Eastern US Weather Conference III

Greg Carbin is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM) at the NOAA/NWS/National Centers for Environmental Prediction, Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, Oklahoma. Before his selection as WCM, Greg performed as a severe weather forecaster, fire weather forecaster, and mesoscale meteorologist at SPC since 1996. Greg began his career with the NWS in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1993 and prior to that worked in the private sector in New York and Vermont. He earned a B.S. degree in Meteorology from Lyndon State College in 1985 and has completed some graduate course work at the University of Oklahoma while an employee of the NWS.

Greg has been involved in annual scientific evaluations conducted at the SPC and the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) since 2000. Operationally relevant forecast problems of mutual interest to the NWS, SPC, and NSSL have been investigated through collaborative interactions between forecasters, academics, and researchers. Early SPC/NSSL Spring Programs have now evolved into the NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) located at the National Weather Center (NWC) in Norman. Recent experiments have focused on the ability of high-resolution numerical models and ensemble systems to better predict severe storms with results being applied to forecast operations and published in peer-reviewed journals.

As a member of the NWA and AMS, Greg has conducted peer review of manuscripts submitted to National Weather Digest, Weather and Forecasting, and Monthly Weather Review. He has also authored or co-authored articles for WAF and Weatherwise Magazine. In addition to serving on NWA Annual Meeting Program Committees in 1998, 2002, and 2007, Greg conducted a winter weather workshop at the annual meeting in Biloxi in 1999 and has given his “Year-in-Review” presentation to the NWA Annual Meeting every year since 2004.

Joe DelliCarpini is the Science and Operations Officer at the National Weather Service in Taunton, MA. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology from the State University of New York at Oswego in 1991. His career with the National Weather Service began as a Student Trainee in Boston before going to the Binghamton, NY office as a Meteorologist Intern. He returned to southern New England in 1996 as a Hydrologic Forecaster at the Northeast River Forecast Center in Taunton, before heading back to the Weather Forecast Office as both a General Forecaster and Senior Forecaster.

Joe lives in Norwood, MA with his wife, Kelly and their two children, Jessica and Jason.

He is a native of the New York City area and is an avid Yankees, Giants, and Rangers fan. Joe (“JoeD”) has been a member of Eastern US Weather Forums since February, 2005.

Michael Ekster is a Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts and a moderator on EasternUSWx.com. Mike attained a keen interest in Meteorology when he was a child while growing up on Long Island. The most impressionable weather events of his childhood include Hurricanes Gloria and Bob, as well as the severe nor’easter of December 1992.Mike graduated from Lyndon State College in 2000 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Meteorology.

His first job in weather was at a private sector company in Eastern Massachusetts. After working in New England for just over a year, Mike moved to Kansas where he accepted a position with the National Weather Service In Wichita, Kansas. It was there where he had the opportunity to work the record severe weather outbreak of May 2003. Mike joined the Upton, NY Weather Forecast Office staff in June of 2003. It was there where Mike had the opportunity to forecast several winter weather events, including the Blizzards of 2005 and 2006. In October 2006, Mike Joined the National Weather Service in Taunton Massachusetts where he is the severe weather program leader as well as the Weather Event Simulator focal point.

Mike is also an avid stormchaser and golfer.

Wes Junker is an American Meterological Society (AMS) Fellow and former the president of the National Weather Association (NWA). Junker has won four NWA awards, including the T. Theodore Fujita Research Achievement Award in 2002, having been recognized for "significant and unique contributions to improved operational heavy rain and snow forecasts from NWS Offices across the Nation". He has also won two AMS awards, including the Award for Exceptional Specific Prediction for his forecast of the record midwest snowstorm of October 18 and 19, 1989.

Junker is an expert on quantitative precipitation forecast (QPF) problems. He has lectured on QPF problems in Canada, Taiwan, China, and the United Kingdom, and has been a guest lecturer numerous times as part of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research's Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education and Training. Along with this, he has frequently lectured on snow forecasting at various NWS forecast offices.

Wes has published peer-reviewed articles on synoptic meteorology in the AMS bi-monthly journal Weather and Forecasting, the AMS magazine BAMS, and the official publication of the NWS, the National Weather Digest. He has also published a number of preprint articles for AMS conference presesentations.

Bob Ryan has been News4's chief meteorologist since 1980, making him the longest-serving weathercaster in Washington. His weather reports air weekdays on News4 at 5, 6 and 11 and on NBC Weather Plus and Weatherplus.com. And, listeners to NPR affiliate WAMU-FM can hear Ryan's forecasts in the afternoons during All Things Considered.

Ryan's career began in Cambridge, Mass., where he was involved in cloud physics research with Arthur D. Little, Inc. A side job as a broadcast meteorologist turned into a fulltime job as principal meteorologist for Boston's WCVB-TV. In 1978, Ryan became the first meteorologist to regularly appear on NBC's Today show.

As chief meteorologist, Ryan has initiated and supported many unique programs at NBC4. Ryan was also co-investigator for a project that brought NASA and NBC4 together to lead one of the first television weather sites on the Internet, WeatherNet4. Today, NBC4's strong Web weather presence takes the shape of weatherplus.com, a Web site and a cable channel that provides round-the-clock forecasts and weather information.

In 1996, he was elected president of the American Meteorological Society; he is the only broadcaster to have led this prestigious organization. Ryan has also served the AMS as Chair of the Committee of Broadcast Meteorology, Commissioner of Professional Affairs and member of the Council of the Society. He has also served on the Board of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate for the National Academy of Science, two committees of the National Research Council, and the Advisory Committee of the Geoscience Directorate of the National Science Foundation. Ryan's expertise has been called upon repeatedly to testify before various committees of Congress.

Ryan is proudest of his role as husband and father. He and his family reside in Northern Virginia.

Will Schwartz is currently a meteorologist in the private sector in Worcester, Massachusetts and a moderator on EasternUSWx.com. He graduated with a B.S. in Atmospheric Science from Cornell University in 2003. He also interned at the National Weather service in Taunton, Massachusetts during the summer of 2002. His interest in weather began when he was just a young child after moving to San Antonio, TX from the Boston area. When Will visited family in New England, his interest in snow grew, and he began watching weather reports on every visit. After moving back to New England, he experienced the December 1992 Nor' Easter, which hooked him on weather for good, and remains his favorite weather event to this day.

During his free time, when not tracking winter storms, Will enjoys golfing and watching baseball.

Tom Skilling, WGN-TV chief meteorologist, appears weekdays on the News at Noon and News at Nine. He will celebrate his 30th anniversary with WGN-TV this year. Since 1997, Skilling has masterminded the weather page in the Chicago Tribune. WGN-TV will be receiving the environmental reporting award from the Audubon Society, an accomplishment that is due to Tom's performance.

Tom's broadcasting career began at age 14, when the then West Aurora High School student was hired by WKKD in Aurora, Ill.In 1970, Tom moved to Madison, Wis., to study meteorology and journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, while continuing to work in radio and television.

Tom started at WGN-TV on August 13, 1978. Nationally, he has become somewhat of a godfather to those in the field.

Tom has received honors for the IBA Best Weather Show of 2004, as well as the 2003 Silver Dome Award for Best Television Weathercast. Tom's documentary work has also received praise that includes Emmy award winning "The Sears Tower Versus Mother Nature." Tom's award winning tornado documentary "It Sounded Like a Freight Train," and "When Lightning Strikes," informing the causes and effects of lightning, were widely distributed for use in educational and public awareness efforts. Tom also received an Emmy nomination for his work on "Tsunamis on American Shores program," which looked at the deadly tsunamis that have hit Alaska.

He has also received an immense response and praise for WGN-TV's weather blog, which was among those featured in this month's Weatherwise magazine. The article looked at the increasing popularity of weather blogs among computer users.

Tom is a member of the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the National Weather Association, and Sigma Chi. He serves on the AMS nominating committee and holds the AMS' Television Seal of Approval.

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