I would like to personally thank Dr Klotzbach for taking the time out of his busy schedule to sit and answer these questions for my blog.... all the very best to your future work within the tropical meteorological field.
Q and A
1) Hi Phil, Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for markvoganweather@blogspot.com. Could you start by telling us a little about yourself, where your from, when did you get an interest in the weather, etc etc?
My name is Phil Klotzbach. I grew up in Plymouth, Massachusetts where I lived until I was 19 years old. I then came out to Colorado State University to attend graduate school with Dr. William Gray. I've always been fascinated by the weather since I was very young. I remember asking my dad to print off blank maps of the United States so that I could draw weather patterns on them. Hurricane Gloria came through New England in 1985, and ever since then, I've been trying to figure out what makes these storms tick!
2) Now, your a Doctor? Where did you graduate from and what subject,(s), what did you least like and most like during your years of study and research?, did your studies lead you to any interesting places?
I went to undergraduate school at Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. I graduated in 1999 with a degree in Geography. I took one year off from school and worked at a local public transit organization mapping and planning bus routes. I then attended Colorado State University for my Masters and Ph. D. degree. My studies have led me to many interesting tropical destinations including the Bahamas, Bermuda and Barbados. I also attended a climate conference in Switzerland back in 2004.I really enjoyed studying the weather and trying to understand why storms form and develop where they do. The more rigorous theoretical and mathematical aspects of tropical meteorology were probably the area that I enjoyed the least while studying atmospheric science. I've never been a great mathematician.
3) Now, your working at the Colorado State University along side Dr William Gray, it must be quite an honor to work along side a man of his experience, knowledge and dedication to weather and climate for so many years. When did you start at CSU and could you tell me a little about your work there, what kind of duties do you do there on a daily and monthly basis?
Working with Dr. Gray has been a real privilege. I've been working with him since I came out to CSU to go to graduate school in 2000. He's been a phenomenal mentor and friend to me over these past nine years. I've been working on the Atlantic basin seasonal hurricane forecasts since 2001, and I took over as the lead author on the forecasts in 2006, since Dr. Gray wanted to focus more on synthesizing some of his historical hurricane research and continuing researching climate change. My job on a daily basis consists of keeping up with the latest research (aka, reading lots of journal articles), developing and refining our seasonal forecasts as well as developing new forecasting and landfall probability techniques. I also write up and publish journal articles discussing our research. I typically also speak at 10-12 hurricane conferences every year.
4) Your currently living in a non tropical or hurricane zone, have you encountered hurricanes for yourself?
As I mentioned before, I grew up in Massachusetts, so I encountered both Hurricane Gloria in 1985 and Hurricane Bob in 1991. Since I now live in Colorado, I haven't encountered any hurricanes lately!
5) What's your favorite season and weather?
I really love fall! I love warm days and crisp, cool nights.
6) How often do you visit tropical areas and when you do where?
I typically head to the southeast US fairly frequently from April-June for various hurricane conferences. I also have given talks on a few islands in the Caribbean.
7) Do you visit the National Hurricane Center in Miami? If so how often?
I typically visit the National Hurricane Center about once per year. I stay in close contact with several of the NHC forecasters.
8) Do you have a particular "favorite" destination you like to visit?
I really enjoy the Bahamas Weather Conference.
9) During the busy run-up to hurricane season I understand your here, there and everywhere, do you have "set annual" conferences that you attend, how many interviews do you do? and do you lead seminars and do talks often? What kind of audience do you have in front of you? I take it, it's the big names within the tropical weather community?
I typically speak at the National Hurricane Conference, the Florida Governor's Hurricane Conference and the Bahamas Weather Conference. I will also occasionally talk at other emergency management/preparedness conferences during that time of year. The number of attendees and interviews varies from year to year, but typically, I would say that I do between 50-100 interviews during April and May. The primary audiences that I speak to are emergency managers, weather forecasters and insurance industry personnel.
Check out the official Site at http://tropical.atmos.colostate.edu/
Coming Next Wednesday, July 15, 2009 http://markvoganweather@blogspot.com interviews AccuWeather.com Cheif Long Range Forecaster - Joe Bastardi
Posted: - Mark Vogan
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