 What's in this newsletter:
President's Message President's Message I am pleased to say that our finances are good. After two years marked by the uncertainty of the pandemic, we have come out doing well financially. We have been able to successfully pivot first to an all-virtual meeting in 2020 and then to hybrid meetings in 2021 and 2022. The hybrid format has given members extra flexibility in how they can attend. In addition to saving the need for travel for some, two attendees told me that they even attended sessions back in their hotel room when they needed to take a moment away from the in-person activities. Speaking of the annual meeting, this year’s meeting in Pittsburgh was attended by 491 participants. We had 255 presentations including keynotes and invited talks that focused on special operations forecasting, the convergence of social science and meteorology, the intersection of emergency management and meteorology, the anniversary of Hurricane Agnes, and the new director’s vision for the National Weather Service. This also included our reimagined poster session format, which we called showcases. I also presented some updates on NWA programs. We have had four articles published so far in the Journal of Operational Meteorology this year. The journal receives about 3000 views each month. Please consider the JOM if you have research to present to a wide audience of meteorologists, and people in related fields. The NWA has been working to provide members additional opportunities to interact with each other outside of the annual meeting and they are about to reveal a new platform that will help encourage interaction. It’s called NWA Community and it is a program that will allow members to post information, create networks, access content, and eventually come together in groups that share common interests (more on that in a future column!). Lastly. I presented an update on our 2022-24 strategic plan. The Board of Directors worked on this plan at our mid-year meeting in June, and recently approved four goals that will help shape NWA programs and efforts in the coming years. These goals are to
Each goal has associated steps that help describe how we can structure our efforts in meeting the strategic goals. A full view of these goals will be posted shortly on the website.
From Whova:
Thank you to our 2022 Sponsors!
Thank you to our 2022 Exhibitors: Weather & Radar, Baron Weather, The Weather Company an IBM Business, Midland Radio Corporation, Penn State University Department of Meteorology, Spectrum News, and WeatherBell Analytics, LLC. Congratulations to the recipients of the National Weather Association 2022 Annual Awards! This year's awards were presented during the #NWAS22 Awards Luncheon.
Visit our awards page for a comprehensive list of NWA Annual awards, past winners, and nomination procedures. Nominations are accepted all year round.
NWA Foundation Announces 2022 Sol Hirsch Grant Recipients The 2022 National Weather Association Foundation Sol Hirsch Education Fund Grants are awarded to Elizabeth Scheetz, Nicole Metts, Nicolette Pocius, and Richard Piper. Sol Hirsch Education Fund Grants are awarded annually to teachers/educators of grades K-12 to help improve the education of their students, their school, and/or their community in the science of meteorology. The grants were established in 1994 thanks to the generosity of former National Weather Association Executive Director Sol Hirsch and many NWA members, and were transferred to the National Weather Association Foundation in 2017. The Grant is intended to allow teachers to:
By issuing these grants, we're helping educate future meteorologists. If you would like to donate to the Sol Hirsch grant or any other NWA Foundation Scholarships, please visit our website. 2022 Scholarship Recipients The National Weather Association Foundation is excited to announce the recipients of their 2022 spring scholarships.      Thank you to all the donors who made these scholarships possible. The NWA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit and donations to it may be tax deductible.   The 2023 NWA Election is coming up, and this is a perfect time to get to know your candidates. Members in good standing who are at least 18 years of age are eligible to vote. Watch your email on September 6 for a link to the online ballot and instructions for requesting a paper ballot.
Coming soon: NWA Community! This new platform lets members interact with other members and access the latest NWA happenings. We will be launching soon, so stay tuned! 988 National Suicide & Crisis Line  The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a leader in suicide prevention and mental health crisis care. Since its inception, the Lifeline has engaged in a variety of initiatives to improve crisis services and advance suicide prevention for all, including innovative public messaging, best practices in mental health, and groundbreaking partnerships. Learn more at 988lifeline.org. Lightning Fatality Statistics  From John Jensenius at the National Lightning Safety Council: Unfortunately a woman was struck and killed by lightning this afternoon in a park near a school in Winter Springs, Florida. She was reportedly near a tree waiting for one of her children to be released from school at the time of the fatal incident. A second child that was with her was reportedly injured in the strike, as well as a teenager that was in the area at the time. This is the 14th lightning fatality of the year in the U.S. and the 2nd in Florida. Based on the past 10 years, the U.S. averages 18 lightning deaths through August 18th. Since 2006, Florida has seen a total of 81 lightning fatalities including this most recent one. There have now been 6 lightning deaths this month. Based on the past 10 years, August averages 5 lightning deaths. As with several of the recent fatalities, based on media reports, it appears that lightning struck a nearby tree, with ground current striking those nearby, Why is being under or near a tree so dangerous? As the initial lightning channel moves rapidly from the cloud toward the ground, it is simply looking for the closest connection. That closest connection is usually one of the taller objects in the immediate area, which is often a tree. While tall objects don't attract lightning, they are more likely to be struck. When lightning strikes a tree, the charge doesn't penetrate deep into the ground, but rather spreads out along the ground surface in something called ground current. That makes the entire area around a tree dangerous and anyone standing under or near a tree is vulnerable to this potentially deadly ground current. In addition, for those standing within several feet of a tree, the lightning charge, or a portion of the charge, can jump from the tree directly to the person. The National Lightning Safety Council recommends: •Listen to the forecast and plan activities to avoid the lightning threat.
National Preparedness Month is an observance each September to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. In 2021, FEMA’s Ready Campaign and the Ad Council broke ground by producing the first-ever national preparedness campaign specifically targeting the Latino community for National Preparedness Month. Released during Hispanic Heritage month, the advertisements centered around the Latino community’s commitment to personal planning for occasions and family milestones as a bridge to also planning for disasters. This one-of-a-kind campaign is committed to putting people first and reaching communities where they are. To continue these efforts, this year’s National Preparedness Month campaign will feature a call to action for the Black and African American community. This year’s national public service announcements are being developed and will be released throughout the country this September, to help get preparedness information into the hands of those who live in underserved communities. Learn more at ready.gov.
NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) wants you to be prepared for hazardous weather year-round. The aim of the National Seasonal Safety Campaign is to build a Weather-Ready Nation, one that is prepared for extreme weather, water, and climate events.
November
Have you checked out our job page recently? We update the job postings as they arrive, and they've been arriving more frequently. Check out the newest job postings or submit a job posting here.
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For those who were not able to attend the annual meeting, I thought I would share some updates from my State of the NWA presentation. If you registered for the meeting, but just missed the awards luncheon in which I made this presentation, you can watch it on the Whova app. First is a look at the membership. We are currently sitting at 1714 members. This is down slightly from last year. If you know someone who is thinking about joining the NWA or deciding whether or not to renew, please encourage them to become or stay a member. This is especially true for those of us in academia who interact with students. Students make up a surprisingly small percentage of our membership given the number of students in meteorology programs. The annual dues for students are very low ($30) and set to increase only gradually for 5 years after graduation.
Announcements
Hotel Blocks OPEN.
Visit our Annual Meeting Page for more details.
Are you WeatherReady for this season? See NOAA's WRN latest materials, including infographics, videos and articles on staying safe in winter weather.
The NWA is proud to be a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador™.
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