[1]

…and Sandy was mine.

As an SES Major a year ago, I

enrolled in Art Degaetano’s Physical

Meteorology class. It was my first

atmospheric science class, and you can

bet that I was intimidated. I was

totally unexposed to the likes of SPC,

NHC, NCEP, forecasting models, and

the intricacies of meteorology that I’ve

grown to love.

Fortunately, I caught on quickly,

learning from prodigies like recent

alumni Lee Carlaw, Seth Saslo, and

Josh Pettit. Throughout the spring

semester I spent more and more time

in Bradfield, eager to learn as much as

I could. Like most met majors, I had

always been interested in severe

weather and hurricanes, but my awe

was now accompanied by knowledge

continued on page 2

ITHACATIONFall 2012 Volume 13, Issue 1

Everyone Remembers Their First

By Ted McHardy ’13

Superstorm SandyBy Reggie Johnson ’15

Big Momma Sandy, Frankenstorm, the Hellicane, the Perfect

Sandy, Hurrtober, Hurrmageddon. These are all words which could

be used to describe Hurricane Sandy. The European Model nailed

this storm very well, having Sandy moving close to the Florida East

Coast. Sandy did extensive damage to the New Jersey Coastline,

flooded the NYC subways, and even affected Philadelphia. Power

was out in many locations and trees were down in the NYC

area. There was a huge fire in Queens NYC, and dozens of houses

were destroyed. Virginia Beach, VA received 10" of rain. At one

point Sandy was barreling toward the east coast with a minimum

central pressure of 940 mb and wind speeds of 90 mph. Sandy

continued on page 2

Sandy spinning off the Jersey Shore. Image Credit: NASA

[2]

Everyone Remembers Their First, continued from page 1:

and it only fanned the flames. The spring/summer severe weather

season was incredible – I even went storm chasing (another story for

another time). But I had yet to really experience hurricane season –

until Hurricane Sandy.

Like most Sundays, I was putting off homework and scanning the

long range models. Something on the long-range GFS caught my eye –

a hurricane perhaps. As I watched the loop I noticed that the cyclone

was headed to the Northeast. I was intrigued. Then I saw the storm’s

landfall – a direct hit to New York City. I was hooked. Ignored was the

fact that landfall was forecasted 10 days out, or that the storm had yet

to even develop. I checked every model run religiously, rejoicing when

Euro finally picked it up and cringing when GFS sent it out to sea. As

the models converged, I began to realize that I was following what was

destined to be a historic event. Even Mark Wysocki used the word

“unprecedented”. The East Coast went into a frenzy as Sandy surged

north - and the frenzy was justified. Sandy made landfall as an absolute

behemoth, her storm surge/high tide combo record breaking. Most will

remember Sandy for her awe-inspiring power. I will remember her as

the first storm I had tracked completely – from birth in the Caribbean

to death in the Northeast. I certainly did not save the best for last.

- Thoughts go out to the affected by the storm, especially those in

the department – Jeff, Dr. D, and everyone else who is from the coast or

has family there.

INSIDE ITHACATION

Everyone Remembers Their First

By Ted McHardyPage 1

State of the CCAMS

By Sage HillerPage 3

Superstorm Sandy

By Reginald JohnsonPage 1

Internship on Mt. Washington

By Steve HarshmanPage 7

Interning at WABC

By Adam EpsteinPage 6

Shadows of the Cyber World

By Zachary LabePage 9

Interview: Julia Weiden

By Molly SmithPage 4

All clip art images used in this issue obtained from Microsoft Office.

Documentary Review

By Gaige KerrPage 10

Why Were the Leaves Dull?

By Steve JessupPage 11

Meet the New CCAMS Members

By Sage HillerPage 13

Ithacation edited by Molly Smith.

CCAMS Leaders Field Guide

By Molly SmithPage 14

Superstorm Sandy, continued from page 1:

Sandy raised the water level to 13.88 feet at The Battery.  If we could

make a documentary on Sandy, I would call it"The Battery." As it

headed north, Sandy was captured by a upper-air trough.  This trough

helped turn Sandy westward.  Sandy was a storm that we will be

talking about for many years to come.

[3]

State of the CCAMSBy Sage Hiller ’13

CCAMS has had an active fall semester! While the

presence of the recently graduated Class of 2012

seniors is deeply missed, we have had the delight of

welcoming in our new members from the Class of

2016, which you can read about more in detail later on

in this issue of Ithacation! We've made several strides

toward increasing our campus presence and visibility,

as well as in enhancing our professional image through

unique opportunities such as the participation in the

newly organized CCAMS Mentor Program.

Advance planning, that began by selecting all of

our outstanding committee chair positions over the

summer, has led to the successful execution of

Cornell's first Snowfall Contest after a two year hiatus,

as well as a smooth planning and fundraising process as

members gear up for attending the upcoming AMS

Meeting in Texas this January. We have some exciting

events and ideas on tap for the Spring and are already

underway in making plans for CCAMS Alumni

Weekend 2013. Efforts are also in the works toward

enhancing and re-launching the current Facebook and

Twitter pages that will provide additional outlets for

relaying weather forecasts already completed for

Weather Phone. Our CCAMS Collegetown Dinner

series with Professors has also started up. We had our

first one at The Nines with Art DeGaetano and

Wysocki in the middle of October. 

We have plenty of forward momentum, and since

we survived Hurricane Sandy, there is no stopping us

now! 

CCAMS on the roof of Bradfield Hall. Photo by Sage Hiller.

[4]

Interview: Julia Weiden ’10Broadcast Meteorologist

Interview by Molly Smith ’14

How did you become interested in meteorology in the first place?

Like most other meteorologists, I've been interested

in weather ever since I was little. I hate to admit it, but I

think the movie Twister is what really set it off for me. I

loved the idea of chasing tornadoes, and my parents

used to let me stay up late to watch "Storm Stories" on

The Weather Channel to learn more. My parents were

actually a huge role in encouraging me to pursue

meteorology- they took me to a SkyWarn class while I

was still in elementary school and pushed me to take

hard math and physics classes in high school. There

were also a few unique weather events that kept the

interest alive... for example, lightning struck a tree in

my backyard and basically blew the thing up. It's hard

not to find that cool.Take us through a typical day in the life of

a broadcast meteorologist.

Image: Julia Weiden

What made you decide to go into broadcast?

Well, it really took a long time for me to admit

that broadcasting was something I was interested in

(probably the result of seeing Twister too many

times) so it wasn't until I had an internship in the

field AFTER graduating from Cornell that I

decided it's what I wanted to pursue. My internship

was at a top news station in the country and the

meteorologists there had a lifestyle that I wanted for

myself one day.

Your day can change very drastically depending

on the role you fill- mornings, evenings, weekends,

etc. In my case, I work the double-shift weekend.

My Saturday typically starts at 4am. That's

when I wake up and do my hair, makeup, whatever

is needed to look appropriate in front of the camera.

I get to work at 5am and immediately start

forecasting. The forecasting process takes about 45

minutes, meanwhile I'm taking notes and planning

continued on page 5

[5]

continued from page 4

out what the main weather "story" is that people

need to know. From there, I start building and

organizing my graphics, or the visuals used to tell

the story to the viewers. After a last minute hair and

makeup touch-up , I'm ready to go on-air at 7am.

The show goes on for an hour and I'm on-air every

5 minutes or so. When the show ends, I stick around

to update the forecast content on the news station's

website and also on our social media pages. I also

cut in to Good Morning America with local

forecasts every 15 minutes or so.

When 9am arrives, I get to go home and grab a

nap for a couple of hours. This is vital for surviving

the rest of the weekend- no matter how awake I am,

I force myself to sleep for at least two hours, or else I

will be very loopy by the end of the weekend.

At around 3pm, I'm back in the station. The

same schedule follows here... forecasting, prepping

graphics, hair, makeup, and back on-air at 6pm.

Then another show at 7pm. After dinner, we tape

promotions and teases that air during the evening

commercials, then onto the 11pm show. However,

and this is important to note, from September to

January, the 11pm show rarely airs at 11pm. Thanks

to college football on ABC, our shows will go on

after the game ends, meaning we can be there until

1am or later. This becomes a big hassle when you

have to be up at 4am the next day to do it all over

again!

This is the long and short of it: the only thing

you can do on a double-shift weekend is work, eat,

and sleep on Saturdays and Sundays. I am very

lucky to get 3 hours of sleep at any time over the

weekend, and definitely do not have time to spend

with friends or family on those days!

As a broadcast meteorologist, what do you do when severe weather is approaching

your area?

I talk to meteorologists with more experience.

I've only been doing this for a year, but the chief

meteorologist has been on-air for a decade. I watch

his approach: calm yet authoritative and easy to

understand. I try to emulate that so not to frighten

people who are watching, but to get across the point

that severe weather is not something to be taken

lightly.

What's the worst weather you've ever been stuck in?

A severe thunderstorm that was happening on

the east end of Long Island. I was on my way back

from the beach with a friend and the rain and wind

really picked up while we were driving. A beach

umbrella came flying at the car (the huge kind, with

the sharp, pointed metal tip) and that's when we

decided to pull over at a restaurant to wait out the

storm. Running from the car to the building was the

only experience I've ever had with sustained winds

over 60mph.

Alternatively, another memorable storm on a

Long Island beach was in 1998. Same kind of a

situation (although a very different set up

meteorology-wise) where the wind picked up in a

matter of seconds and those same pointy umbrellas

were lifted out of the sand and flew through the air

like stakes. Again, when that happens, you don't

stick around to watch, you run for shelter. The scary

thing is, that storm wasn't even that bad when you

compare it to the devastation it caused up here.

Central New Yorkers will know that event as the

Labor Day Storm.

[6]

Ha! No, not that I can think of. You get used to it

quickly, I promise.

Do you ever accidentally gesture the wrong way on the green screen and point

at entirely the wrong part of the map?The best thing you can do is get experience on-

air. The sooner the better. It is the only way you will

improve. In my case, I got a late start and didn't

have any experience until after college, but most

news stations will only accept interns who are

receiving college credit. Even id broadcast

meteorology is only something on your back burner,

give an internship a shot and make a demo reel at

the station. It can only help your future.

Anything else you would like to add?

...If you are looking for an internship, I'm only

a stone's throw away in Syracuse! I would be happy

to help in any way I can! You can email me at

JuliaWeiden@9wsyr.com. If you are interested in

having a group come in to tour the station and

watch a show, I would be able to set that up as well.

Hope to hear from you!

Do you have any advice for aspiring broadcast meteorologists?

Interning at WABC New York CityBy Adam Epstein ’14

I am pursuing a career in broadcast meteorology,

so I interned under meteorologists Bill Evans and Lee

Goldberg this summer at Eyewitness News in New

York City.

On Mondays and Tuesdays I worked with Bill

Evans during the morning shift from 3am to noon. It

was scheduled so that I'd arrive there before Bill and

immediately start making graphics for the show. A

large majority of the morning shifts consisted of

getting familiar with WSI TruVu Max graphics

software. It was my responsibility to have the graphics

done and ready to air by the time Bill had his first hit.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I worked with Cornell

alumni, Lee Goldberg during the afternoon shift from

2pm to 6:30pm. This portion of my internship was

more meteorology intensive. Lee had plenty of time to

forecast before he went on air so he would go over his

routine with me and teach me forecasting techniques

whenever possible.

On down time, I had the opportunity to practice

broadcasts in front of the green screen and record

them for review by all of the Eyewitness News

meteorologists. The constructive criticism by the best

in the business is a unique feature to this internship

that made all the early mornings worth it.

Although I was never fortunate enough to forecast

on air, I was featured on TV a couple times by Bill and

Lee. However, if you blinked while watching the show,

you very well may have missed it.

[7]

Internship on Mount WashingtonBy Steve Harshman ’14

Not everyone can say they’ve lived on a mountain,

but from June through August this year, that’s exactly

what I did. I spent the summer at the Mount

Washington Observatory, home to the highest wind

speed ever recorded by man, 231mph. They claim to

have “the world’s worst weather,” but you’ll never hear

anyone up there complain.

My week-long shift began by hoping in a van and

driving up the eight mile long road to the summit,

gaining some 4,000 feet in elevation on the way. Mt.

Washington stands at 6,288 feet in the White

Mountains of New Hampshire, the tallest peak in the

Northeast. Being above tree line, the summit is exposed

to powerful winds and extreme storms. A few buildings

occupy the top, one being the Observatory. The crew

consisted of 3 observers, 2 interns, a museum

attendant, and 2 volunteers who cooked for the group.

As an intern, I worked at the museum and helped the

observers with their daily tasks, like writing and

recording a forecast for the nearby peaks, assisting in

hourly observations, and writing articles for a local

newspaper.

Life at the summit was never dull. The summer

started off with 3” of snow accumulating on the peak

on June 4th, and it only got better. Soon after, during

one of the many thunderstorms up top, we received a

downburst of 108 mph! Storms on the summit never

ceased to amaze me. Being at such a high elevation, we

could watch systems from miles away build and develop

into towering cumulonimbus, before engulfing us in

wind and rain. Lightning strikes illuminated the clouds,

giving you a quick glimpse at the internal structures.

It was an unbelievable opportunity and greatly

reinforced my interest in meteorology. With such a

unique climate and landscape, Mt. Washington receives

some spectacular weather phenomena. Aside from

amazing thunderstorms we got to view completely

under cast skies and lenticular and cap clouds on the

surrounding summits and got to experience life in the

continued on page 8

Clouds over the MWO. Photo by Steve Harshman.

[8]

Mt. Washington, continued from page 7

in the mountain fog.

Weather wasn’t the only phenomenon observed at

the top either. We watched many a sunrise and sunset,

and sometimes, when the visibility was at its best, we

could see straight to the Atlantic Ocean. I was also

lucky enough to catch the Aurora Borealis on two

separate occasions. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone as

excited as we were to be woken up so late in the night,

but the northern lights is not something you want to

miss.

When we weren’t otherwise occupied with our

weather duties, my fellow intern and I managed to get

out hiking around some of the local peaks. Sitting right

in the center of the Presidential Mountain Range, Mt.

Washington offers some extraordinary hiking and we

took full advantage of this, making excursions out to

neighboring peaks or just to visit the crew down at the

AMC Lake of the Clouds hut.

I encourage everyone to visit Mt. Washington, if

not for the observatory than at least for the amazing

experience of being on the tallest peak in the

Northeast, not to mention the spectacular views. I

couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my

summer.

Ithaca in summer. Photo by Adam Epstein.

[9]

Shadows of the Cyber WorldBy Zachary Labe ’15

According to the latest reports from the Associated

Press and National Weather Service, Hurricane Sandy

may be one of the most destructive hurricanes in

United States history. The preliminary financial costs of

Sandy have the probability of ranging from $20 to $30

billion in insured losses. But another (mind you smaller)

unexpected dark side to Sandy can be found tainted in

social media networks.

Marisol Bello, journalist for USA TODAY,

published an interesting article detailing the social

media aftermath from Sandy. While the cyber world is

an efficient method of using technology to raise

awareness and preparation for natural disasters, it also

can lead to other side effects: false viral information.

On the evening of Sandy’s landfall, Twitter and

Facebook posts began spreading fake, edited photos

including a giant wave behind the Statue of Liberty

and another capturing a flooded New Jersey barrier

island (later found to be a photo captured during

Hurricane Irene). Also a rumored report swept the

Internet describing the New York Stock Exchange

trading floor covered in seawater nearly 3 feet deep.

Digital media networks eventually corrected these

errors.

Not only did these rumors and false information

create additional pandemonium, they clearly misused

critical lines of communication. It is difficult to

understand their reasoning, but Betsy Hubbard, of

Mindset Digital Consulting Company, remarks this is a

common phenomenon after a big event calls it

“newsjacking.”

While social media has greatly influenced

communication lines between the press and the public,

it also has a hidden associated cost. Fortunately, many

of these rumors are corrected almost as quickly as they

are produced. Jon Stewart writes, “The Internet is just a

world passing around notes in a classroom.”

Two examples of fake Hurricane Sandy photos that went viral on the Internet.

[10]

Geologist and climatologist Richard Alley poses

commonly-asked, yet relevant questions and their

solutions in “Richard Alley’s Climate Adventures,” a

PBS special that aired in late 2011. Alley, the Evan

Pugh Professor of Geosciences at Pennsylvania State

University, has won many distinct awards for his

research and has contributed to leading scientific

journals, including the IPCC Fourth Assessment

Report, making him a notable figure in the field of

climate science.

As the audience asks questions in the town hall

style, question-and-answer session, Alley quickly

dismisses climate change due to natural variations by

explaining the small role that the Milankovitch cycles

and natural sources of carbon dioxide and other

greenhouse gases contribute. His detective work with

isotopes of carbon adds veracity to his arguments

along with examining paleoclimatology records of ice

cores. Instead of tip-toeing around hard, scientific

data, Alley delves into the problem of global climate

change and its solutions; however, he does so in a way

that the general public is able to grasp the pertinent

topics.

An effective part of staging Alley’s argument is

addressing the potential counterarguments that may

arise. The documentary mentions that some dismiss

global climate change after seeing certain geographic

areas receiving greater than average amounts of

snowfall and colder temperatures. Alley refutes this

theory but stresses that the science behind climate

change is based on the law of averages. This idea of

averages, not specific values, is essential for a PBS

program that broadcasts to the general public with

misconceptions about climate change.

In addition to “Climate Adventures,” Alley is the

host of the series “Earth: The Operator’s Manual.”

Both can be found streaming online along with some of

Alley’s other documentaries. Maybe it’s been a while

since you took Global Warming 101, or maybe you’re

trying to justify procrastinating on your

Thermodynamics homework by watching a video that

is remotely related, consider watching “Climate

Adventures” and learn a thing or two from an expert

in the field of climatology.

Documentary Review: “Richard Alley’s Climate Adventures”

Review by Gaige Kerr ’15

Dr. Richard Alley. Photo from fresh-energy.org.

[11]

I was driving through northeast Pennsylvania and

central New York last weekend, right around the time

of the fall foliage peak.  The hills were colorful, but

unlike other years, I wouldn't say they were ablaze with

color.  There was plenty of yellow and some orange,

but the red was mostly missing.  The colors weren't as

vibrant as I was expecting, either.  The natural

question to ask is...why?

First, a quick primer on leaf color.  Most of us

remember from middle school biology that leaves are

normally green due to a chemical that we call

chlorophyll, but it is really a combination of

chlorophyll along with another chemical called

carotene that does the trick.  (You might have heard of

beta carotene, the chemical that makes carrots

orange...same thing.)  Chlorophyll absorbs red light

from the incoming solar spectrum, while carotene

absorbs blue-green and blue light.  What is not

absorbed is reflected, and so leaves normally appear to

our eyes as green.

But as fall creeps in, a "corky membrane" forms

between the branch and the leaf stem.  This cuts off

nutrient flow to the leaf, and without nutrients,

chlorophyll isn't replenished.  Meanwhile, the carotene,

which doesn't need to be replaced, remains in the leaf. 

The leaf turns yellow.  The membrane can also lead to

the concentration of sugars in the leaf, presumably by

cutting off their exit.  These sugars can cause the

formation of anthocyanins in some types of trees, and

the anthocyanins turn the leaves red.  So the key to the

change in the leaves' color is apparently the formation

of this "corky membrane" between the branch and the

leaf stem, and the changes in chemical compounds in

the leaves that result.

But as a meteorologist, I was particularly interested

in why the leaves seemed so dull this year...did it have

to do with the weather?  Well, chlorophyll is destroyed

by low temperatures (at night) and by bright sunshine. 

Anthocyanins - which produce those bright reds and

continued on page 11

Autumn Leaves. Photo by Steve Jessup.

Why Were the Leaves Dull This Year?By Steve Jessup ’14

[12]

Autumn Leaves, continued from page 10

purples that I didn't see on my drive - thrive in just-

above-freezing temperatures, bright sunshine, and dry

weather.  So, based on this, I'd expect that the weather

from September to mid-October - and especially

whenever the leaves were changing color - was some

combination of warm nights, cloudy, and/or rainy. 

But was it?

To find out, I looked at the Binghamton, NY

National Weather Service office's preliminary records

for Scranton-Wilkes Barre and Binghamton.  At

Scranton, temperatures averaged about a degree above

normal in September and right around normal for the

first half of October.  A total of 17 days were clear,

while the other 27 days were partly cloudy to overcast. 

Twenty-one of the 44 days had measurable

precipitation.  So it was relatively warm, cloudy, and

rainy.

At Binghamton, the story is slightly different. 

Temperatures were just below normal in September

and over a degree below normal through the first half

of October.  Only 13 of the 44 days were clear, and 24

had measurable precipitation.  So Binghamton was

cooler, cloudier, and rainier (it rained more often, but

not as much) than Scranton during this time period.

The kicker is the stretch of weather in the first few

days of October...about the time that I noticed the

leaves first starting to change color in my backyard. 

These days (and nights) were unseasonably warm, and

the warmth was accompanied by clouds and rain.  For

those brilliant purples and reds to form, you need a

snap of cold (but not below freezing) and sunny

weather...here in central New York, you need a nice

Canadian air mass to drop in for a few days.  But this

year, we had the opposite in early October, and that's

my guess as to why the leaves seemed a bit dull this

year.

The original text of this article can be found on Steve Jessup’s

blog at http://placeofacorns.blogspot.com/2012/10/why-are-leaves-dull-this-year.html

An autumn sunset over Cornell. Photo by Sage Hiller.

[13]

Just Who Are the New CCAMS Members of 2012?

Organized by Sage Hiller ’13

“Hi, my name is Matthew Grieco, I'm from Staten Island, NY and I have been interested in weather and meteorology every since I was little.  I was fascinated by any type of unnatural phenomena and wanted to go into a career involving it.  I'm very glad I came to Cornell to fulfill this goal because the atmosphere (no pun intended) of the department is very warm, welcoming, and lots of fun.”

--Matthew Grieco, Class of 2016

“My name is Bonnie Acosta and I am from Cheverly, Maryland. One of my favorite parts about the weather is snow, so I am really excited for winter in Ithaca (I may regret saying this later). Aside from meteorology, I love learning about other cultures and languages.”

--Bonnie Acosta, Class of 2016

“My name is John Burchfield and I'm from Toledo, Ohio. I've wanted to be a broadcast meteorologist since I was 10 years old after experiencing lake-effect snow squalls in Rochester, where I used to live. I also play viola in the Cornell orchestra and play tennis, ping pong, and basketball.”

--John Burchfield, Class of 2016

“Adam Epstein is what some would call a cloud connoisseur from Port Washington, New York. A member of the class of 2014, he enjoys a competitive match of volleyball, sunny days in Ithaca, and long walks on the beach. Among his many aspirations, his number one goal in life is to become a respected broadcast meteorologist in New York City.”

--Adam Epstein, Class of 2014

“Hi, I'm Tom Scanlon form Franklin Square, New York. I'm an avid baseball fan in addition to being a weather enthusiast.”

--Tom Scanlon, Class of 2015

[14]

CCAMS Of!cers

CCAMS Chairs

Co-President Joseph Lee Co-President Sage Hiller Secretary Katelyn Tisch Treasurer Jordan Vartanian

Forecast Chair Ted McHardy

Conference Chair Gaige Kerr

Alumni Chair Zach Labe

Outreach Chair Carolyn Entelisano

Webmaster / Soda FairyJeff Sussman

Apparel Chair Elisa Raffa

Social Chair Noah Grossman

Ithacation Editor Molly Smith

The New Field Guide to CCAMS Leaders