Specific Research Endeavors

I am an atmospheric scientist and physical geographer with interests in weather hazards and societal interactions, severe local storms, synoptic and mesoscale meteorology, applied meteorology, and the use of geographic information systems in meteorology.

In the past, my research focused on the examination of mesoscale weather phenomena, namely organized thunderstorm complexes known as mesoscale convective systems.  I have investigated the climatology and hazards of widespread and long-lived windstorms known as derechos, the rainfall patterns of convective complexes in the U.S., the importance of increasing population and suburban sprawl on tornado vulnerability, and the geographies of tornado, convective and nonconvective wind, flood, and lightning fatalities in the U.S.  My current research focuses on 1) quantifying how human exposure and vulnerability factors contribute to weather-related disasters, 2) the storm morphology of hazardous thunderstorm events, and 3) how urbanization and other land covers influence thunderstorm formation and sustenance.

For a complete list of my publications (with PDFs for download) and courses I teach (with recent syllabi), click here: http://chubasco.niu.edu