Fox 26 News is the first Weather Museum Exhibit Sponsor. Fox26 is donating the TV studio Exhibit where visitors will be able to come and make their own weather forecast. Afterwards, they can then purchase a tape of their Talents. The studio will have the traditional blue/green screen, monitors, cameras & lighting for the feel of an actual studio.

What a cool summer. There was only one day in August [August 5 – 101 degrees] with a maximum temperature greater than 99 degrees, compared to last year when we had temperatures over 99 for 20 days. Houston broke a record on September 4, 2000 when the high temperature reached 109 degrees.

One thing that kept us cool was the many days of endless rain. For the months January through most of September we have already had 53.49 inches of rain which is nearly 7 inches more than we have during an entire year. Part of this was the flooding rains that accompanied Tropical Storm Allison. Some Houstonians are wondering…will we every dry out?

Inches of Rainfall:

Meteorologists, Dr. John C. Freeman and Jill F. Hasling along with the staff of Weather Research Center completed a study to develop a simple Monte Carlo Probability Method for predicting the damage by zip code for Hurricanes along the Texas Coast. The result of this study produced computer models, which predict the hurricane risk for various periods ranging from 100 years to 10,000 years. The model then computes the hurricane wind field over a certain section of the coast and then predicts the resulting damage in dollars versus zip code. This project was a joint effort with the Texas Department of Insurance and Texas Tech University.

September in the West Pacific gave birth to Typhoon Nari. This storm sat nearly stationary northeast of Taiwan for 16 days before finally moving southwest over Taiwan where it again remained nearly stationary. Nari dumped over 35 inches of rain in Taiwan causing severe flooding and many deaths. There were 61 advisories issued on the storm from the Typhoon Warning Center in Guam. Very weak steering currents over the area allowed the storm to remain fairly stationary for over 14 days.

There have been eight named storms so far this season with three of them becoming hurricanes. WRC’s forecasts calls for 9 storms with 5 becoming hurricanes. This year the only systems to affect the US coast have been slow moving tropical storms, which have caused excessive rainfall.

Allison, Barry, Chantal, Dean, Erin, Felix, Gabrielle, Humberto, Iris, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Michelle, Noel, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van, Wendy.

Jo Finburgh received a certificate of recognition from the State of Texas for being nominated for the 2001 Governor’s Volunteer Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Community. The certificate was signed by the Governor of Texas Rick Perry.

Neither Flood nor Heat could stop Weather Camp ™ 2001. Over 100 campers from age 5 to Adult participated in Weather Research Center’s weather day camps. The camps are designed to teach the basics of weather, severe weather safety, hurricane safety, flood safety, climatology, weather surfing and weather labs. The last two were the most popular classes with hands on experiments in weather labs. These included putting water into a glass from a plate full of water without picking up the plate to Weather surfing where campers built their own weather web site. This summer fun day camp is educational and a great way to stay cool during Houston’s summer heat.

Campers come from all around Texas and as far away as Louisiana. Camp would not be possible if not for Lyndsey Blott, one of Weather Research Center’s Research Assistants and our Student Interns Mike Baur and Kris Johnson. Mike is a meteorology student at Texas A&M and Kris is attending the University of Texas this Fall. Volunteers also play an important role in making Weather Camp a great success. Volunteers range in age from 11 to 67 but they all have a fascination for the weather, which draws them together. Many of the volunteers are former campers. This was the sixth year for one of our campers who hopes to volunteer next year. We seem to have a future meteorologist in the making!

Local media also play a role in weather camp. This year Weather Camp was featured on Fox 26’s Building Better Minds thanks to Chief Meteorologist Cecilia Sinclair. Video on hurricane safety was provided by Dr. Neil Frank of KHOU-TV and guest appearances were made by Cecilia Sinclair and Mike Iskovitz of Fox26 and Keith Monahan of Channel 39 in Houston.

Weather Research Center survived the floods of Allison and was still able to hold Weather Camp. Weather Research center had over 20 inches of rain on the night of June 8 and the early morning hours of June 9^th as the remnants of Allison stalled over the Houston area. Some sections of Houston received over 35 inches of rain. This phenomenon caused an increase in campers wanting to understand the weather.

Weather Camp was developed by Jill F. Hasling and Dr. John C. Freeman both Fellows and Certified Consulting Meteorologists of the American Meteorological Society. The goal of the camp is to provide knowledge about the weather that can help save lives and property.

Visit http://www.weathercamp.org for next year’s dates.

The ebay auction continues. Remember all proceeds benefit The Weather Museum.

Keep looking for new items, as this is a great way to support The Weather Museum! Click on http://www.wxresearch.com.

The click on the EBAY logo and then click on The Weather Museum.

The AMS Board for Operational Government Meteorologists (BOGM), the AMS Board of Private Sector Meteorology (PSB), and the National Council of Industrial Meteorologists (NCIM) are jointly organizing a Town Hall Meeting at the 2002 AMS Annual Meeting in Orlando.   It will take place on Wednesday, 16 January 2002, from noon to 1:30 PM. NCIM will sponsor a reception immediately after the Town Hall Meeting.

The meeting theme will be "public/private sector perspectives on the role of the operational meteorologist."  A distinguished panel of operational meteorologists from both sectors will stimulate questions and comments from the audience.   A moderator will guide the discussion and to promote balance. The organizers expect the meeting to draw a strong attendance from both the public and private sides of operational meteorology. They hope it will continue to help create a more effective public–private partnership in delivering weather services to the Nation.

An opportunity exists for an organizational sponsor to help underwrite all or part of the cost of box lunches. If you have questions about the meeting or the sponsorship opportunity, would like to get more information, or would like to offer suggested discussion topics, please contact one of the organizers: Mike Mogil, hmmogil@weatherworks.com (PSB), Paul Duval, Paul.Duval@noaa.gov (BOGM), or Jim Block, Jim.Block@dtn.com (NCIM).

It is recognized that every individual's professional situation is different and is dependent upon that individual's circumstances. Although, plans readily evolve as circumstances change over the course of time and no one plan covers all possible scenarios, there are common, basic components for a successful foray into the weather entrepreneur world which can be learned. Attendees will gain hands-on knowledge of how to succeed as a weather entrepreneur. Positive aspects of the field will be covered, as will the reality checks. Attendees should expect to be ready to interact with other attendees, speakers, and committee members. Selected reading materials may be recommended before the course is held.

Who should attend? Professional meteorologists, meteorology students, retirees from the weather field, or anyone interested in starting their own weather-related business. Active weather entrepreneurs will also benefit from attending.

The overall goal of this workshop will be to provide attendees with hands-on knowledge of how to succeed as a weather entrepreneur. The aim is for attendees to learn then apply the materials presented during the workshop.

The morning session will focus on training in the use of fundamental tools for starting up and sustaining a weather business. Tools addressed will include a business plan, marketing, and advertising. Following a luncheon, the afternoon session will focus on learning about small business programs available to the weather entrepreneur, accounting techniques, and ethical business practices. A panel of experienced weather entrepreneurs will discuss real-world examples of scenarios and the proper ethical responses.

Calling all meteorologists! If you are planning to attend the Annual AMS meeting in Orlando Florida in January 2002 plan to stay and play golf on a Jack Nicklaus course and help the Weather Museum. There are still a few sponsorships available. If your company would like to have a presence at the AMS meeting, consider being a sponsor. For more information visit http://www.wxresearch.com/amsgolf or call the center at 713-529-3076

The meeting was a great success bringing together emergency managers, fire, police and governmental agencies from across the Gulf Coast region. Exhibitors for the conference

provided information on weather equipment, call notification systems, environmental cleanup, disaster management and safety products.

Meteorologists and mathematicians continue to expand WRC’s ACP Model and predict the heating and cooling degree days for cities across America. Lyndsey Blott along with Mon Nguyen continue to verify and perform statistical analysis on the WRC model. The model has shown very promising results.

Meteorologist Liz Murphy is developing the Center’s Web Based Long Range Forecast Newsletters. If you are interested in subscribing call Liz at 713-529-3076. Watch the center’s web site for these exciting changes.

Dr. Luz Sosa has joined the staff of Weather Research Center. Dr. Sosa worked in the Cuban Weather Bureau for 25 years. Dr. Sosa will not only translate WRC forecast but will translate WRC web pages and Weather Camp to spanish.

Dr. Sosa joins the most experienced marine weather forecasting staff in the world. Her 27 years of experience brings the total years of meteorological experiences to over 140 years.

Meteorologists at the center not only provide marine weather forecasts but also work in forensic meteorology, research and educational programs.

If you do not have a WRC web page to receive your services and would like to receive your forecast via the Internet call the Center to arrange for a user name and password.

This is a great way to receive your weather from any location. Also remember the Center can provide you with other services such as site-specific current forecasts, worldwide marine weather forecasts, weather windows as well as a consultation with a meteorologist 24 hours per day. For more information contact Lane or Jill at 713-529-3076.

This will be a wonderful day for the entire family. Come see if the bear can see his shadow. Since Texas is so big a ground hog is not big enough to predict our winters. If you company would like to be a sponsor of this fun event contact the center.

The Seventh Annual Weatherman’s Classic has been set for Monday April 8, 2002 at Hearthstone Country Club. Weather Research Center is looking for sponsors for the event. If your company would like to participate this year, please let us know.

Plan to come by and visit us at our booth 4478. We will have popcorn and other fun features again this year.

ANSWER TO LAST MONTH’S TRIVIA QUESTION:

How much is an inch of rain? Email your answer to wrc@wxresearch.com

One acre = 43,560 square feet

One inch of rain over one acre is 6,272,6640 cubic inches of water

One cubic foot weighs about 62.4 pounds

One inch of rain over one acre would weigh 226,512 pounds

One inch of rain over one acre equals 27,192 gallons.

Thanks to John S. Cordero for this information.

Where is the world’s tallest thermometer located?

Avg High Temp. 81.6 72.4 64.7

Avg. Low Temp. 57.6 49.6 42.2

Rainfall [inches] 4.27 3.79 3.45

Avg High Temp. 80 71 64

Avg. Low Temp. 59 51 45

Rainfall [inches] 2.8 4.4 5.5

With Tropical Storm Allison making landfall on the Texas Coast, stalling in east Texas, and allowing phenomenal amounts of rain to flood the Houston area, the time for the Hurricanes & Industry conference in Houston this November is perfect. This conference is designed to bring together Houston’s many industries, government, utilities and meteorologists to discuss hurricanes.

The conference is designed for industrial planners, architects, construction managers, engineers, utility officials and scientists to come together and discuss what happened during the 2001 Hurricane Season…what went right, what went wrong and how improvements can be made. Hands on workshops will allow the attendees improve their current plans.

If you would like to register use the form at the bottom of this flier. The Fee is $75 for all registration forms received prior to October 15, 2001. After October 15, 2001 the fee is $100.