Specific Research Endeavors
I am an atmospheric scientist and physical geographer with interests in natural hazards and societal interactions, severe storms, synoptic and mesoscale meteorology, applied meteorology/climatology, hydroclimatic variability, and the application of geographic information systems in meteorology.
In the past, my research focused on the examination of mesoscale weather phenomena, namely organized thunderstorm complexes known as mesoscale convective systems. I have investigated the climatology and hazards of widespread and long-lived windstorms known as derechos, the rainfall patterns of convective complexes in the U.S., the climatology and hazards associated with tornado path orientations, the importance of increasing population and suburban sprawl on tornado vulnerability, and the geographies of flood, tornado, and non-convective wind fatalities in the U.S. Currently, I am examining: 1) the casualty distributions associated with a number of weather-related hazards, 2) the storm morphology of hazardous convective events, and 3) urban influences on convection in the Southeast U.S.
For a complete list of my publications (with PDFs for download) and courses I teach (with recent syllabi), click here: http://chubasco.niu.edu
Meteorology Laboratory
National Weather Service (NWS) Laboratory
Department of Geography/National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Station
Meteorology Program Blog
