March 3, 2011 Meeting

The meeting was held along Ross Barnett Reservoir at the Cock of the Walk restaurant in Ridgeland. The Doppler on Wheels was on display outside of the restaurant. Our guest speaker was Dr. Karen Kosiba, Senior Scientist at the Center for Severe Weather Research (CSWR) in Boulder, Colorado.

Meeting Minutes

Call to Order
The first NWA/AMS meeting of 2011 was opened by NWA President, Mr. Vincent Webb, at 7:10 p.m. There were two components to this meeting which will be described under New Business. The inside Chapter meeting was at Cock of the Walk Restaurant at the Ross Barnett Reservoir, 141 Madison Landing Circle, Ridgeland, MS.

Rolls
Recording Secretary Ms. Nancy Lopez took attendance, and the sign-in sheet confirmed 24 attendees with approximately five to seven of those being student or spouse guests for the restaurant meeting. The outside meeting had 21 visitors.

Minutes Approval
Ms. Lopez briefed the group on the activities and minutes from the November 23, 2010 meeting at WAPT TV, and the minutes were approved.

Treasurer, Ms. Joanne Culin gave an update on the financial report. The current balance holds as in November with funds totaling $180. There was no further change on an EIN or tax number for an official business account. The group was informed of the student fee of $10 and non-student fee of $20 for those interested in joining the Chapter.

New Business
Ms. Lopez then described the process of her acceptance of participation for the AMS Chapter poster presentation in Seattle in January 2011. She displayed the poster and discussed the growth and diversity plans of the Chapter, and described the November visit as an example of Chapter activities with ties to weather service, media, emergency management and its outreach to the public helped by technology. She noted the winner of the Chapter poster and Chapter of the Year category and discussed ways to broaden our Chapter efforts by growth through Chapter petitions for the name change, new members, webpages, education, community and outreach efforts as a few examples.

The first part of the meeting was scheduled at 4 p.m. outside the restaurant in the Reservoir parking lot. The Doppler-on-Wheels truck was invited to the Chapter from Colorado, and Senior Scientist Dr. Karen Kosiba was the invited presenter from the Center for Severe Weather Research (CSWR) in Boulder, CO. The outside meeting was set up for public viewing of the truck and inclusion in the media newscasts. By sign-in, WLBT, WJTV and WAPT TV stations attended and took photos. Between 6 to 6:30 p.m., the meeting moved inside in the restaurant for official business.

The floor was then turned over to guest speaker Dr. Karen Kosiba. Dr. Kosiba gave an enthusiastic power point presentation on tornadogenesis, with the findings from Vortex 2. She also demonstrated part of this talk at the recent Stormchasers Convention in Denver. The Vortex 2 is one of the research projects to understand tornadoes. The Doppler vehicle is used to house the equipment and mobile radar which is partly associated with the National Science Foundation. The benefits of this radar is that it is flexible, it can be scanned fast and at multiple levels. The storm can be observed all over and for long periods, either before, during or after. By studying wind fields, it is hoped to understand the tornado structure and how it builds and maintains its life cycle. She explained there is more equipment than people, and described other portable equipment that study tornados such as sticknets and tornado pods. The DOW has been used in many weather research projects in the Plains, to observing landfalling hurricanes, and in use for an upcoming IMAX movie. The Chapter thanked her for her talk and provided her meal, as well as the visiting Jackson State University students.

Adjournment
The presentation concluded and the meeting adjourned around 8:30pm. The next meeting is planned for April.

Minutes submitted by Nancy Lopez, Recording Secretary.