NWA May 2020 Newsletter
Issue 20 - 5
What's in this newsletter:

President's Message
NWA President Todd Lericos


Watch full video here.

 

Transcript: Hello, and welcome to the May president's message. We are three months into our worldwide health crisis, and I hope that you and your families continue to be well. I know many of you were anxious to get back to some sense of normalcy and it looks like the numbers on this virus are actually starting to turn, which is an encouraging sign. So I hope we get there soon.

One of the more encouraging observations I've made over the last three months to see the way that the NWA membership has responded to this crisis. It is impressive how you are all doing your jobs under pretty austere conditions, whether that's government and private entities surging in to provide support to emergency management for COVID response or whether all sectors of our career field are surging into respond to severe weather events in the Southeast, Northeast, and West, and really all over the world.

It is really impressive to see how we've responded. And it's a testament to how professional you are. I have also been encouraged about how our membership has stayed connected through this crisis, whether that's attending NWA Distant Socials, attending our webinar series, or just opening up a video or a text chat with our colleagues. All of these methods are really good ways for us to stay connected. For those of you that have taken advantage of these, I encourage you to continue to do so. For those that have not, I invite you to give it a try.

I wanted also to provide you an update on the annual meeting. This is a subject that I'm sure is on many of your minds. While it is encouraging that the coronavirus numbers are starting to turn, a lot more goes into whether or not an in-person meeting in the fall will be successful. And to that end, we just don't know, but eventualities will present themselves.

But that doesn't mean that we're not contingency planning for the eventual realities that we may have to face. Right now, our normal annual steering committee, headed by Matt Alto and Cindy Elsenheimer, will continue to do their work evaluating abstracts as normal. But NWA headquarters and myself have taken the additional step of forming an ad hoc team led by Rebecca Mazur, our vice president.

This team will look at contingencies for the annual meeting in the fall. These contingencies will span everything from a fully virtual conference to a fully in-person conference and everything in between. Their job will be to evaluate requirements and to sketch out what a conference like that may look like under those conditions. We're doing this to prepare for the eventuality that we may have to make a decision sometime in June. When we make that decision, you will know, but for now the annual meeting is still on as normal.

I wanted to close by making a few comments about crises. Any particular crisis that humans go through tends to make some sort of permanent change. This will be the case with the coronavirus as well. There is going be a new normal. And what will that new normal look like in operational meteorology?
Many of you out there are providing services that you provide under very unique circumstances, oftentimes leveraging technology and creating different methodologies, to deliver life-saving weather information.

What can we learn moving forward from this crisis? What can we incorporate into the new normal after this is all done? These are very good questions. And in some way related to the theme of moving "Forward Together." In other words, a lot of what we're doing now, may be the future of how we provide our services. We just don't know, but this is going to be an excellent conversation for our association to have moving forward over the next year or two. And so I would encourage everybody to ponder this and think about how we may come out of this crisis better than how we entered it. Thanks for listening. I look forward to speaking with you next month with hopefully better conditions. 

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Sheltering in Place During COVID-19
by Craig CeeCee, Mississippi State University Ph.D. student in Meteorology

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives. In addition to the many closures and cancellations, we have had to make difficult decisions on how to balance safety from severe weather against the risks of exposure. As we saw in April across the Southeast, Mother Nature doesn’t care about pandemics or health risks.

We must consider both risks, and when an intense tornado hits your house, the risk to life and limb is much greater than the risk to life from a COVID-19 infection. That is especially true if there is no basement or interior safe location in your home. On Easter Sunday, I knew that there was a significant threat of severe weather here in Mississippi and elsewhere in the Southeast.

I had been very hesitant to go into the public; however, I made the decision to go to our local tornado shelter. It is a large shelter with space for over 1,500 people at full crowding. I did my best to stay at least 10 feet away from other people there and had a mask on throughout. When a tornado warning was issued and the shelter filled up (about 300 people), it was clear that families were being kept separate from each other and precautions were being taken. The national media was also aware of the fact that social distancing was indeed possible when in a tornado shelter and spread that message. 

Watch video here.

Realizing that there was significant loss of life in several communities during the recent outbreaks, it became clear that we need to shelter from tornadoes in safe places even during the pandemic. As I learned, it is possible to keep our distance in shelters – particularly larger ones. It is important to wear masks and gloves and provide them to residents who don’t have them.

While the violent tornadoes in southern Mississippi were in the headlines, even weaker tornadoes (and strong straight-line winds) will destroy or severely damage a weaker structure or a mobile home and threaten lives and property. Those are much more common, and the threats will continue through the spring, summer and beyond.

As we enter the peak severe weather and tornado season in the Plains, Midwest, and other regions of the country, it’s important to understand the risks that tornadoes bring to communities. Hurricane season is not far away, and we have to plan for that as well. It is possible to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 for the general population. Strong measures such as masks, gloves, and separation work to reduce that risk. We need to continue learning lessons in this highly unusual year and build our best practices. Staying at home works well when it is possible; but for many people, home is not safe – we have to encourage them to take shelter in a community storm shelter and encourage shelters to ensure COVID-19 safety practices are followed.

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Action Needed: Support Efforts to Protect the GOES RF Spectrum

The NWA joined with 67 other entities, including 14 weather-related organizations and businesses, to sign a statement supporting a bipartisan action by the Senate Armed Services Committee on the recent FCC approval of Ligado Network’s L-Band application.

The Committee held a hearing titled “Department of Defense Spectrum Policy and the Impact of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Ligado Decision on National Security.”

This is a paragraph from the statement NWA signed:
“Our coalition, made up of industries dependent upon and dedicated to protecting Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and satellite communications, strongly opposes the recent FCC Order that approved the Ligado Networks L-Band application.”

The recent approval of Ligado’s application is for a band outside the GOES spectrum, but they would need to acquire shared use of the 1675-1680 MHz GOES spectrum to fully utilize the approved spectrum. This would seriously impact GOES data and impair its use for weather forecasting and warning operations. 

Action: We encourage you to contact your senators, inform them of the risk to the GOES spectrum, and ask them to support the efforts of Senators Inhofe and Reed. This is especially critical the week of May 11, 2020, but it we expect this to be a continuing concern going forward.

More information about actions the NWA and others have taken on these spectrum issues can be found in the following resources:
NWA Advocacy 
AMS Committee on Radio Frequency Allocations 
Satellite Safety Alliance

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Side Lobe Contamination in a Supercell Thunderstorm
by Dan McKemy, NWS Louisville, Kentucky

Side lobe contamination has been noted on WSR-88D radars for many years and can make the warning decision process for NWS forecasters difficult. Knowing what to look for and how to assess side lobes can give a forecaster confidence in the type of warning they may choose for a storm.



In our example, an isolated supercell thunderstorm developed in western South Dakota near the KUDX (Rapid City, South Dakota) radar. The radar beam near ground level (0.5°) showed very high values of velocity moving toward the radar just ahead of the supercell storm’s outflow.

However, upon closer examination, these high velocity values were a result of side lobe contamination from the radar. The main lobe from the radar beam near ground level (0.5°) passed through an area with very few scatterers resulting in low reflectivity returns. The side lobes of the radar beam passed through the supercell thunderstorm’s mid-level mesocyclone within the echo overhang and Bounded Weak Echo Region (BWER) where higher reflectivity (hail and/or rain) and velocity values were observed.



The side lobes from the radar beam contaminated the near ground level velocity (0.5°) with false, high values. If one were to take the velocity values near the ground level at face value, they would incorrectly assume that very strong winds were moving toward the radar ahead of the supercell thunderstorm.

In some instances, side lobe contamination can also give false indications of low-level rotation in a thunderstorm and lead to unnecessary tornado warnings being issued.

For more information about side lobes, how to identify them, and what is being done to address them, check out the following links:
SPC Severe Thunderstorm Forecasting Video Lecture Series on Side Lobe Contamination

The Impact of Elevation Sidelobe Contamination on Radar Data Quality for Operational Interpretation (Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology)

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RFI on Earth System Predictability by NASA

A Request for Information on Earth system Predictability R&D that was released by NASA on behalf of the National Science and Technology Council's Fast Track Action Committee for Earth System Predictability. The request is for public input on future Earth system predictability R&D activities of Federal agencies as well as their partnerships with the external community.

Requested information pertains to the practical needs that could be addressed by this Earth system predictability research effort and the socio-economic benefits that could result from it, current gaps and barriers that are holding back progress, and opportunities for key activities that could be most valuable, including transformative “big ideas,” with regard to understanding Earth system predictability.

More information available at beta.SAM.gov.

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NWA 2020 Awards Nominations Deadline: May 14
by Lara Pagano, NWA Awards Committee Chair

It's that time of the year again for NWA 2020 Awards Nominations. Hindsight is "2020" and, looking back, do you want to reward someone you know for a job well done? The NWA is responsible for selecting various awards that highlight the amazing contributions made within or related to the field of meteorology. If you know individuals, teams or organizations whose outstanding efforts in operational meteorology and related sciences deserve special recognition, we highly recommend you consider them for an NWA 2020 Award.

In an effort to streamline the nomination process, the NWA Award Committee has developed a new Nomination Form that will make the nomination process even easier. The nomination deadline is May 14, so get those nominations in before it is too late! Submit here

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Ted Fujita PBS Special: May 19

The Super Outbreak of 1974 was the most intense tornado outbreak on record, tearing a vicious path of destruction across thirteen states, generating 148 tornadoes from Alabama to Ontario, damaging thousands of homes, and killing more than 300 people. Meteorologist Tetsuya Theodore “Ted” Fujita spent ten months studying the outbreak’s aftermath in the most extensive aerial tornado study ever conducted, and through detailed mapping and leaps of scientific imagination, made a series of meteorological breakthroughs.

More information on the premiere.

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COMET Quarterly Announcement Spring 2020
by David Russi, UCAR/COMET Translation Coordinator

Greetings from Boulder, Colorado! These are difficult times for all of us, wherever we may be. At COMET, we have taken measures to protect our safety and wellbeing and those of the people around us while continuing to serve you in the best way that we can.

Below you will find links to COMET’s latest additions to the library of materials we host on MetEd, designed to support a variety of training needs in the geosciences. COMET published four new lessons this quarter, two on satellite products, one on cloud hydrometeors and particles (part of a continuing series on measurement and instrumentation), and one on weather-ready nations. We also published two new lessons in Spanish, and seven in French.

All of us at COMET thank you for using our training materials. Stay safe.

New COMET Lessons in English
Satellite Jet Analysis
Using Merged Satellite Precipitation (CMORPH and IMERG) Guidance 
Instrumentation and Measurement of Cloud Hydrometeors and Airborne Particles 
The Weather, Water, and Climate Enterprise: Enhancing Science, Service and Partnerships for a Weather-Ready Nation 

New COMET Lessons in Spanish:
Teledetección por microondas: aplicaciones de vapor de agua, nubes y precipitación
Los instrumentos y la medición de los gases traza atmosféricos

New COMET Lessons in French:
Le diagnostic de fronts 1 
Le diagnostic de fronts 2 
Introduction à la modification des sorties de PNT 
La modification des PNT par comparaisons des variables intégrées sur la colonne 
La modification des PNT par comparaisons directes 
Introduction au tourbillon potential 
La modification du tourbillon potential 

Currently, these materials are freely available to everyone, courtesy of our primary sponsors: NOAA's NWS, NESDIS and National Ocean Service programs, EUMETSAT, the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, the Meteorological Service of Canada, Bureau of Meteorology, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation.

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Spring Scholarships & Grants Now Open

Learn more at nwafoundation.org!

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NWA Event Calendar

The full NWA Event Calendar is located in Member Connect.

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NWA Distant Socials
by Trevor Boucher, NWA Social Media Committee


We know it's tough having to practice social distancing through this COVID-19 situation, but that doesn't mean we can't be social at a distance. (see what we did there?)

Introducing our new NWA Distant Socials! Every week as we all practice isolating to fight this pandemic, we will hold open virtual chats via Google Meet so you can stay in touch with fellow NWA members and friends.

Just log into your Member Connect profile and click the link on the main page to join our next virtual call! 

These are our Distant Socials rules and guidelines:

What are these?
Open Google Meet video chats hosted by the National Weather Association are meant simply to allow members to socialize with fellow members. These video conferences are open to all members and meant to be informal and fun.

Why are we doing this?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve all been urged to practice social distancing and significantly limit physical interactions with our friends and family members. The National Weather Association fully supports and encourages our members to practice social distancing so we can all do our part to battle the spread of this virus in our communities. However, we also acknowledge this can be extremely tough from a mental and emotional standpoint. We hope these social events can be used as a way to stay in touch with your fellow members in a fun and informal way while we all go through
these tough times.

How it works…
The NWA will host Google Meet sessions that will be open to all members every week through the length of this pandemic.

To join,
1. Log into your NWA profile through Member Connect at nwas.org.

2. A link for our “Distant Socials” will be available on the main page in
Member Connect.

3. Simply click on the link at the scheduled start time and ask to join
the call (a webcam and microphone are recommended).

Guidelines and Etiquette for Participating in Distant Socials
● Have fun but be courteous and respectful. The socials are meant to be informal with open and candid discussion about any topic, however any disrespectful behavior or derogatory comments will not be tolerated. If this occurs, you will be asked to leave or be removed.

● Don’t attack others. The discussions on these socials are meant to
stimulate conversation not to create contention. Let others have their say, just as you may.

● These events are meant to be a safe place to share. Some members may want to share some personal stories or challenges they are going through during this situation. Please respect member’s privacy and keep these discussions within the call.

● Please mute yourself if you are not speaking. These calls can hold as many
as 100 participants at once and if you are unmuted, this can become cumbersome to follow along. Please mute yourself or the call moderator will mute you so everyone can hear and participate.

● Come with topics to discuss with your fellow members. Feel free to come with topics you’d like to bounce off your colleagues. Have an idea to pitch to NWA leadership? Have a project you're working on and want feedback? Want to get some tips on effective teleworking? Anything goes!

The Legal Stuff
These social events are provided as a courtesy of the National Weather Association (NWA). The NWA does not necessarily endorse or support the opinions or discussions that may arise during these events.
Do not use any defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials or
language. Do not share any information or other material protected by copyright law. NWA leadership may not always actively monitor these discussions for inappropriate or shared content and do not on their own undertake editorial control if they occur. However, in the event that any inappropriate behavior is brought to the NWA’s attention, the NWA will do their best to remove the offending party.

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April Webinar: "Coping with a Crisis (or two): When a Pandemic and Severe Weather Collide"

Rebecca Moulton and Becky DePodwin were joined by guest speakers, Dr. Kathleen Alto, and Brandon Bolinksi, to provide perspective, experience, and expertise on the emotional well-being aspect of what we're all collectively going through during this global Pandemic. Watch here.

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NWA Jobs Corner

Stay up to date on our latest job postings on the NWA Jobs CornerSubmit jobs here

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