News & Events
Meteorological pioneer Joanne Simpson dies
Joanne Simpson, a world-renowned atmospheric scientist who led the way for today's many women meteorologists, died on Thursday, March 4, in Washington, D.C. She and her husband Robert (Bob) Simpson, who survives her, were a rare example of a wife and husband who were both leaders in the same scientific field. In The AMS Weather Book I characterized their importance:... »
More snowy science lessons
Does "blizzard" have an official definition? The National Weather Service considers a storm to be a blizzard when it has winds of 35 mph or faster, low temperatures (no specific figure given), and sufficient snow in the air to reduce visibility to less than 0.25 miles. When such conditions are forecast to last at lest three hours the NWS issues a... »
Snowy science lessons
From the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 5 through the afternoon of Tuesday Feb. 9, I spent roughly eight hours shoveling snow, thanks to the record-breaking "Snowmageddon" that brought two to three feet--in some cases even more--of snow to the Washington, D.C. area. Shoveling snow is a good time to think about the science of winter storms, ice, and even some basic... »
Volcanoes, climate, and a doubtful solution
My story on "The volcanic-Climate Connection," which was published in the January-February 2010 issue of Weatherwise magazine, focuses on how a few extremely large volcanoes in the past have cooled the Earth for a few months. At the end of the story I mention that the cooling effects of past eruptions have led some people, including a few atmospheric scientists, to... »
