Emily Paltz

R&D Associate at NYS center of excellence in Weather and climate analytics

Education:

Bachelor of Science (B. S.) in Meteorology with minors in Mathematics and Political Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL)

Main Project/Thesis: Impact of Past Experiences with Tornadoes on Future Decisions in Nebraska

  • Interviewed residents from two Nebraska towns with different histories with tornadoes to explore how past experience modulates the need for more information about a current tornado threat

Master of Science (M. S.) in Atmospheric Science from the University at Albany (UAlbany), State University of New York (SUNY Albany)

Main Project/Thesis: It Takes Two to Tango: Understanding the Processes that Lead to Simultaneous Changes in Tropical Cyclone Intensity and Size and Communicating the Associated Hazards to Emergency Managers

  • Studied 12 and 24-h changes in tropical cyclone size and intensity and explored potential causes using best track, reanalysis, and satellite data

  • Analyzed survey data from National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters and emergency managers to understand how important tropical cyclone size information is and explore their ability to correctly interpret probabilistic hazard graphics

Relevant Experience:

Internship with the New York State Office of Emergency Management

  • Created a brief presentation and a one-page document explaining storm surge terms and highlighting preparedness and response resources

  • Conducted research on the relationship between weather events and power outages

Areas of Expertise or Specialties:

  • Emergency Management

  • Integration of Social Science Research into Atmospheric Science Research

  • Python

  • Tropical Cyclones

Current Projects:

  • Developing a website to house internal products

  • Developing code to quality control outages for the state of New York and plot them in the past or real-time

Past projects:

  • Creation and operationalization of maps of reports of snow and rain for the state of New York

  • Modification of code and operationalization of automated weather briefing