A message from our President:
What's in a Name?
Paul Schlatter, 2019 NWA President
In this month’s newsletter we are talking hurricanes. About the time this newsletter hits your inbox, Hurricane Dorian will probably be threatening the U.S. coastline or perhaps has already made landfall. It’s a testament to Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) guidance that I can write this message about a week in advance and know it has gotten good enough to forecast hurricane tracks reasonably well even a week out.
I’ve always found it fascinating how tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific Basins get their names. The process dates back to before the weather satellite era in the early 1950s. Back then, communicators in the media and the Weather Bureau found that short, easily remembered names for tropical cyclones were an effective way to communicate and identify a storm. They had no idea that more than 50 years later Twitter and other forms of social media would be tailor-made to communicate critical information using short, easy to use names for tropical cyclones. Naming storms became official in 1953 when the United States used female names. In 1979, an update was made to include male names alternating with female names. Name lists are used on a six-year rotation, so if a particular storm that shares your name doesn’t live up to your standards, not to worry, it will be reused six years later.
Spring Weather Safety
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NWA 44th Annual Meeting
"Pay it Forward"
September 7-12, 2019
Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama
Important Links
Important Dates
- Abstract Submission Deadline: 7 March 2019
- Oral and Poster Presenters Notified: mid-April 2019
- Preliminary Agenda Posted Online: early Summer 2019
- 2019 NWA Annual Meeting: 7-12 September 2019
Additional Information
For more information on exhibits, special accommodations, registration and the overall meeting program, keep checking the 2019 Annual Meeting Page and its links, or contact the NWA office at 405-701-5167 or nwahelp@nwas.org. NWA will provide updates on this Web page, on the NWA Facebook Page, Twitter and other social media. Please use the hashtag #NWAS19 for any tweets associated with the 2019 Annual Meeting.
2018 Annual Meeting Sponsors
2019 Title Sponsor:
2018 Platinum Sponsors:
2018 Silver Sponsors:
Platinum, gold, silver, and other sponsorship opportunities are available. More information can be found here.
For questions, please contact the NWA Office: nwahelp@nwas.org
2018 Exhibitors
2018 WeatherReady Fest
Sponsors:
