Awards

Student awards at the National Weather Association Annual Meeting are supported by donations from the National Weather Association Foundation General Fund.

** Awards prior to 2017 were provided by the National Weather Association.

In 2005, the NWA Weather Analysis and Forecasting (WAF) Committee initiated this addition to the NWA Awards Program. At each Annual Meeting, students (undergraduate and graduate) made known their wishes to be in competition for these awards when they submitted their abstracts. Members of the WAF Committee reviewed each presentation and recommended their choices of the best to the NWA President for approval. The President awarded the students with a congratulatory letter, a cash stipend and a complimentary NWA membership for the following year.


2021 Award Winners
46th NWA Annual Meeting
Tulsa, Oklahoma,  Missouri, 21-25 August 2021

Graduate Oral Presentation: Joseph Trujillo-Falcon, Co-Producing Next-Generation Warnings: A National Survey of Broadcast Meteorologists.
Undergraduate Oral Presentation Jacob Morse: Evaluating Graphics Used to Communicate Uncertainty and Probabilistic Winter Weather Information
 
Graduate Poster:
1) #40 Julie Cummingham: Orographic Spillover and Invigoration of Lake-Effect Precipitation Downwind of Lake Ontario
2) #147 Matthew Seymour: Initial & Boundary Condition Uncertainy's Role in Predicting Precipitation Type in Complex Terrain
3) #51 Sean Ernst: Cracking the TORFF Code: Testing an AI Coding Scheme on Broadcaster Coverage of TORFF Events
Undergraduate Poster:
1) #164 David Topping: Assessment of Meteorological Phenomena that Impact Winter Precipitation Type in the Mid-Atlantic
2) #33 Alex Cheung - The Radius of Utility for Identifying Snow Squalls with Radar
3) #115 Shannon McCloskey - Exploring How Early Season Tropical Cyclones Indicate Full Season Activity

 

2018 Award Winners
43rd NWA Annual Meeting
St. Louis, Missouri, 25-30 August 2018

Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Peyton Barlow, University of South Alabama, for Thermodynamic and Kinematic Properties of Isolated Convective Cells in the Rainband Region of Atlantic Hurricanes Second Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Paula Sumrall, University of Missouri, for A Statistical Approach for Defining Speed Thresholds for Upper Jet Streaks

Third Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Sam Ritter, University of Missouri, for Study of a Tornado Event in Indiana and Ohio on 19 April 2011

Best Undergraduate Student Oral Presentation: Robert MacDonald, University of Oklahoma, for When Thunder Roars: A Quantitative Assessment of Argument Strength, Risk Efficacy, and Cognitive Elaboration in Severe Weather Threat Messaging

Best Graduate Student Poster Presentation: John R. Banghoff, Penn State University, for Planetary Boundary Layer Depth Estimation from Dual-Polarization Radar

Second Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Alexander Elmore, St. Louis University, for Analog-Based Severe Probability Guidance

Third Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Katherine Rojas and Alexander Korner, University of Missouri, for ENSO and PDO related Variability in South Pacific Circulation Patterns and Seasonal Range Prediction for the Altiplano Region of Bolivia in South America


2017 Award Winners
42nd NWA Annual Meeting
Garden Grove, Calfiornia, 16-21 September 2017Best Undergraduate Student Presentation: Ty Dickinson and Erica Lopez, University of Oklahoma for PThe Oklahoma Weather Lab and Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program: How This One of a Kind Partnership is Pioneering Public-Aimed Mid-Range ForecastsSecond Place Undergraduate Student Presentation: Eric Allen, University of Delaware for Numerical Weather Prediction Analysis of Cold Air Damming in the Mid-Atlantic RegionBest Graduate Student Presentation: Chasity Henson, University of Missouri - Columbia, for Ensemble Trajectories and Moisture Quantification for the Hurricane Joaquin (2015) Event

Second Place Graduate Student Presentation: Jeremy Shermak, University of Texas - Austin, for National Weather Service as Gatekeeper: Social Media Posts by Local News Outlets and NWS New Orleans During the February 2017 Tornado Outbreak


2016 Award Winners
41st NWA Annual Meeting
Norfolk, Virginia, 10-15 September 2016Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Amanda R. Reynolds and Brian T. Mastro, Pennsylvania State University for Penn State Live Broadcast Team - Broadcasting Through The StormSecond Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Michael R. Scanlan, North Carolina State University, for Long term GFS Model Snowfall Forecast Validity in Central North CarolinaThird Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Doug Kahn , University of Maryland for Utilization of Lightning Event Heights in the Warning Decision Process

Best Undergraduate Student Oral Presentation: Sean R. Ernst, for Understanding EM Information Needs During Severe Weather Events

Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation: John R. Banghoff, Penn State University, for Severe Weather Meets the Pitch: Forecasting for MAPFRE Stadium

Second Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation (tie): Alexander Elmore, Mississippi State University, for Nocturnal Tornado Outbreak Climatology

Second Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation (tie): Alexandra L. Caruthers, University of Nebraska, for Sensitivity of Tropical Storm Erin to Land Use Land Cover Changes in the Southern Great Plains

Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation: Minh D. Phan East Carolina University, for Communicating Weather Information through Social Media-rology: An Assessment of the National Weather Service's Social Media Content and Account Analytics


2015 Award Winners
40th NWA Annual Meeting
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 17-22 October 2015This year's winners of the best student presentations were announced at the NWA Awards Luncheon during the Annual Meeting in Oklahoma City, OK, 21 October 2015. Christina Crowe, chair of the NWA WAF Committee, Dan Gallagher, and Dann Cianca led the judging this year, joined by NWA members from both the WAF and Professional Development Committees. The quality of posters and professionalism of presentations greatly impressed the judges again this year.Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Lynnette Grant, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN, for The Color Conundrum: The Many variations of One Watch or WarningSecond Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Brett Borchardt, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, for Operational Uses of Spectrum Width to Improve Warnings for Quasi-Linear Convection in the Western Great LakesHis co-author was Eric Lenning.

Third Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Benjamin Trabing, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, for Lightning Activity in 2014 Atlantic Tropical CyclonesHis co-author was Don MacGorman.

Best Undergraduate Student Oral Presentation: Matthew Bolton, Pasco-Hernando State College, New Port Richey, FL, for Learning Disorders and the Meteorological Community: Implications for Communication and Education His co-author was William Blumberg.

Best Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Robert Clark III University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, for Towards Hazard Services Recommenders for Flash Flood Forecasting. His co-authors were Zachary Flamig, Jonathan Gourley, and Yang Hong.

Second Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Galateia Terti, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, for Target the Warnings: Probabilistic Flash Flood Casualties Prediction.Her co-authors were Isabelle Ruin, Sandrine Anquetin, and Jonathan Gourley.

Third Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: William Blumberg, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, for Insights Regarding the Use of Ground-Based Spectral Infrared Thermodynamic Sounders in Forecasting Deep ConvectionHis co-author was David Turner.

Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation: Katie Bowden, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, for Verification of Eye-Tracking During the Forecaster Warning Decision Process: A Pilot Experiment.Her co-authors were Pamela Heinselman and Ziho Kang.


2014 Award Winners
39th NWA Annual Meeting
Salt Lake City, Utah, 18-23 October 2014This year's winners of the best student presentations were announced at the NWA Awards Luncheon during the Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, 22 October 2014. Christina Crowe, chair of the NWA WAF Committee, and Dan Gallagher led the judging this year, joined by NWA members from both the WAF and Professional Development Committees. The quality of posters and professionalism of presentations greatly impressed the judges again this year.Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: John Banghoff Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, for Analysis of Polarimetric Tornado Debris Signatures Observed by WSR-88D Associated with Significant Tornadoes. His co-author was Steve Nelson.Second Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Jessica Tomaszewski, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, for Determining an Ideal Vertical Localization for Cloud Water Path Assimilation within WRF-DART.

Third Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Alexandra Caruthers, Valparaiso University, Valparasio, IN, for Synoptic and Lake-Effect Classification of Snowfall in the Lake Michigan Region: Deriving Clarity Using WRF Simulations.

Best Undergraduate Student Oral Presentation: Benjamin Toms, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, for Development of a Black Ice Numerical Weather Prediction Model. His co-authors were Yang Hong and Jeffrey Basara.

Best Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Matthew Mahalik, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, for Objective Identification of Supercellular Internal Momentum Surges Using Idealized Simulations. His co-author was Johannes Dahl.

Second Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Aisha Reed Haynes, George Mason University, Silver Spring, MD, for Utilizing Geographic Information Systems to Generate Flood Warning Polygons.

Third Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Leah Campbell, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, for Interactions of lake-effect storms with topography: Results from the Ontario Winter Lake-effect Systems (OWLeS) field campaign. Her co-authors were W. James Steenburgh, Peter Veals, Justin Minder, and Ted Letcher.

Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation: Matthew Lammers, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, for Verification of National Weather Service Spot Forecasts Using Surface Observations.His co-author was John Horel.


2013 Award Winners
38th NWA Annual Meeting
North Charleston, South Carolina, 12-17 October 2013This year's winners of the best student presentations were announced at the NWA Awards Luncheon during the Annual Meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, 16 October 2013. Christina Crowe, chair of the NWA WAF Committee, and Dan Gallagher led the judging this year, joined by NWA members: Trisha Palmer, Ken Carey, Dr. Chad Gravelle, Bryan Wood, Elise Schultz, Dr. Scott Rochette, Bob Dreisewerd, Katie Crandall, Dr. Chris Melick, and Dr. Chuck Graves. The quality of posters and presentations once again made for difficult judging decisions.Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Kevin Biernat Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, for Analysis of Wet and Dry Microburst Simulations and the Importance of the Elevated Dry Layer on Wet Microburst Formation and Strength. His co-author was Dr. Leigh Orf.Second Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Chris Birchfield, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, for Evaluation of probabilistic snowfall amount forecasts for decision support in the Mid-Atlantic Region. His co-authors were Steven Zubrick and Kenneth Widelski.

Third Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Elizabeth Smith, California University of Pennsylvania, California, PA, for Investigating the Role of Two-Inch Soil Temperatures in Snowfall. Her co-author was Rob Cox.

Best Undergraduate Student Oral Presentation: Devin Boyer, Penn State University, University Park, PA, for Tested with Fire: Successes and Challenges of a Student-Run Forecasting Operation.

Best Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Robert "Race" Clark, University of Oklahoma-CIMMS and NOAA/OAR/NSL, Norman, OK, for A CONUS-wide analysis of flash flooding: simulations, warnings, and observations. His co-authors were JJ Gourley, Yang Hong, Zac Flamig, and Ed Clark.

Second Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Jen Henderson, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, for A Calculated Risk: One Storm Chase Groups Experience with the El Reno and OKC Tornadoes.

Third Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Joshua Kastman and Laurel McCoy, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, for Case Review July 11, 2006; Springfield MO County Warning Area: Elevated convection resulting in heavy rainfall and flash flooding due to upper and lower-level jet coupling. Their co-author was Dr. Patrick Market.

Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation: Benjamin Herzog, Univ of Oklahoma/CIMMS, Norman, OK, for Total Lightning Information in a 5-Year Thunderstorm Climatology.His co-authors were Kristin M Calhoun and Donald R. MacGorman.


2012 Award Winners
37th NWA Annual Meeting
Madison, Wisconsin, 6-11 October 2012This year's winners of the best student presentations were announced at the NWA Awards Luncheon during the Annual Meeting in Madison, Wisconsin, 10 October 2012. Sam Ng, chair of the NWA WAF Committee, led the judging this year, joined by NWA members: Christina Crowe, Dr. Marty Baxter, Mike Eckert, Dan Gallagher, Dr. Anthony Lupo, Andrew Molthan, Wayne MacKenzie, and Chad Gravelle. The quality of posters and presentations once again made for difficult judging decisions.Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: William A. LaForce, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, for Comparison of Two Forecasts for Tornadoes Associated with Cold-Core 500-mb Lows: Surprise and Bust. His co-author was Dr. Martin A. Baxter.Second Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Brian Crow, University of Missouri at Columbia, Columbia, MO, for Forecast Assessment of Two Challenging Lake-Effect Snow Events in the Eastern Great Lakes Region. His co-authors were Neil Laird and David Zaff.

Third Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Jonathan Labriola, RSMAS University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, for Prediction of Tropical Cyclogenesis using Operational, Statistical, and Dynamical Models. His co-author was Sharanya J. Majumdar.

Best Undergraduate Student Oral Presentation: Dawn P. Wedig, University of North Carolina - Asheville, Asheville, NC, for An Evaluation of Convective Warning Utilization by the General Public. Her co-authors were Christopher M. Godfrey, P. Wolf, M. K. Goldsbury and J. A. Caudill.

Best Graduate Student Poster Presentation: William Line, CIMSS/SSEC/University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, for Future Improvements to Very-short-range Forecasts of the Pre-convective Environment Using Operational Geostationary Satellite Observations. His co-authors were Ralph Petersen, Robert Aune and Richard Dworak.

Second Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Agnes Lim, CIMSS/SSEC/University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, for Assimilation of AIRS Radiances using GSI/WRF for Short Term Regional Forecasts. Her co-authors were Jim Jung, Allen Huang and Steve Ackerman.

Third Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Jason Apke, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, for Evaluation of the GOES-R Proving Ground Convective Initiation Nowcasting Products in the Plains. His co-authors were Mark R. Anderson, Dan Nietfeld, Casey Griffin and Adam Taylor.

Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation: Jordan Gerth, CIMSS/SSEC/University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, for Linear Optimization as a Solution to Improve the Sky Cover Guess, Forecast.


2011 Award Winners
36th NWA Annual Meeting
Birmingham, Alabama, 15-20 October 2011Sam Ng, chair of the NWA WAF Committee announced the winners of the best student presentations for the NWA Annual Meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, 15-21 October 2011. Sam’s committee of judges included NWA members: Chris Buonanno, Christina Crowe, Dr. Marty Baxter, Mike Eckert, John Gagan, Dan Gallagher, Dr. Anthony Lupo, Miles Muzio and Dr. David Radell. The quality of posters and presentations once again made for difficult judging decisions.Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Aaron Mayhew, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI for Critical Sounding Parameters for Severe Pulse Thunderstorms in Coastal South Carolina. His co-author is Frank Alsheimer, NOAA/National Weather Service, Charleston, SC.Second Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Scott Ozog, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI for Patterns that Produce Large and Small Snowfall Events for Homer, Alaska. His co-author is James Nelson, NOAA/National Weather Service, Anchorage, AK.

Third Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Brian Crow and Evan Kutta, University of Missouri at Columbia, Columbia, MO for The Historic Cold Wave of November 11, 1911 in Missouri: Using A Modern Cold Frontal Passage to Draw Parallels to a Historic Weather Event. Their co-authors are: Jennifer L. Power, Patrick S. Market, Katie Crandall and Neil I. Fox, University of Missouri at Columbia, Columbia, MO and Patrick E. Guinan, Missouri Climate Center, Columbia, MO.

Best Undergraduate Student Oral Presentation: Matthew S. Stalley, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO for Quantifying the Significance of the 26-27 April 2011 Severe Weather Outbreak. His co-authors are Chad M. Gravelle and Charles E. Graves, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO and John P. Gagan, NOAA/National Weather Service, Springfield, MO.

Best Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Elise V. Schultz, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL for Evaluation of Dual-Polarimetric Radar in a Physically-Based Lightning Cessation Nowcasting Application. Her co-authors are Lawrence D. Carey, University of Alabama in Huntsville, and Walter A. Petersen, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL.

Second Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Christopher J. Schultz, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL for An Overview of the Total Lightning Jump Algorithm: Past, Present and Future Work. His co-authors are Walter A. Petersen, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL; Lawrence D. Carey, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL and Wiebke Deierling and Cathy Kessinger, Research Applications Laboratory, NCAR, Boulder, CO.

Third Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Courtney N. Thompson, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL for The Impact of Social Network Communication during the April 27, 2011 Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tornado. Her co-author is David M. Brommer, Department of Geography, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.

Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation: Todd A. Murphy, University of Alabama at Huntsville, Huntsville, AL for Observations and Operational Importance of Wave Like Features Interacting with QLCS. His co-authors were Ryan A. Wade, Timothy A. Coleman and Kevin R. Knupp, University of Alabama at Huntsville, Huntsville, AL.


2010 Award Winners
35th NWA Annual Meeting
Tucson, Arizona, 2-7 October 2010Sam Ng, chair of the NWA WAF Committee announced the winners of the best student presentations for the NWA Annual Meeting in Tucson, Arizona, 2 -7 October 2010. Sam’s committee of judges included NWA members: Mike Eckert, Fred Glass, Kevin Scharfenberg, Dan Gallagher, Pat Market, Scott Rochette, Marty Baxter, Elise Johnson, Michael Paddock, Glenn Lader, Craig Shoemaker, and Chris Buonanno. The quality of posters and presentations once again made for difficult judging decisions.Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Mike Piatek-Jimenez, Central Michigan University, for Analysis of Microphysics Scheme Performance with the October 2006 Buffalo Snowstorm. His co-author was Dr. Martin Baxter of Central Michigan University.Second Place Graduate Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Sarah Trojniak, Central Michigan University, for New England Tornado Characteristics. Her co-authors were Dan St. Jean and David Glenn of the NOAA/NWS Forecast Office in Gray, ME.

Third Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Dan Peck, Kean University, for A Preliminary Lake Effect Assessment Study and Evaluation. Their co-author was Dr. Paul Croft of Kean University.

Best Undergraduate Oral Poster Presentation: Matt Albanese (L) and Tom Skic (R), Kean University, for Keancast - Kean University's Weathercasting System. His co-authors were Dr. Paul Croft of Kean University.

Best Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Kaba Baj, University of Wisconsin, Working with the National Weather Service (NWS) Forecasters in Preparation for use of the GOES-R Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI). His co-authors were Justin Sieglaff and Tim Achtor of University of Wisconsin/CIMMS, Marcia Cronce of the NOAA/NWS Forecast Office in Madison, WI and Tim Schmit of NOAA/NESDID.

Second Place Graduate Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Trevor Alcott, University of Utah, for Predictability and Morphology of Great Salt Lake-Effect Precipitation. His co-authors were Dr. James Steenburgh of University of Utah and Dr. Neil F. Laird, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY.

Third Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Cristina A. Mazza, University of South Florida, for The Spatial Distribution of Rainfall Patterns in Pinellas County, FL. Her co-authors were Dr. Jennifer Collins of University of South Florida and Charles Paxton of the NOAA/NWS Forecast Office in Tampa, FL.

Best Graduate Oral Poster Presentation: Elise V. Schultz, University of Alabama - Huntsville, for Exploring a Physically-based Tool for Lightning Cessation: Preliminary Results. Her co-authors were Dr. Lawrence D. Carey, Dennis E. Buechler, and Patrick Gatlin of University of Alabama – Huntsville and Walter A. Petersen of NASA/MSFC.


2009 Award Winners
34th NWA Annual Meeting
Norfolk, Virginia 17-22 October 2009John Gagan, chair of the NWA WAF Committee announced the winners of the best student presentations for the NWA Annual Meeting in Norfolk, Virginia, 18-22 October 2009. John's committee of judges included NWA members: Kevin Scharfenberg, Alan Gerard, Scott Rochette, Christina Crowe, Elise Johnson and Tony Lupo. The quality of posters and presentations once again made for difficult judging decisions.Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Morgan E. Brooks, North Carolina State University, for Methodology and Assessment of Marine Small Craft Advisories issued by the Baltimore/Washington National Weather Service Office. Her co-authors were Brandon Peloquin and Steven Zubrick of the NOAA/NWS Forecast Office in Sterling, VA.Second Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Cort Scholten, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI, for Analyses of Radar-Observed Descending Reflectivity Cores in Supercell Thunderstorms. His co-author was Dr. Leigh Orf of Central Michigan University.

Third Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Charles Aldrich, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, for In the Heat, Check the Backseat!. His co-author was John Gordon of the NOAA/NWS Forecast Office in Louisville, KY.There were no undergraduate oral presentations this year.

Best Graduate Student Poster Presentation: C. Forbes Tompkins, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, for Modeling Studies of Mesoscale Convective Systems and Tropical Cyclogenesis along the Coast of West Africa. His co-author was Dr. Sen Chiao of the Florida Institute of Technology.

Second Place Graduate Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Ruth L. Nahmensen, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, for Composite Analysis of Cool-Season Severe Weather Outbreaks in the Lower Ohio Valley. Her co-authors were Chad Gravelle and Dr. Charles Graves of Saint Louis University, Theodore Funk of the NOAA/NWS Forecast Office in Louisville, KY and Patrick Spoden of the NOAA/NWS Forecast Office in Paducah, KY.

Third Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Shari Dixon, Howard University, for Observations of Lightning Trends Using the Washington D.C. Lightning Mapping Array (DC-LMA) and Severe Weather. Her co-authors were Gregory Jenkins of Howard University, Mamoudou Ba of NOAA/NWS/MDL Silver Spring, MD and Steven Zubrick of the NOAA/NWS Forecast Office in Sterling, VA.

Best Graduate Oral Poster Presentation: Chad Gravelle, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, for Verification of the Cooperative Institute for Precipitation Systems Analog Guidance Probabilistic Products. His co-authors were Dr. Charles Graves of Saint Louis University, John Gagan of the NOAA/NWS Forecast Office in Springfield, MO, Fred Glass of the NOAA/NWS Forecast Office in St. Louis, MO and Michael Evans of the NOAA/NWS Forecast Office in Binghamton, NY.


2008 Award Winners
33rd NWA Annual Meeting
Louisville, Kentucky, 11-16 October 2008John Gagan, chair of the WAF Committee announced the winners of the best student presentations at the Annual Awards Luncheon at the NWA Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, 11-16 October 2008.Best Undergraduate Student Oral Presentation: Chauncy Schultz, University of North Dakota, for A Reanalysis of the Fargo, North Dakota F5 Tornado (20 June 1957) Using Today's TechnologyBest Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Elizabeth Thompson, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, for Analysis of the 4 July 2006 Washington, DC Severe Thunderstorm: Overview with Synoptic and Mesoscale Assessment. Her co-authors were Sarah Rogowski, Steven Zubrick and Steve Listemaa of the NOAA/NWS Forecast Office in Sterling, VA.

Second Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Jayson Gosselin, Saint Louis University, for Compositing Analysis of Heavy Snow Events Within the Saint Louis, Missouri, County Warning Area. His co-authors were Chad Gravelle and Charles E. Graves of Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, Missouri, and Fred Glass of the NOAA/NWS Forecast Office in Saint Charles, Missouri.

Third Place Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Kimberly Hoogewind, Central Michigan University, for Accuracy of a Local WRF-ARW Model Run for the 22-24 December 2007 Cyclone Using the New Model Evaluation Tools Verification Package. Her co-author was Martin Baxter, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation: Elise Johnson, University of Alabama-Huntsville, for Lightning Behavior and its Dependence on Storm Kinematic and Precipitation Processes for an EF-4 Tornado Producing Supercell on 6 February 2008.

Best Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Emily Berndt, Saint Louis University, for WRF-ARW Simulations of a Mesoscale Snowband Event in Des Moines Iowa. Her co-author was Charles E. Graves of Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, Missouri.

Second Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: David Keeney, Mississippi State University, for Relationship Between Vegetation Boundaries and Severe Local Storms in the Delta Region of Mississippi. His co-author was Michael Brown of Mississippi State University.

Third Place Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Christina Crowe, University of Alabama-Huntsville, for Mesoscale Analysis of the Jackson County Storm: February 5-6, 2008.

 


2007 Award Winners
32nd NWA Annual Meeting
Reno, Nevada, 13-18 October 2007Best Undergraduate Student Oral Presentation: Ryan Kelly, Kean University, for Integrating NJWXNET, WRF and GIS to Study NJ Mesoscale Weather Phenomena. His co-author was Shing Yoh, Kean University, Union, New Jersey.Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Brandon Hoving, Central Michigan University, for Accuracy of a WRF Simulation of the 12 June 2001 Mesoscale Convective System. His co-author was Martin Baxter, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan.Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation: Brian J. Billings, Desert Research Institute, for Determining the Onset of Strong Westerlies During Persistent Mountain Wave Activity. His co-author was Vanda Grubisic, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada.

Best Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Chad Gravelle, Saint Louis University, for A Climatology and Statistical Classification of Midwestern Snow Bands: A Process-Oriented Approach. His co-authors were Charles Graves, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, Missouri, and Scott Rochette, SUNY College at Brockport, New York.

 


2006 Award Winners
31st NWA Annual Meeting
Cleveland, Ohio, 14-19 October 2006Best Undergraduate Student Oral Presentation: Christina Crowe, University of Missouri-Columbia, for On the Co-existence of Thundersnow and Heavy Snowfall. Her co-authors were Patrick Market, Brian Pettegrew, and Chris Melick, of the University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri.Best Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Audra C. Hennecke, The Pennsylvania State University, for Enhancements to Area Specific Flash Flood Warnings. Her co-authors were Stephen Rogowski, Richard Hitchens and Sarah E. Allen of NOAA/NWS Office, Sterling, Virginia.Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation: Benjamin V. Root, The Pennsylvania State University, for A Fingerprinting Technique for Major Weather Events. His co-authors were Paul G. Knight, Penn State University, Richard H. Grumm, NOAA/NWS Office State College, Pennsylvania, Jeremy Ross, ZedX Inc., and Steven Greybush, Penn State University.

Best Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Emily Eisenacher, Saint Louis University, for An Investigation of the Radar Characteristics and the Environment of a Mesoscale Snowband that formed on 15 March 2004. Her co-authors were Charles E. Graves and the late James T. Moore, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, Missouri.

 


2005 Award Winners
30th NWA Annual Meeting
Saint Louis, Missouri, 15-20 October 2005Best Undergraduate Student Oral Presentation: Nathan Davis, University of Missouri-Columbia, for An Analysis of the Impact of Blocking on North American and Eurasian SummersBest Undergraduate Student Poster Presentation: Andrea Lammers, Indiana University at Bloomington, and Sarah Ede, Western Kentucky University, for Designing Historical Weather PostersBest Graduate Student Oral Presentation: Michael Paddock, Saint Louis University, for A Conceptual Model Depicting Processes Important for the Generation of Meso-Beta Scale Snow Bands

Best Graduate Student Poster Presentation: Kevin Birk, University of Missouri-Columbia, for The Interannual Variability of Midwestern Temperatures as related to the ENSO and PDO