TALLAHASSEE, Fl. (WTXL) -- The American Meteorological Society is holding its 97th Annual Meeting next week. The meeting brings together meteorologists from all over the world to share, learn, and discuss the science and how it has evolved.
This year theme is "Observations Lead the Way". It's an exploration of where the science of meteorology is now, where it's going, and how communication has changed the science over the years.
One of the key topics to be discussed at the conference is the building of a Weather-Ready Nation. Simply put, learning how the country can be better prepared and responsive when severe weather strikes.
Matthew Reagan, the President of the North Florida Chapter of the AMS, says that the meeting will be taking a look at recent storms like hurricanes Hermine and Matthew, their impact, and the response after they struck the U.S.
"There are a lot of people who have no twitter accounts. There are some who have three twitter accounts. Using those different things, how can we explore high impact weather, especially hurricanes?" says Reagan, "Getting information out to people. Getting them aware of the ever-changing forecast. Getting those uncertainties out there [and] communicating those uncertainties is definitely something that I would like to see." Reagan will not be present at this year's event, but he says it is a very big deal if you can make it to one.
At this conference you're going to have people from all backgrounds, such as social scientists, emergency managers, and media relations just to name a few.
The end result: All designed to see how all of these parts are necessary to protecting the public.
The conference begins this Saturday in Seattle,WA and runs until Thursday, January 26th.
WTXL Forecaster Melanie Steinberg is attending and will be blogging on the events. She'll give you a look at the overall event as it happens. You can catch those blogs online at WTXL.TV
