Unlocking Radar Data Amidst Record Severe Weather

Guest: Dr. Stephen Nesbitt

Five years ago, Dr. Steve Nesbitt joined us to unpack the fundamentals of radar meteorology. Since then, atmospheric science has undergone a massive evolution moving from how we capture severe weather to how we decode it using artificial intelligence and cloud computing. As a UIUC Professor, incoming Associate Dean, and newly named AMS Fellow, Steve has spent his career studying Earth’s most explosive storms. Today, he’s leading a new frontier in meteorology, building open-source tools like Radar DataTree to turn decades of legacy radar files into AI-ready intelligence. We’re sitting down with Steve to catch up on what’s changed since his last visit, how AI is reshaping weather science, and the physics behind the Midwest’s wild tornado season.

Chapters

1. 00:00 Introduction and Guest Background
2. 01:05 How Dr. Nesbitt Became a Weather Geek
3. 03:59 AI's Impact on Meteorology and Weather Resilience
4. 06:57 Recent Tornado Trends in Illinois and the Midwest
5. 09:58 Break 1
6. 09:59 Remote Sensing Technologies in Severe Weather Study
7. 15:35 Introduction to Radar Data Tree and Its Applications
8. 20:53 Stakeholder Engagement: Insurance and Water Resources
9. 22:08 Current Research Projects and Urban Resilience
10. 26:17 Break 2
11. 26:17 Future Advances in Satellite and Radar Technology
12. 29:18 Climate Change and Severe Weather Patterns
13. 32:57 The Evolving Role of Academics in Public Engagement
14. 35:51 Resources and Final Thoughts

Resources

• AtmosScale.ai - https://atmoscale.ai
• Ed Zipser - Google Scholar - https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,11&qsp=5&q=edward+zipser&qst=ib
• Relampago Project - https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/bams/102/8/BAMS-D-20-0029.1.xml
• Radar Data Tree - https://atmoscale.github.io/radar-datatree/index.html
• NASA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission - https://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov

Guest links

LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/steve-nesbitt-b8a06a54

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