Hydrometeor phase in winter storms: An impacts-based decision support perspective

Heather Reeves

OU/CIMMS and NOAA/NSSL

Tuesday, Nov 03, 2020, 2:00 pm
Webinar

Abstract

A number of investigations have been conducted over the years to evaluate the performance of new or existing algorithms to diagnose surface hydrometeor phase. By-in-large, the conclusions are all the same. While it may be possible to squeeze a few more statistical points in favor of the algorithm-du-jour, they still are unreliable in near zero-degree environments. In this talk, the author's adventures with assessing, developing, and validating these algorithms will be presented along with her philosophy that it's time to stop the single-minded focus on statistics and start to address impacts-based decision support for end users such as state DOTs, the FAA, and water management.

Bio: Dr. Heather Reeves is a research scientist at OU/CIMMS and NOAA/NSSL. She leads the transportation applications team - a group that focuses on R2O activities in support of all phases of transportation (road, water, and air). He team develops tools for both nowcasting as a part of the Multi-Radar/Multi-Sensor system, but also the development of ensemble-based post-processing tools relevant to transportation.