Profs & Pints Baltimore: The Twister Talk
Profs and Pints Baltimore presents: “The Twister Talk,” on tornadoes and advances in our understanding of them, with Jeffrey Halverson, professor of geography and environmental systems at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and author of An Introduction to Severe Storms and Hazardous Weather.
Springtime brings tornado outbreaks and devastation across the United States. The good news for those of us who anxiously eye the skies: Tornado science is rapidly evolving and improving, as are the means by which we detect funnel clouds and warn of their approach.
Get up to speed with what’s known about tornadoes with the help of Dr. Jeffery Halverson, a severe storm expert with the Washington Post Capital Weather Gang who previously has given excellent Profs and Pints talks on hurricanes and snowstorms.
He’ll describe how, with the help of research conducted by tornado hunters, meteorologists are using ever more sophisticated computer simulations and datasets to try to “crack the code” when it comes to how and where tornadoes form.
We’ll look at how science teams wielding Portable Doppler Radars on small trucks are learning that tornado wind speeds are much stronger than once presumed. We’ll consider how decades of data are changing how we think about “Tornado Alley,” and we’ll review what’s known about the relationship between tornadoes and climate change.
Professor Halverson will conclude by discussing the technological strides being made in terms of tornado warning and detection, and how tornado scientists are teaming up with social scientists to gain a better understanding of what leaves us vulnerable to natural hazards. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Bar doors open at 5 p.m. The talk starts at 6:30.)
