Overview

Join storm spotters from across the state in this first event of its kind! The 2006 Minnesota Skywarn Workshop will be a full-day severe weather conference designed to train you in spotting techniques, equip you with information about the latest in weather technology, and connect you with other Skywarn communities from across the state.

The workshop is FREE, but registration is required. To register, click here.

Who can come?

The workshop is geared for storm spotters, but is open to all. If you are interested in storm spotting and would like to become involved, this workshop is the perfect place for you. If you are a public safety official and would like to hear more about the latest weather technologies that can make your community safer, please join us. If you simply have a fascination for weather and want to learn more about it, you are welcome.

Our objective for this workshop is to train, equip, and connect Skywarn volunteers:

TRAIN...   spotters to improve observational skills, reporting accuracy, and personal safety.
EQUIP...   spotters with information about latest tools & technologies that can serve you in your duties.
CONNECT...   Skywarn communities from across the state to build relationships, encourage participation, and attract newcomers to the program.

Announcements

No special announcements at this time.

Agenda

S A T U R D A Y A P R I L 2 9 , 2 0 0 6

8:00 a.m. Doors open, Workshop Check-in
Coffee available sponsored by Metro Skywarn, Vendor booths open

9:00 a.m. Conference Welcome & Announcements
Todd Krause, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, NWS Chanhassen, MN

9:15 a.m. Skywarn at the NWS: How it works
John Wetter, Skywarn Coordinator, NWS Chanhassen, MN

9:45 a.m. Location-Aware Weather Technology
Paul Douglas, WCCO-TV, Digital Cyclone

10:20 a.m. Hurricane Katrina - New Orleans, Before, During and After
Doug Kiesling, Weather Paparazzi

10:35 a.m. COFFEE BREAK
Sponsored by Weather Paparazzi

11:00 a.m. Derechos and their Societal Impacts
Amy Liles, Forecaster, NWS Duluth, MN
Amanda Brandt, Forecaster, NWS Duluth, MN

11:45 a.m. Radar Interpretation Techniques
John Wetter, Skywarn Coordinator, NWS Chanhassen, MN

12:15 p.m. BREAK FOR LUNCH ON YOUR OWN

1:15 p.m. In-situ Tornado Probes & Video
Tim Samaras, Senior Research Engineer, Applied Research Associates

2:15 p.m. September 21, 2005, Spotter and NWS Challenges
Karen Trammell, Forecaster, NWS Chanhassen, MN

2:45 p.m. SNACK BREAK
Sponsored by Anything Weather

3:00 p.m. Severe Weather Forecasting in the Upper Midwest
Peggy Willenberg and Melanie Metz, Twister Sisters

3:45 p.m. Award Ceremony
Todd Krause, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, NWS Chanhassen, MN

3:55 p.m. Weather in the Broadband Communications Age: New Technology to Provide Enhanced Weather Information and Services
Dan J. Miller, Science & Operations Officer, NWS Duluth, MN

4:30 p.m. Closing Remarks & Door Prizes
Rory Groves, SWIFT WX

5:00 Workshop ends

Directions

The workshop will be held in the Buenger Education Center of Concordia University. The university is located on Hamline Avenue, one block south if I-94:

275 North Syndicate Street
St. Paul, MN 55104

For detailed directions, click here.

Speakers

	Paul Douglas, WCCO-TV, Digital Cyclone Paul Douglas is a nationally respected meteorologist, with 27 years of broadcast television and 31 years of radio experience. From 1983 to 1994 Douglas was employed by KARE-TV in Minneapolis. While there he began a daily weather column in the Star Tribune newspaper. He authored a book, “Prairie Skies, the Minnesota Weather Book”, and taught a broadcast meteorology class at the Saint Cloud State University in 1992. His most current weather-related book, “Restless Skies, the Ultimate Weather Book”, was released by Barnes and Noble in late 2004 and is now in its second printing (Sterling Publishing). Douglas has received a Seal of Approval from the American Meteorological Society. He is currently Chief Meteorologist for WCCO-TV, where he broadcasts the 5, 6 and 10 PM weather reports. Douglas is Founder and Chairman of Digital Cyclone, which is personalizing the weather forecasting experience for individuals on the web, e-mail and cell phones. His goal: to create personal weather channels for every consumer on a new generation of data-enabled cell phones.
	John Wetter, Skywarn Coordinator, NWS Chanhassen, MN John Wetter is currently the coordinator of Skywarn radio operations at the National Weather Service in Chanhassen, MN. He has been involved with Skywarn for over 10 years. While attending St. Cloud State, he was a member of Stearns County Skywarn where he was a Net Control Station coordinator and also sat on the board of directors. John has presented several studies locally and regionally specializing in radar interpretation and pre-storm environmental parameters, as well as Skywarn operations. He also has co-produced the last two Skywarn training videos for use by the NWS Chanhassen Office. John works in the IT field and lives in Maple Grove with his wife Jamie.
	Todd Krause, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, NWS Chanhassen, MN
	Dan J. Miller, Science & Operations Officer, NWS Duluth, MN Dan Miller is currently the Science and Operations Officer at the National Weather Service in Duluth, MN. Dan is originally from Owatonna, MN and earned his meteorology degree from Iowa State University in 1992. He began his National Weather Service career in 1993 at the office in Limon, CO. When the Limon office closed in 1995, he moved to the Twin Cities, where he worked at the Chanhassen office from 1995 until 1998. From 1998 until moving to Duluth in 2005, he was a forecaster at the Norman, OK NWS office. His areas of interest and expertise include severe local storms, radar and effective communication of weather information and services to the user community.
	Peggy Willenberg and Melanie Metz, Twister Sisters Peggy Willenberg and Melanie Metz, known as the "Twister Sisters", began forecasting and chasing storms together in 2001. Both women have degrees in Chemistry and post-graduate study in Meteorology. Beyond the thrill of photographing storms, they are most inspired by the challenge of the pin-point forecasting required to capture a tornado. Melanie and Peggy have been featured in two National Geographic Television documentaries, "The Tornado Hunters" and "Twister Chasers", and have appeared on Good Morning America, CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, and Entertainment Tonight.
	Tim Samaras, Senior Research Engineer, Applied Research Associates Tim Samaras spends May and June in a van outfitted with GPS, radios, scanners, monitors, a wireless Internet connection, and satellite tracking instruments. His harrowing task: to spot tornadoes, try to put himself in their path, and then deploy newly designed probes that measure meteorological conditions in the vortex of the beasts. Then he promptly gets out of the way. "The tools I come up with have to take nearly impossible measurements." About five years ago, as an engineer he designed the next generation of probe to measure pressure drops inside tornadoes. A history-making instrument, Samaras's "turtle" probe has recorded record-breaking drops in pressure—the condition that triggers a tornado's extreme wind speeds. "This information is especially crucial, because it provides data about the lowest 10 meters (33 feet) of a tornado, where houses, vehicles, and people are." A 6-inch-high (15-centimeter-high) weather station encased in steel, the probe has sensors that measure humidity, pressure, temperature, wind speed, and direction.
	Amy Liles, Forecaster, NWS Duluth, MN Amy Liles was promoted to a general forecaster for the NWS office in Duluth , MN in August 2005. She is thrilled to be working in such a challenging forecasting environment, where anything from tornadoes to lake effect snow can occur. Prior to working in Duluth , Amy gained forecasting experience at the NWS office in Aberdeen , SD. In Aberdeen , Amy worked as primary warning operator for several severe weather events, including an extremely devastating tornadic bow echo. Amy graduated with a B.S. Degree in Meteorology from St. Cloud State University in May 2003, and worked as a student meteorologist for the NWS office in Chanhassen , MN during her senior year. She has since presented severe weather case studies at many regional weather conferences including the Northern Plains Convective Workshop in Sioux Falls , SD and Minneapolis , MN , and the Severe Storms and Doppler Radar Conference in Des Moines , IA. Amy’s husband, Justin, is also an SCSU weather graduate, and works for WDIO-TV in Duluth as their morning meteorologist.
	Amanda Brandt, Forecaster, NWS Duluth, MN Amanda is currently a general forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Duluth, MN. Her career in the NWS began in 2002 when she was selected for a cooperative-student meteorologist where for 2 years Amanda worked at the NWS in the Twins Cities while attending St. Cloud State University. In May 2004 she received her B.S. Degree in Meteorology and moved to the NWS office in Duluth, MN as a Met-Intern. Amanda was then promoted to a forecaster position in October 2005. She has received multiple awards for her research including the Best in Session Award at the MN Academy of Science Winchell Undergraduate Symposium, the Denise M. McGuire Student Research Award, and the St. Cloud State University Undergraduate Research Award. She has presented her work at various functions in the weather community and enjoys sharing her love for meteorology with others, especially students.
	Rory Groves, SWIFT Weather Corp Rory is the owner of SWIFT Weather and author of storm-tracking software SWIFT WX. Rory began his preoccupation with weather in the 90's as a hobbyist storm chaser and later became involved in Metro Skywarn. Rory has presented at weather conferences in Des Moines and Denver and is lead organizer of this conference. Rory resides with his wife Becca in Minneapolis.
	Karen Trammell, Forecaster, NWS Chanhassen, MN Karen is a 6-year veteran of the National Weather Service, having spent the past year as a forecaster in the Chanhassen office and the 5 years prior as a student meteorologist and intern in the Norman office. Karen's interest in weather, especially severe storms and tornadoes, developed at an early age, having grown up in the Texas Panhandle. At the age of 11, an F4 tornado ripped through Fritch, Texas, Karen's hometown, which only served to solidify her planned career track. Further career reinforcement occurred in 1995, as the infamous "10 Days in June", including the Pampa, Texas F4, unfolded just a few miles down the road from her. Karen attended the University of Oklahoma, graduating with a B.S. in 2002 and an M.S. in 2004. During her years at Oklahoma, Karen worked as both an Undergraduate and Graduate Research Assistant with the Cooperative Institute of Mesoscale Meteorological Studies, in addition to her work with the National Weather Service during that time. Karen's professional interests include extreme weather forecasting, research, and operations and public and customer outreach.