July 7, 2008

Scientists collaborate to improve severe weather warnings

Images of the devastation of Alberta’s Pine Lake Tornado in July 2000 are etched in the minds of Canadians. Severe weather such as hail, thunderstorms and tornadoes are common this time of year in the Alberta foothills.
 
Environment Canada and Dr. Susan Skone from the Schulich School of Engineering along with other scientists from academia and the private sector are teaming up for a two-week project to better understand the region’s severe weather and help improve the accuracy of weather forecasts.

Aircraft, surface weather stations, weather balloons and mobile labs will collect weather data in the foothills. The project is called the Understanding Severe Thunderstorms and Alberta Boundary Layers Experiment (UNSTABLE).

Skone, geomatics engineer at the Schulich School of Engineering, is contributing several pieces of ground equipment to gather and interpret weather data.

Data from this study will be used to improve severe weather watches and warnings across the Prairies.
The results are expected to have applications in other parts of Canada.

WHAT:  
Weather data collection by Environment Canada and Schulich School of Engineering
    
WHEN:  
July 8, 2008
1 p.m.

WHERE:  
Olds-Didsbury Airport
Between Olds and Didsbury west off Hwy 2A on Twp Rd 320 (Bergen Road)

INTERVIEWS:            
Neil Taylor, Hydrometeorology and Arctic Lab, Environment Canada
Dr. Susan Skone, Dept. of Geomatics, Schulich School of Engineering

VISUALS:  
Tours of mobile labs and aircraft with weather data instrumentation on board
Weather balloon launch
    
Media contact:
Jennifer Sowa                       
Media Relations Officer               
Schulich School of Engineering           
Phone: (403) 220-3724               
Cell: (403) 993-8679              
Email: jsowa@ucalgary.ca

Gloria Trimble
A/Director, Communications
Environment Canada
Phone: (780) 951-8721
Email: Gloria.trimble@ec.gc.ca