John S. Snook

Academic Training

• Ph.D., Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, 1993 (An Investigation of Colorado Front Range Winter Storms Using a Nonhydrostatic Mesoscale Numerical Model Structured for Operational Use)
• M.S., Meteorology, University of Wisconsin, 1982 (Mass and Angular Momentum Balance of a Developing Bay of Bengal Monsoon Depression Observed During MONEX)
• B.S., Meteorology, University of Wisconsin, 1980

Professional Experience

• Co-founder and Chief Technical Officer, Foresight Weather, LLC, Boulder, Colorado (1999-present)
• Research Scientist, Colorado Research Associates, Boulder, Colorado (1999-present)
• Meteorologist, NOAA/Forecast Systems Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado (1984-1999)
• Physical Sciences Research Specialist, University of Wisconsin, Madison-Space Science and Engineering Center (1982-1984)
• Graduate Research Assistant, University of Wisconsin, Madison (1980-1982)
• Meteorology Student Assistant, University of Wisconsin, Madison (1978-1980)

Honors

• NOAA bronze medal (1997) for showcasing U.S. technology and making major advances in the field of meteorology while providing weather support to the 1996 Olympic Games.
• Special Distinguished Service Award in recognition of technological contributions made to the Olympic Weather Support Project for the 1996 Olympic Games.
• Recipient of the 1983 Heinz Lettau Award in recognition of the outstanding Master of Science thesis in meteorology at the University of Wisconsin.
• Framingham Teacher's Association Undergraduate Scholarship.

Research Contracts

• Principle Investigator - RATIS project to develop and implement a local area, mesoscale analysis and numerical forecast system to provide advanced meteorological decision support for northern New England. Castle Rock Services, Inc. May 2001 - Present.

• Principle Investigator - Foretell project to develop and implement a local area, mesoscale analysis and numerical forecast system in support of state Department of Transportation snow removal operations. Castle Rock Services, Inc. Jan 1999 - Present.

• Principle Investigator - Project to develop and implement operational numerical weather prediction support to Mediterranean shipping traffic funded by the European Union. University of Athens. April 2000 - Present.

• Task Leader - LAPS Range Standardization and Safety (RSA) project to develop and implement a local area, mesoscale analysis and numerical forecast system to provide mission support at Cape Kennedy Space Center and Vandenberg Air Force Base. Martin-Lockheed. Oct 1997 - Dec 1998.

• Task Leader - 1996 Summer Olympic Games local operational forecast model. Implemented a complete local analysis and mesoscale prediction system at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, GA to provide specialized support to the Summer Games. National Weather Service. Oct 1994 - Sep 1996.

Memberships

• American Meteorological Society, 1981-present

Publications

1. Poulos, G. S., D. A. Wesley, J. S. Snook, and M. P. Meyers, 2002: A Rocky Mountain storm. Part I: The blizzard - Kinematic evolution and the potential for high-resolution numerical forecasting of snowfall. Wea. Forecasting, 17, 955-970.
2. Meyers, M. P., J. S. Snook, D. A. Wesley, and G. S. Poulos, 2002: A Rocky Mountain storm - Part II: The Forest Blowdown - observations, dynamics and modeling. Wea. Forecasting. (in review)
3. Snook, J. S., 1998: Comments on "Regional real-time numerical weather prediction: Current status and future potential". Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 79, 2747-2748.
4. Snook, J. S., P. A. Stamus, J. Edwards, Z. Christidis, J. A. McGinley, 1998: Local-domain mesoscale analysis and forecast model support for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. Wea. Forecasting, 13, 138-150.
5. Snook, J. S., J. M. Cram, and J. M. Schmidt, 1995: LAPS/RAMS: A nonhydrostatic modeling system configured for operational use. Tellus, 47A, 864-875.
6. Snook, J. S., and R. A. Pielke, 1995: Diagnosing a Colorado heavy snow event with a nonhydrostatic mesoscale numerical model structured for operational use. Wea. Forecasting, 10, 261-285.
7. Snook, J. S., 1992: Current techniques for real-time evaluation of conditional symmetric instability. Wea. Forecasting, 7, 430-439.
8. Pielke, R. A., G. Dalu, J. S. Snook, T. J. Lee, and T. G. F. Kittel, 1991: Nonlinear influence of mesoscale landuse on weather and climate. J. Climate, 4, 1053-1069.

Other publications (peer reviewed):

1. Rothfusz, L. P., M. R. McLaughlin, S. K. Rinard, T. Black, L. Cano, G. DiMego, J. T. Johnson, C. Safford, J. S. Snook, and S. Young, 1997: Weather support for the XXVI Olympiad. NOAA Tech. Memo. NWS SR-184, NWS Southern Region, Fort Worth, TX, 70 pp.
2. Snook, J. S., 1993: An investigation of Colorado Front Range Winter Storms using a nonhydrostatic mesoscale numerical model structured for operational use. Ph.D. Dissertation, Colorado State Univ., Ft. Collins, CO, 373 pp. (Also available as NOAA Tech. Memo. ERL FSL-10, NOAA Environmental Research Laboratories, Boulder, Colo.)
3. Pielke, R. A., G. Dalu, J. R. Garratt, T. G. F. Kittel, R. A. Stocker, T. J. Lee, and J. S. Snook, 1992: Influence of mesoscale landuse on weather and climate and its representation for use in large scale models. In Physical Processes in Atmospheric Models. Ed., D. R. Sikka and S. S. Singh, Wiley Eastern Limited, New Delhi, India, 537-586.
4. Westwater, E. R., M. J. Falls, J. Schroeder, D. Birkenheuer, J. S. Snook, and M. T. Decker, 1989: Combined ground- and satellite-based radiometric remote sensing. In RSRM '87: Advances in Remote Sensing Retrieval Methods. A. Deepak, H. E. Fleming and J. S. Theon, Ed., A. Deepak Publishing, Hampton, VA, 215-228.
5. Snook, J. S., J. V. Zapotocny, and D. R. Johnson, 1988: Tropical cyclones, an educational module for the atmospheric sciences. December 1988, Space Science and Engineering Center, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 44 pp.
6. Birkenheuer, D., and J. S. Snook, 1985: A review of the VAS assessment during the 1985 PROFS summer exercise. NOAA Tech. Memo. ERL ESG-19, NOAA Environmental Research Laboratories, Boulder, Colo., 18 pp.
7. Snook, J. S., 1982: Mass and angular momentum balance of a developing Bay of Bengal monsoon depression observed during MONEX. M. S. Thesis, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 82 pp.

In preprints:

1. Snook, J. S., 2001: Foretell: An operational forecasting system designed for the surface transportation community. Preprints, 14th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction, July 2001, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, AMS, Boston.
2. Snook, J. S., M. P. Meyers, G. S. Poulos, and D. A. Wesley, 1999: Longer range numerical prediction of the October Routt National Forest severe wind event. Preprints, 13th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction, 13-17 September 1999, Denver, CO, AMS, Boston, 137-140.
3. Wesley, D. A., G. S. Poulos, J. S. Snook, and M. P. Meyers, 1999: Meso-alpha snowfall and wind variability in a Front range Blizzard. Preprints, 17th Conference on Weather Analysis and Forecasting, 13-17 September 1999, Denver, CO, AMS, Boston, 121-126.
4. Snook, J. S. M. P. Meyers, G. S. Poulos, and D. A. Wesley, 1998: A local-area model comparison of the October 1997 Rocky Mountain blizzard and severe wind event. Preprints, Eighth Conference on Mountain Meteorology, 3-7 August 1998, Flagstaff, AZ, AMS, Boston, 31-36.
5. Meyers, M. P., J. S. Snook, D. A. Wesley, and G. S. Poulos, 1998: Numerical investigation of the 25 October 1997 blowdown event over Colorado Park Range using RAMS. Preprints, Eighth Conference on Mountain Meteorology, 3-7 August 1998, Flagstaff, AZ, AMS, Boston, 437-439.
6. Poulos, G. S., D. A. Wesley, J. S. Snook, and M. P. Meyers, 1998: Modeling small-scale spatial heterogeneity of snowfall in complex terrain: The October 1997 Front Range blizzard. Preprints, Eighth Conference on Mountain Meteorology, 3-7 August 1998, Flagstaff, AZ, AMS, Boston, 37-40.
7. Wesley, D. A., G. S. Poulos, M. P. Meyers, J. S. Snook, and A. Judson, 1998: Observations and forcing mechanisms during the October 1997 Front Range blizzard and forest destruction. Preprints, Eighth Conference on Mountain Meteorology, 3-7 August 1998, Flagstaff, AZ, AMS, Boston, 25-30.
8. Jackson, M. E., J. M. Schmidt, and J. S. Snook, 1998: A numerical study of the orographic effects on the deep south Texas sea breeze. Preprints, Eighth Conference on Mountain Meteorology, 3-7 August 1998, Flagstaff, AZ, AMS, Boston, 50-54.
9. Snook, J. S., P. Schultz, and J. A. McGinley, 1998: Initialization improvements to a quasi-operational local-domain mesoscale model. Preprints, 12th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction, 11-16 January 1998, Phoenix, AZ, AMS, Boston, 5-7.
10. Birkenheuer, D., J. S. Snook, J. Smart, and J. McGinley, 1998: The effects of GOES image data on RAMS forecasts initialized with LAPS. Preprints, 12th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction, 11-16 January 1998, Phoenix, AZ, AMS, Boston, 300-303.
11. Birkenheuer, D., J. Smart, J. S. Snook, and J. McGinley, 1998: Analysis of polar satellite data in LAPS using RTTOV. Preprints, 12th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction, 11-16 January 1998, Phoenix, AZ, AMS, Boston, 304-307.
12. Szoke, E. J., J. A. McGinley, P. Schultz, and J. S. Snook, 1998: Near operational short-term forecasts from two mesoscale models. Preprints, 12th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction, 11-16 January 1998, Phoenix, AZ, AMS, Boston, 320-323.
13. Jackson, M. E., J. M. Schmidt, and J. S. Snook, 1998: Studying the south Texas sea breeze using a mesoscale model installed at Brownsville, Texas, National Weather Service Office. Preprints, 16th Conference on Weather Analysis and Forecasting, 11-16 January 1998, Phoenix, AZ, AMS, Boston, 76-78.
14. Szoke, E. J., J. McGinley, P. Schultz, and J. S. Snook, 1998: Near operational short-term forecasts from two mesoscale models. Preprints, 12th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction, 11-16 January 1998, Phoenix, AZ, AMS, Boston, 320-323.
15. Snook, J. S., 1998: Local-domain mesoscale model support for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. Proceedings, Symposium on Regional Weather Prediction on Parallel Computer Environments, 15-17 October 1997, Athens, Greece.
16. Snook, J. S., Z. Christidis, J. Edwards, and J. A. McGinley, 1997: Forecast results from the local-domain mesoscale model supporting the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Preprints, 13th International Conference on Interactive Information and Processing Systems (IIPS) for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology, 2-7 February 1997, Long Beach, CA, AMS, Boston, 26-30.
17. Edwards, J., J. S. Snook, and Z. Christidis, 1997: Forecasting for the 1996 summer Olympic Games with the SMS-RAMS parallel model. Preprints, 13th International Conference on Interactive Information and Processing Systems (IIPS) for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology, 2-7 February 1997, Long Beach, CA, AMS, Boston, 19-21.
18. Christidis, Z., J. Edwards, and J. S. Snook, 1997: Regional Weather Forecasting in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games Using an IBM SP2. Preprints, 13th International Conference on Interactive Information and Processing Systems (IIPS) for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology, 2-7 February 1997, Long Beach, CA, AMS, Boston, 22-25. .
19. Schultz, P., and J. S. Snook, 1996: Objective verification of mesoscale model precipitation forecasts. Preprints, 11th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction, 19-23 August 1996, Norfolk, VA, AMS, Boston, J124-J126.
20. Cram, J. M., and J. S. Snook, 1996: A comparison of the real-time performance of two nonhydrostatic mesoscale models over the LAPS domain. Preprints, 11th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction, 19-23 August 1996, Norfolk, VA, AMS, Boston, 153-155.
21. Snook, J. S., 1996: Local domain forecasting support to the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Preprints, 12th International Conference on Interactive Information and Processing Systems (IIPS) for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology, 28 January-2 February 1996, Atlanta, GA, AMS, Boston, 32-35.
22. Johnson, J. T., G. DiMego, D. Molenar, L. P. Rothfusz, Snook, J. S., and P. A. Stamus, 1996: Weather information display, analysis and product generation tools used for support of the 1996 summer Olympic Games: Mesoscale analysis tools. Preprints, 12th International Conference on Interactive Information and Processing Systems (IIPS) for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology, 28 January-2 February 1996, Atlanta, GA, AMS, Boston, 13-16.
23. Snook, J. S., J. M. Cram, and J. M. Schmidt, 1994: The "P" in LAPS: A local scale operational forecast system. Preprints, 10th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction, 18-22 July 1994, Portland, OR, AMS, Boston, 454-456.
24. Snook, J. S., 1994: A nonhydrostatic mesoscale numerical modeling system structured for operational use. Proceedings, Symposium on the Life Cycles of Extratropical Cyclones, Vol. III, 27 June-1 July 1994, Bergen, Norway, 364-369.
25. Snook, J. S., and J. M. Cram, 1994: Some results from the NOAA/FSL/LAPS real-time RAMS runs. Preprints, Second RAMS User's Workshop, 15-17 February 1994, Fort Collins, CO, 59-62.
26. Schmidt, J. M., J. S. Snook, P. T. McCaslin, and J. A. Mcginley, 1994: Toward a nested, local-scale, operational forecast system using the CSU-RAMS and the FSL MAPS and LAPS data sets. Preprints, Second RAMS User's Workshop, 15-17 February 1994, Fort Collins, CO, 55-58.
27. Cram, J. M., S. C. Albers, and J. S. Snook, 1994: 4DDA experiments at NOAA/FSL using LAPS and RAMS. Preprints, Second RAMS User's Workshop, 15-17 February 1994, Fort Collins, CO, 47-50.
28. Cram, J. M., J. S. Snook, and J. A. McGinley, 1993: The impact of different scales and frequencies of boundary condition data on the LAPS meso-beta-scale modeling/4DDA system. Preprints, 13th Conference on Weather Analysis and Forecasting, 2-6 August 1993, Vienna, VA, AMS, Boston, 16-20.
29. Cram, J. M., J. S. Snook, S. C. Albers, and J. A. McGinley, 1993: A brief description of, and preliminary results from, the LAPS modeling/4DDA system. Preprints, Fifth International Conference on Aviation Weather Systems, 2-6 August 1993, Vienna, VA, AMS, Boston, J10-J14.
30. Snook, J. S., and J. M. Schmidt, 1992: A numerical and observational investigation of the 7 January 1992 Denver, Colorado, Blizzard: Local-scale perspective. Preprints, Sixth Conference on Mountain Meteorology, 29 September-2 October 1992, Portland, OR, AMS, Boston, 101-105.
31. Schmidt, J. M., and J. S. Snook, 1992: A numerical and observational investigation of the 7 January 1992 Denver, Colorado, Blizzard: A regional-scale perspective. Preprints, Sixth Conference on Mountain Meteorology, 29 September-2 October 1992, Portland, OR, AMS, Boston, 161-165.
32. Snook, J. S., and D. W. Hillger, 1992: A comparison of cluster versus rectangular averaging of radiance measurements for use in VAS soundings. Preprints, Sixth Conference on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography, 5-10 January 1992, Atlanta, AMS, Boston, 32-35.
33. Snook, J. S., and R. A. Pielke, 1991: Investigation of winter-time diurnal precipitation variation over mountainous terrain. Preprints, Ninth Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction, 14-18 October 1991, Denver, AMS, Boston, 671-673.
34. Snook, J. S., and J. A. McGinley, 1990: Integration of GOES-VAS sounding data in a local scale analysis. Preprints, Fifth Conference on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography, 3-7 September 1990, London, England, AMS, Boston, 349-353.
35. Hillger, D. W., J. S. Snook, and J. F. W. Purdom, 1990: A case study analysis of clustering applied to VAS measurements. Preprints, Fifth Conference on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography, 3-7 September 1990, London, England, AMS, Boston, 354-359.
36. Snook, J. S., 1989: An evaluation of operational VAS soundings at PROFS and their application on the local scale. Preprints, Twelfth Conference on Weather Forecasting and Analysis, 2-6 October 1989, Monterey, Calif., AMS, Boston, 500-504.
37. Benjamin, S. G., D. L. Birkenheuer, R. D. McPherson, T. L. Smith, and J. S. Snook, 1988: Experiments in the assimilation of radiance observations from VAS. Preprints, Eighth Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction, 22-26 February 1988, Baltimore, AMS, Boston, 269-276.
38. Snook, J. S., 1988: Operational VAS soundings at PROFS. Preprints, Third Conference on Satellite Meteorology and Oceanography, 1-5 February 1988, Anaheim, Calif., AMS, Boston, 55-59.
39. Snook, J. S., 1987: Operational cloud-clearing techniques of VAS radiance data. Proceedings., Symp. Mesoscale Analysis and Forecasting, Vancouver, Canada, 17-19 August 1987, ESA SP-282, 103-106.
40. Snook, J. S., and D. Birkenheuer, 1986: Utilization of VAS data in PROFS 1985 forecasting exercise. Preprints, Eleventh Conference on Weather Forecasting and Analysis, 17-20 June 1986, Kansas City, AMS, Boston, 155-159.
41. Birkenheuer, D., and J. S. Snook, 1986: Results of the PROFS real-time VAS product assessment. Preprints, Second Conference on Satellite Meteorology/Remote Sensing and Applications, 13-16 May 1986, Williamsburg, Virginia, AMS, Boston, 359-364.
42. Johnson, D. R., and J. S. Snook, 1985: McIDAS for education. Preprints, First International Conference on Interactive Information and Processing Systems for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology, 7-11 January 1985, Los Angeles, AMS, 148-152.
43. Johnson, D. R., and J. S. Snook, 1983: A quasi-Lagrangian analysis of the mass and angular momentum balance of an upper troposphere vortex over eastern Brazil. Preprints, First International Conference on Southern Hemisphere Meteorology, 31 July-6 August 1983, Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil, AMS, Boston, 210-214.