PSU center trains future meteorologists

Apr. 5—PLYMOUTH — The meteorology degree program headquartered at the Judd Gregg Meteorological Institute at Plymouth State University has trained forecasters for television stations in Boston and northern New England.

In the digital map room, students scan screens that provide shifting information from satellite and radar, plus past conditions based on weather balloon data and computer models that can help predict the weather about one to two weeks out.

"It's a soup of past, present and future," said Eric Kelsey, a research associate professor of meteorology at Plymouth State.

Meteorologists cannot predict climate change, he said. But Kelsey sees a potential for stronger winds in individual storms as Atlantic Ocean temperatures rise slightly and slowly.

"Wind is being influenced by climate change," he said. "But we're still not sure how wind has changed recently on average."

Most wind instruments are located in places with vegetation that grows taller over time, slowing the wind, and that makes it hard to adjust for those measurement differences.

Ricardo Nogueira, climate studies coordinator at the Gregg Meteorological Institute, harbors a professional fascination with hurricanes. He said there's no scientific evidence that hurricanes, which carry winds from 75 to over 250 mph, are occurring more frequently or that their winds are becoming more powerful.

But the slightly warmer Atlantic may affect the timing of the season. "While there's no scientific evidence," he said, "my feeling is you might have early hurricanes."

Hurricanes batter coastal areas with high winds, but they're not the main worry afterwards.

When they travel inland, hurricanes carry a boatload of tropical moisture. In 1969, Nogueira said, Hurricane Camille dumped 14 to 15 inches of rain in Louisiana and Missouri, and 25 to 26 inches of rain as it crossed West Virginia.