During this lull between storm systems I have the chance to tell you about my trip to New Orleans. That’s where this year’s American Meteorological Society’s National Convention was held. This is one of the biggest weather conventions  attended by meteorologists and scientists from all over the world. For an entire week the very latest research was presented. At any given hour about a dozen convention rooms were occupied by an audience listening to some fascinating findings. You could find out everything from the latest research into lightning to the newest proof of global warming. There were even presentations on how weather played a role in history. Did you know that Benjamin Franklin was our country’s first storm chaser? It’s true. He actually chased a tornado on horseback!

The latest research results on lightning were fascinating. Did you know that in order to photograph the return stroke of a single lightning bolt it takes 1 million frames per second! A normal video camera only records 30 frames per second. The entire lightning strike from cloud to ground and ground to cloud takes one tenth of a second, but our eyes only see the return stroke. You have a 1 in 700,000 chance of being struck by lightning. Only 3% of lightning victims are directly struck, but up to 50% of the victims are hit by the electrical current running across or under the ground. I also gathered some new information that I will be able to share with you during times of severe weather. Information that is life saving. Which is the biggest reason I attended the convention.

They also took us on a tour of the hardest hit areas from Hurricane Katrina. It is still heartbreaking to see all of the white trailers the victims are living in because their homes were swept away. And those trailers from FEMA are falling apart because they weren’t designed to last this long. I saw buildings that still have the water line visible from the flood. 2000 people died and many more fled. Of those who fled only half of them have returned. 20,000 homes were wiped out. It’s going to be a long time before that city is completely back to normal. That’s why the convention was held there; to give the city a boost.

I’ll share more interesting findings from the convention in future blogs.