U.S. meteorologists gather in Austin today for annual meeting

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) will host its 93rd Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas on January 5-10, 2013. AMS promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. AMS has membership of more than 14,000 professionals, students, and weather enthusiasts across the United States. The annual AMS conference that is located in various cities each year. For each meeting, AMS designates a theme that highlights various papers and discussions. The theme for the conference beginning today is “Taking Predictions to the Next Level: Expanding Beyond Today’s Weather, Water, and Climate Forecasting and Projections”. I will be attending this meeting, and I plan on sharing some of the interesting studies and discussions mentioned in Austin, Texas via EarthSky.

The object of this meeting is to not only feature scientific discoveries and knowledge in the field of atmospheric sciences, but also to enable scientists and students in the field to meet each other. The overall experience of going to an AMS meeting is worthwhile and beneficial as ideas can be shared among other members inside and outside of the conference. The president of the AMS, Dr. Louis Uccellini, is responsible for this particular meeting. The overall theme is designed to gain the knowledge of various weather and climate systems and applying them to life that not only benefits science, but the overall society. The advancement in science over the past 60 years is astounding. With the combination of global observing systems and computer capabilities, and the ability to provide decision support services through the public and private sectors, the entire scientific field of weather and climate has seen major success and achievement. Overall, these advancements in the field of atmospheric sciences should be able to create long lasting and important impacts for various parts of our commerce, health, transportation, energy issues and related use of our natural resources.

You can find a full list of some of the panels, symposiums, and keynote speakers by clicking on this link.

One of the most interesting topics I look forward to attending is the Town Hall Meeting scheduled for Monday, January 7, 2013 at 7:30 PM CST. This meeting is called “Hurricane and Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy: Predictions, Warnings, Societal Impacts and Response”. The Town Hall Meeting consists of speakers such as as Dr. Rick Knabb, the director of the National Hurricane Center, Bryan Norcross, hurricane specialist at the Weather Channel, David Novak, NOAA/NWS/Hydrometeorological Prediction Center, Melvyn A. Shapiro, NCAR, Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, and Eric Holthaus, The Wall Street Journal. Hurricane Sandy was highly debated in regards to how the warnings should have been issued and how society reacted to these warnings. It will be interesting to see what is discussed and how we can improve from our mistakes in the past.

There are so many papers out there that are worth reading and hearing about at this conference. Interested in Space Weather? Satellites? Temperature trends in the troposphere and stratosphere? Seriously, if you love weather and climate, this conference is worth going to.

You can learn more about the AMS and how to become a member here.

Bottom line: The American Meteorological Society (AMS) will host the 93rd Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas on January 5-10, 2013. This meeting will involve meteorologists, climatologists, and weather enthusiasts. The theme for this meeting is “Taking Predictions to the Next Level: Expanding Beyond Today’s Weather, Water, and Climate Forecasting and Projections”. I will be at this meeting and plan on writing some updates on some of the topics that are discussed. Should be fun, educational, and exciting. Really looking forward to it!