I’m at the 41st Conference on Broadcast Meteorology here in Nashville,TN this week. It started Tuesday with a fantastic short course on climate change (which I will write much more about later), and today was also superb.

The highlight for me today was a talk by Matthew Cappucci entitled Gust Front Related Waterspouts. Matt is not a meteorologist who has been working on front of a camera for many years (like most of the attendees here). He is a high school student from Plymouth, Massachusetts, who wants to become a meteorologist someday.

Question: Would you have had the ability to present a technical paper to 300 broadcast meteorologists at a science meeting?? When you were in high school??

I know I sure couldn’t!

Matthew attended a weather camp put on by Michael Mogill (who has worked as a meteorologist for many years both for NOAA, in TV and in the private sector). Mike Mogil has presented many fantastic talks at this conference over the years, and we share a deep passion for science, and science education in America.

Mike Mogul lives what he preaches, and he acted as a mentor to Matthew. The talk by both of them today was fantastic, and I’ll post the video clip of the talks when the American Meteorological Society makes them available in a few weeks. If you know a student who might be interested in going to weather camp, contact Michael at HOW THE WEATHER WORKS

By the way, Matthew got a standing ovation!

They both deserve one.