and forecasting models; explain the difference between a "watch" and a "warning;" and show some results from both urban and rural storm chasing.

Hosted by John Huntington