[1]

Although Cornell has an excellent

Atmospheric Science program,

broadcast meteorologists here do not

have the means or opportunity to

pursue the journalistic side to their

career. Therefore, our broadcast

meteorologists, including Adam

Epstein and myself, routinely venture

over to Ithaca College to learn the

broadcasting end of the meteorology

field.

Ithaca College has a phenomenal

journalism program within the Park

School of Communications, fully

equipped with several television

studios. One studio is dedicated to

Newswatch 16, a student run news

program. The show airs live on Time

Warner Cable’s channel 16 three

nights a week: Tuesdays, Thursdays,

and Sundays. The show includes two

continued on page 4

ITHACATIONSpring 2013 Volume 13, Issue 2

Broadcasting The Weather

On ICTVBy Elisa Raffa ’15

CCAMS OutreachBy Carolyn Entelisano ’13

Inspired by past Education and Outreach Chair Nikki Dulaney

'12 and acting as this year's chair, I decided to organize a CCAMS

science fair at a local middle school. The idea was to host an event

for middle-school aged children where we would demonstrate

hands-on science experiments in an attempt to spark an interest in

the field.

With help from several other CCAMS students, we were able to

design five presentations for the fifth and sixth graders at Spencer

Van Etten Middle School. Groups of five to six students rotated

around the room every ten minutes, visiting each demonstration

and soaking in knowledge about Earth science! The fair went

continued on page 2

Carolina Bieri ’16 and Bonnie Acosta ’16 teaching middle schoolers about the joys of tornadoes. Photo by Sage Hiller.

[2]

CCAMS Outreach, continued from page 1:

incredibly well and both the Cornell students and the middle school

students had a blast.

When the middle-schoolers found a minute or two, we asked them to

visit our giant poster in the middle of the room where they could draw or

write about their favorite weather phenomena or something they learned

from the fair thus far. By the end of the day, we had one crazy, mixed-up

drawing consisting of several tornadoes, lightning all over the place, and

rain flooding every open square inch of the paper.

Current Atmospheric Science students Carolina Bieri and Bonnie

Acosta did an excellent job with their tornado-in-a-bottle experiment! The

kids really seemed to enjoy being able to flip the system and watch the

tornado form (especially with all the farm animals swirling around inside

the bottle). Jeff Sussman and Molly Smith amazed everyone with their

explanation on pressure differences and Roop Singh delivered an awesome

demonstration on how to make fog. Brett Wiley and Aaron Match made a

really impressive presentation on rainbows and scattering and Sage Hiller

had a very cool, and relevant, activity for the kids to complete concerning

their own carbon footprints! A special thanks goes to Aaron for being

especially great with the kids and leading our closing activity; the kids loved

pretending to be photons and trying to make it across the room without

getting "scattered" (tagged) by the atmosphere.

We've already been invited back next year, so juniors -- get on it!!

INSIDE ITHACATION

CCAMS Outreach

By Carolyn EntelisanoPage 1

State of the CCAMS

By Sage Hiller and Joseph LeePage 3

Broadcasting the Weather--ICTV

By Elisa RaffaPage 1

AMS 2013--Musings

By Gaige KerrPage 8

AMS 2013--Soph. Transfer Persp.

By Zach ZambreskiPage 7

Flaws in Meteo. Infrastructure

By Zachary LabePage 10

Interview: Lee Goldberg

By Adam EpsteinPage 5

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

Ithaca Weather Humor

By Gaige KerrPage 11

Ithaca Winter Recap

By Molly SmithPage 12

CCAMS Elections

By Molly SmithPage 13

CCAMS Leaders Field Guide

By Molly SmithPage 14

Molly Smith ’14 and Jeff Sussman

’13 teaching middle schoolers about the joys of

thermal expansion. Photo by Sage

Hiller.

Ithacation edited by Molly Smith.

[3]

State of the CCAMS

By Sage Hiller ’13 and Joseph Lee ’13

As we round out another

productive semester in CCAMS,

it's amazing to look back on the

progress we have made

throughout the past year. So much

effort has been made by our

groups members it is clear that we

have as strong group as ever. We have been working

hard on several projects, including putting the finishing

touches on the long-awaited CCAMS Alumni Booklet

which will hopefully be printed and published by May.

Our Education and Outreach Chair organized an

outstanding middle school outreach event at the

Spencer Van Etten Middle School that we sent nine

students to in order to run it, and that had the after

school program director asking for us to come back

again next semester after it was over. We also had nine

students attend the AMS Meeting down in Austin, TX

this past January -- some of which even had the

opportunity to meet and talk with Louis Uccellini before

he assumed the role of the National Weather Service

director while he was still AMS President. Jeff Sussman

and Joseph Lee, along with other CCAMS alum,

"wow"-ed conference attendees as well with their

research and posters. 

Back on campus, believe it or not, our biggest issue

has been keeping the soda fridge in the kitchen fully

stocked. The rest of our initiatives seem to be excelling

nicely. As I write this, our plans are coming together to

have a powerhouse CCAMS Alumni Weekend with a

host of events lined up for attendees, including NECN

Primetime Meteorologist and CCAMS '00 alum Matt

Noyes' return to the Hill, in part to present a lecture to

our group and the wider Cornell/Ithaca community on

the challenges associated with communicating the

weather and its uncertainties. Our efforts on Facebook

with the Cornell Weather page have continued to grow

and translate into a more weather-minded and

situationally aware Cornell campus. We are also

planning to expand our social media outreach to Twitter

this April, along with the production and launch of a

new video promo ad that will hopefully thrust CCAMS

further into the spotlight of becoming student's and

faculty's go-to weather information source on campus.

And lastly, elections are indeed fast approaching for the

2013-2014 academic year, and we look forward to

welcoming in the new Co-President, Secretary, and

Treasurer positions. So, it is with a saddened heart that

we and the rest of the Class of 2013 come to face the

reality of moving on from the Hill and the CCAMS

family we've built up during our four years here.

However, there is a lot going for CCAMS and the

momentum is there to continue carrying us forward to

do great things past our imminent departure -- and if

time has its way, as fleeting as it is, an "imminent" arrival

of the Class of 2017 to Bradfield Hall as well.

Gaige Kerr, Former AMS President Louis Uccellini, Sage Hiller, and Molly Smith at the 2013 AMS Conference.

[4]

ICTV, continued from page 1:

news blocks that cover local and national news, a

weather block, and a sports segment that covers local

sports for both Ithaca College and Cornell University.

The communications majors at Ithaca College put

their all into the show. Several stories are filmed

through the streets of Ithaca and aired as packages

throughout the show, producers and directors work

around the clock to make sure everything is in order,

and anchors practice their stories for hours straight

before air time. However, despite all this, Ithaca

College is missing one important aspect to a news

show: a knowledgeable meteorologist! Ithaca College

does not have an atmospheric science major. Since

Cornell lacks the communications aspect and Ithaca

College needs a meteorologist, the two schools work

together. This is the program that Adam and I have

been a part of all year.

Each week I create a six-day forecast in preparation

for my live broadcast on Tuesday nights. In the

newsroom at Ithaca College, I create the graphics to go

along with my forecast on Photoshop. As annoying as

Photoshop is to work with, the graphics come out

looking very professional. Some general graphics I

always include are regional satellite images, national

and regional temperature maps, and projected surface

analysis maps to explain what will be happening with

the weather “tonight,” “tomorrow morning,” and

“tomorrow afternoon.” After creating my last slides,

the “16 Six-Day” forecast and “Wake Up Weather,” I

go over my slides a few times, practicing my

explanations as to not stumble in front of the camera.

Around 6:30pm I head down the hall to the studio as

we go live at 7pm. The hardest part about the job is

wiring up! In the studio I have to wear an IFB, or an

earpiece through which I can hear time signals from

my producer, and a microphone pack. All these wires

coming out of my pockets make for easy falls if I’m not

careful, but I’ve acquired the reflexes to deal. After two

news blocks, I finally get to put all my preparation to

work. In my three-minute segment, I banter with the

anchors as well as stand in front of the green screen to

present my forecast. At the end of the show, if time

permits, I do a small forecast from the desk called

“Wake Up Weather” that emphasizes the conditions

for the following day.

Working with Ithaca College on Newswatch 16 has

been an incredible experience. Not only have I learned

a lot about the weather by consistently observing and

forecasting the conditions, but I also have learned a

great deal about public speaking. Now, it is so much

easier to clearly explain weather systems to any

audience and that is a skill that will really come in

handy for the journalism industry.

This experience has really blossomed into a passion

for broadcast meteorology. With each show, Good

Morning America seems more and more tangible!

Hopefully one day I’ll make it there!

Elisa Raffa ready to broadcast the weather for ICTV.Photo provided by Elisa Raffa.

[5]

Interview: Lee Goldberg ’94Broadcast Meteorologist

Interview by Adam Epstein ’14

Lee Goldberg graduated from Cornell in 1994. He is a broadcast meteorologist for

WABC Eyewitness News in New York City.

This is the number one rated news show in the

number one market, so Lee can be considered

one of the best in the business.

When did you know you wanted to become a meteorologist?Lee Goldberg.

Photo provided by Adam Epstein

Why did you choose Cornell?

[I] made a visit to Cornell. I saw Bradfield Hall

and the windows from the classroom looking out

towards north campus. I talked to the professors,

knew it was smaller program. I knew I could get a

lot of 1-on-1 interaction with the professors. It had a

good reputation for the meteorology program,

especially grad program, which I didn’t know I

would do at the time. And that was it. It was kind of

an easy sell.

When I was about 12. I loved big snowstorms,

nor’easters. I made a weather station out of milk

cartons and shoeboxes and I knew from then that’s

what I wanted to do.

What was your favorite part about Cornell?

I thought it was just a great mix of people at

Cornell. I just thought it was a wide range of people

with different abilities, backgrounds, and strengths.

It was a great place for a kid from Boston who

thought he knew a lot about the world to really get

an eye opening and find out what the world is really

about.

Favorite meteorology professor?

I’d have to say a tie between Colucci and

Wysocki, to be politically correct. continued on page 6

[6]

Favorite bar at Cornell?

(Chuckles) I guess I’d have to say Ruloff ’s.

What was the most memorable event you forecasted for?

In Syracuse, it was the blizzard of ‘93. In New

York, hands down, Hurricane Sandy. The blizzard

of ‘93 is the storm that got me to New York.

continued from page 5 What was you first meteorology job?

WSTM in Syracuse. This started my broadcast

career. They actually hired me during my junior

year in college. They were using me to fill some

holes. Once I graduated, I received a full time offer

from WTVH down the street.

What is the best part about your job?

Wow, best part about my job, I guess if you pick

your favorite interest in life, outside of family, and

you get to tell millions of people about it everyday, I

don’t know what can be more gratifying. Work is

work, but my job description is to tell people about

the weather everyday. I’ve been doing it since I was

a kid. It’s not hard to put in all the work time

because it’s just so fun. It’s also great that it’s a

mystery and puzzle everyday. You could spend a lot

of time figuring out a detail, even on a slow day, and

really dive into the meteorology.

Do you have any advice for young Cornellian meteorologists?

Spend a lot of time in the map room.

What do you mean by map room?

My map room was having informal forecast

discussions after class, catching the professors before

they leave. Spend extra time on the 11th floor. Don’t

just spend class time on the 11th floor. Spend as

much time as you can in there. Have a lot of

interactions with the professors. They’ve been there

a long time. Their insights are incredibly valuable. It

will make the difference between knowing your craft

and mastering your craft. When it comes to the

working world and getting out there, be very, very

aggressive. Never think anything is out of your

reach. The difference for me was that I always put

myself in a position to succeed. You have to force

the issue. There’s too much competition out there.

You have to just be aggressive about it.

Lee Goldberg

forecasting a storm in the Northeast.

Image obtained

from WABC’s website.

[7]

AMS Conference 2013The Sophomore Transfer Perspective

By Zach Zambreski ’14

Deep in the heart of Texas, home to the 2013 AMS

Conference, the fog enshrouding the “end of the tunnel”

finally began to clear. As a sophomore transfer and

current junior in the department at Cornell, I’ve always

been unclear about job opportunities and career paths

outside of the typical broadcast and operational

meteorology tracks.  The AMS conference exposed me to

a wide-variety of different private companies looking to

hire undergraduates right out of college during its

signature “career fair”.  As a transfer student, I have felt

at times like being two steps behind my class when it

comes to internships and job employment for the future;

however, the career fair helped alleviate these fears. I was

able to visit at least 50 booths sponsored by all the

companies in our field and ask them questions regarding

employment opportunities for students at Cornell. I was

particularly impressed by the collection of companies that

the conference brought in to represent the field of

atmospheric sciences, for it opened up new avenues for

potential career paths in my mind that I would have never

considered. As someone who most likely will work after

graduation, I highly recommend attending the conference

at least once for this reason alone. Although the research

presentations were interesting, though on occasion slightly

tedious, the career fair in itself is definitely worth the

entire 5-day trip-- though for native Texans like myself, it

wasn’t quite the haul as it was for the New England and

West Coast natives in the department! 

After obtaining vital caffeine, Roop Singh, Molly Smith, Zach Zambreski, Gaige Kerr, and Zack Labe prepare to hit the conference floor.

[8]

Musings from the AMS 93rd Annual Meeting By Gaige Kerr ’15

The breadth and diversity of topics I was exposed to

in a week at the AMS conference trumps what I could

gain from an entire course at Cornell; many thanks to

the Atmospheric Science department, Cornell, and the

Bartels fund for their role in offsetting some of the costs

associated with attending the conference.

Favorite presenter: How many of you have read

Laura Ingalls Wilder books in primary school? Do you

remember the sixth book, The Long Winter, from her

“Little House on the Prairie” series? AMS presenter and

climatologist Barbara Mayes Boustead presented on her

research to validate Laura’s narrative of a particularly

brutal winter in the 1880s in the Great Plains by using

records from the fledgling National Weather Service (or

the “Division of Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit

of Commerce,” as it was known at the time), logs from

nearby military forts, entries from personal diaries, and

data from computer models.

Favorite undergraduate research: Currently

I’m pursuing a minor in music to complement my

degree in atmospheric sciences; I’ve all but given up

trying to find ways to link my interests in a physical

science and a fine art. Nicole Robertson, a senior I met

from University of Oklahoma, conducted her

undergraduate research on “The Effects of Atmospheric

Conditions on the Singer.” After speaking with

Robertson, I realized that she had not only done

extensive research on the scientific evidence for a

correlation between weather and singing but also had

included historical and anecdotal evidence.

Most importantly, kudos to Joseph and Jeff for

representing Cornell and CCAMS through the research

they presented.

continued on page 9

Zack Labe, Zach Zambreski, Gaige Kerr, and Molly Smith at restaurant Casino El Camino in Austin. Photo by Sage Hiller.

[9]

AMS Musings, continued from page 8

Favorite aspect of Austin: Spending a week in

60˚ weather after a semester in Ithaca and three weeks

of winter break in Wisconsin easily was one of the

highlights of my experiences in Austin. Other than the

weather (isn’t that appropriate for an aspiring

meteorologist?), the restaurants that Austin boasted

were phenomenal. A group of CCAMS members,

myself included, ate with our eyes rather than

stomachs as we ventured to Casino El Camino (as

featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives). The bar-b-q

was out of this world and unique to each restaurant,

and the tex-Mex found in restaurants on every block

was flavorful and fresh.

Best networking Experience: At the student

career fair I spoke with a representative from the Ball

Aerospace & Technologies Corporation who

encouraged students who were standing before her to

interact with each other. We began to shout out our

home states, and I quickly became paired up with a

fellow Wisconsinite. Nathan, a sophomore at Iowa

State University, grew up and attended school in a

town about fifteen miles from my house. After the

initial “it’s-a-small-world-after-all” feeling had worn

off, we exchanged numbers and have gotten to know

each other.

A supercell thunderstorm produces lightning and a funnel cloud in South Dakota. Photo by Ron Stenz ’12.

[10]

Flaws in the Present Meteorological Community

InfrastructureBy Zachary Labe ’15

The front page of the American Meteorological

Society blog section is a recent entry by J. Marshall

Sheperd (AMS President). The blog details several

concerns across NOAA agencies as budget cuts

continue in addition to a recently announced hiring

freeze. Gaps in data, lack of scientists in the work

force, and decreased research funding may introduce

higher forecast error and therefore greater public

impacts. He writes, “We are accustomed to progress

and innovation, but I fear capabilities will regress

instead, jeopardizing our lives, property, and security.”

Winter 2012-2013 has been characterized by

several high impact weather events some of which were

deemed as a series of computer model failures. They

resulted in many forecast ‘busts’ for areas in the Middle

Atlantic and Northeast. Both high resolution and global

models have had very poor verification values for

numerous major storm systems over the past several

months. Many of these errors have resulted from clear

model initiation errors. As a result this has produced

inaccurate tracks, Quantitative Precipitation

Forecast (QPF) values, and thermal fields. 

These particularly poor forecasts have once again

enhanced a continued bashing of the meteorological

community by hobbyists and the general public. While

I understand the frustration in these two parties, it must

be understand that these boundaries exist due to data

availability limitations in the meteorological

community. Also funding continues to be decreased at a

time when atmospheric research continues to reach

new heights. Many of these boundaries are not to be

blamed by meteorologists, but at elected political

officials and corporate leaders.

Parts of the meteorological community continue to

see setbacks. In addition, problems lie in surface and

upper air soundings. There are wide gaping holes

particularly across the northern Pacific, but in general

for most areas over the world's oceans. A key problem

in current atmospheric research is data and sharing it

across different meteorological agencies. 

A solution is to establish a more effective means of

sharing and yielding data between global, federal

offices and the private sector, but unfortunately

bureaucratic and corporate ways have once again

prevented full access to science. In conclusion, it is key

not to point fingers at individual meteorologist's busts,

but instead at bureaucratic differences between public

and private sectors which prevent a more fluid

approach to the present infrastructure of the

atmospheric sciences community. The technology and

data is essentially there, but boundaries prevent

scientist’s full access. The system must be fixed. And

perhaps current undergraduates and graduates that will

soon by entering the field with a fresh perspective can

reach this solution.

http://blog.ametsoc.org/

AMS President J. Marshall Sheperd. Image obtained from the University of Georgia’s website.

[11]

60 above zero:

Floridians turn on the heat.

People in Ithaca plant gardens.

50 above zero:

Californians shiver uncontrollably.

People in Ithaca sunbathe.

40 above zero:

Italian and English cars won’t start.

People in Ithaca drive with the windows down.

32 above zero:

Distilled water freezes.

The water in Cayuga Lake gets thicker.

20 above zero:

Floridians don coats, thermal underwear gloves, wool

hats.

People in Ithaca throw on a North Face shirt

15 above zero:

New York City landlords finally turn up the heat.

People in Ithaca visit the Farmers’ Market for the last

time before it gets cold.

Zero:

People in Miami all die.

Ithacans close the windows.

10 below zero:

Californians fly away to Mexico.

People in Ithaca get out their North Face down jackets.

25 below zero:

Hollywood disintegrates.

The Girl Scouts in Ithaca are selling cookies in

Collegetown.

40 below zero:

Washington, D.C. runs out of hot air.

People in Ithaca attend an ice carving contest in the

Commons

100 below zero:

Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.

Ithacans get upset because they can’t start their

Subarus.

500 below zero:

Hell freezes over.

President Skorton announces that Cornell will open

two hours late.

Ithaca Weather HumorAdapted by Gaige Kerr ’15

[12]

Temperature:

Despite having a few weeks of hellish single digit

temperatures, the winter of 2012-2013 was actually

Ithaca’s 18th warmest of its 113-year record, with an

average temperature of 28.2ºF. For comparison, last

year’s record-breakingly warm winter had an average

temperature of 30.9ºF, while the overall average since

the record began is 25.8ºF.

Precipitation:

It turns out that this was a wet winter for Ithaca too.

The winter of 2012-2013 was the 4th wettest of

Ithaca’s 114-year precipitation record, with an

accumulation of 9.90” over the winter months. For

comparison, last year’s dry winter saw only 5.75”,

while the overall average winter precipitation is 6.46”.

Winter on the Arts Quad. Photo by Roop Singh ’14.

Winter Weather RoundupBy Molly Smith ’14. Data Provided by Keith Eggleston ’82 of the NRCC.

Snowy woods in Ithaca. Photo by Sarah Schlunegger ’14.

[13]

CCAMS Elections

By Molly Smith ’14

CCAMS held elections for the 2013-2014 officers

on April 5, 2013. There were some very competitive

races this year, with four candidates for the two co-

president spots, two candidates for treasurer, and three

candidates for secretary.

The candidates ran a strong campaigns, giving

short speeches outlining their plans for the club, and the

direction they would lead if elected. Some promised to

increase CCAMS social opportunities, with more

intramural sports participation, dinners in Collegetown,

and CCAMS karaoke. Other candidates emphasized a

need for more forecasting opportunities, pledging to

bring in professional meteorologists to present on

different career opportunities.

The new co-presidents for the 2013-2014 year will

be Roop Singh ’14 and Zach Zambreski ’14, after a

close race against fellow rising seniors Molly Smith ’14

and Colin Raymond ’14. Roop and Zach did especially

well in the candidate Q&A session, with creative ideas

for new CCAMS social opportunities.

The 2013-2014 treasurer will be Gaige Kerr ’15,

after a competitive race with John Burchfield ’16. Gaige

outlined a comprehensive plan for using CCAMS dues

more efficiently to help subsidize social events, such as

dinners with the professors in Collegetown.

The 2013-2014 secretary will be Thailynn Munroe

’16, after defeating Elisa Raffa ’15 and Tom Scanlon

’15. Thailynn pledged to focus especially on

fundraising, so that CCAMS has the budget to do more

amazing things.

Congratulations to the winners of the elections, and

good luck next year!

Co-president Elect Roop Singh ’14

Treasurer Elect Gaige Kerr ’15

Secretary ElectThailynn Munroe ’16

Co-president Elect Zach Zambreski ’14

[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

CCAMS Leaders--The Field Guide