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by Rich Thompson
 
Chase Forecasts
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Bio
Education
  • The University of Oklahoma (1989-1992) Master of Science degree in Meteorology
  • The University of Oklahoma (1985-1989) Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology
Professional Employment
  • Chief of Forecast Operations, NWS Storm Prediction Center, Norman, OK (21 April 2024 - present)
  • Lead Forecaster, NWS Storm Prediction Center, Norman, OK (17 November 2000 - 20 April 2024)
  • Mesoscale Forecaster, NWS Storm Prediction Center, Norman, OK (5 January 1997 - 16 November 2000)
  • SELS Assistant (Outlook Forecaster), National Severe Storms Forecast Center, Kansas City, MO (10 July 1994 - 2 October 1996) and NWS Storm Prediction Center, Norman, OK (3 October 1996 - 4 January 1997)
  • Meteorologist Intern, NWS Houston, TX (28 December 1992 - 9 July 1994)
Professional Awards
Professional Service
  • Subject matter expert for NWS Academy for new hires at NWS Training Center, Kansas City, MO (March 2026).
  • In-person NWS Forecast Office visits to Springfield MO, Saint Louis MO, Paducah KY, Louisville KY and Indianapolis IN to discuss forecast collaboration challenges (1 week in February 2024).
  • In-person NWS Forecast Office visits to Springfield MO, Saint Louis MO, Paducah KY, Louisville KY and Indianapolis IN to discuss forecast collaboration challenges (1 week in February 2024).
  • In-person NWS Forecast Office visits to Atlanta GA, Birmingham AL, Huntsville AL, Memphis TN and Jackson MS to discuss forecast collaboration challenges (1 week in September 2023).
  • Participant in week one of Watch-to-Warning Experiment (WoFS-PHI tool evaluation) sponsored by NSSL/CIWRO and the Hazardous Weather Testbed, Norman, OK (August 2023).
  • Subject matter expert for NWS Eastern Region warning polygon workshops (3 virtual sessions, April-May 2023).
  • Subject matter expert for Operations Proving Ground evaluation of the SPC-developed tornado intensity tool (4 virtual sessions, July 2022).
  • Instructor on severe storms/tornadoes for the NWS SOO Development Course, Kansas City, MO (March 2022).
  • Participant in Warn-on-Forecast Testbed (1 week of virtual sessions, March 2021).
  • Co-instructor for Applications of Meteorological Theory to Severe Thunderstorm Forecasting METR 5403/4403 (with Drs. Ariel Cohen, Matthew Flournoy, and Steven Cavallo, University of Oklahoma, spring semesters 2015-2020)
  • Instructor/facilitator for Evaluating the Role of the Mesoanalyst in Collaborative Severe Weather IDSS workshop sponsored by the Operations Proving Ground in Kansas City, MO (3 one-week workshops, late April-mid July 2019).
  • Co-instructor for a video lecture series available through the SPC web page (2017)
  • Five ~15 min video modules on supercell and tornado forecasting for the Warning Decision Training Division's Warning Operations Course (2017)
  • Working Group to evaluate Physical Science Objectives for VORTEX-SE (2016)
  • The Meteorology of Tornado Forecasting workshop at the University of Oklahoma (9 live streamed sessions, ~1.5 hrs each from February-April 2015)
  • Associate Editor for Weather and Forecasting (2014-2022)
  • AMS Committee on Severe Local Storms (2012-2018)
  • Formal reviewer for 83 manuscripts 1996-present:
  • Weather and Forecasting and Monthly Weather Review (48 manuscripts, 1996-present)
  • Electronic J. Severe Storms Meteor, NWA Journal of Operational Meteorology., and National Weather Digest (20 manuscripts, 2006-present)
  • BAMS (3 manuscripts, 2001-present)
  • Journal of Climate (4 manuscripts, 2016-present)
  • Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology (1 manuscript, 2019)
  • Atmosphere (2 manuscripts, 2020-present)
  • Atmospheric Research (3 manuscripts, 2007-present)
  • Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan (1 manuscript, 2017)
  • Weather and Climate Extremes (1 manuscript, 2019)
  • Session Chair (2), 23rd AMS Conf. on Severe Local Storms (2006)
  • Session Chair (11A), 22nd AMS Conf. on Severe Local Storms (2004)
  • Session Chair (4), 19th AMS Conf. on Severe Local Storms (1998)
  • OU/SPC Career Experience or REU mentor (5 students, 2006-2019)
  • Member of the NWA and AMS
Formal Publications
Conference Proceedings
Informal Publications
Invited Presentations
    1. April 2026 - The state of operational tornado forecasting, 10th Anniversary VORTEX-USA workshop, Norman, OK.
    2. March 2026 - New conditional intensity outlooks at SPC, TESSA annual meeting, Arlington, TX.
    3. January 2026 - virtual presentation "Has it really been 33 years?", AMS Annual Meeting (student conference), Houston, TX.
    4. January-April 2025 - 15 total virtual presentations on peak hazard intensities in SPC MDs, conditional intensity outlooks, and tornado impact modeling for NWS Central/Southern/Eastern Region WCM/SOO meetings, plus WFOs CHS, BRO, RLX, AMA, AKQ, IND, GID, LWX, and MPX.
    5. March 2025 - virtual presentation on SPC operations and future changes, NWS Charleston, SC.
    6. February 2025 - SPC tornado forecasting, probabilities and MDs for the NWS Tornado Operations and Training Summit, Saint Louis, MO.
    7. November 2024 - virtual presentation on SPC operations and future changes, College of Charleston.
    8. August 2024 - virtual presentation on SPC operations and future changes, northern Plains SOO annual meeting.
    9. November 2023 - Tornado forecasting, OU AMS student chapter, Norman, OK.
    10. October 2023 - How to use and interpret soundings, OU AMS student chapter, Norman, OK.
    11. April 2023 - virtual presentation "Applying rotational velocity to the tornado intensity tool", NWS Southern Region Science Circle - Forecaster Applications Chat
    12. February 2023 - A Comparison of Right-Moving Supercell and Quasi-Linear Convective System Tornadoes in the contiguous United States 2003-2021, NWS Norman Brown Bag seminar, Norman, OK.
    13. January 2023 - A Comparison of Right-Moving Supercell and Quasi-Linear Convective System Tornadoes in the contiguous United States 2003-2021, SPC Science Discussion Group, Norman, OK.
    14. November 2022 - Is a tornado a tornado?, Cox Media Group Weather Summit, Atlanta, GA.
    15. September 2022 - virtual discussion with NIU AMS student chapter.
    16. April 2022 - virtual panelist for "tornadoes north of 40N" discussion, as part of the Great Lakes Operational Meteorology Workshop.
    17. April 2022 - virtual presentation on tornado forecasting, Prairie Storm Prediction Center, Winnipeg, MB.
    18. April 2022 - virtual presentation on tornado forecasting, Ontario Storm Prediction Center, Toronto, ON.
    19. January 2022 - National Storm Chaser Summit (presentation and 10 December 2021 Mayfield tornado panelist), Midwest City, OK.
    20. November 2020 - virtual presentation on the Storm Prediction Center and severe storms forecasting, St. Cloud State University, student chapter of the AMS.
    21. June 2016 - ESSL Testbed, Wiener Neustadt, Austria.
    22. April 2016 - keynote speaker at Southeast Severe Storms Symposium on tornado intensity estimates via storm environment and radar attributes, Mississippi State University, Starkville MS.
    23. March 2016 - keynote speaker at Southeastern Coastal and Atmospheric Processes Symposium on tornado intensity estimates via storm environment and radar attributes, University of South Alabama, Mobile AL.
    24. February 2016 - WDTD "Storm of the Month" webinar on WSR-88D estimates of tornado intensity, Norman OK.
    25. August 2015 - tornado detection and warning strategies, webinar for Northern Plains SOO Workshop, Sioux Falls SD.
    26. March 2015 - summary of The Meteorology of Tornado Forecasting workshop for the Chamber of Commerce Weather Committee, Norman OK.
    27. February 2015 - supercells and tornadoes, 17th National Storm Chaser Convention, Denver CO.
    28. March 2013 - convective modes and the near-storm environments with supercell and QLCS tornadoes, webinar for NWS Dodge City KS.
    29. March 2012 - convective modes and the near-storm environments with supercell and QLCS tornadoes, webinar for NWS Raleigh NC.
    30. February 2012 - climatology of spring supercells and tornadoes, 14th National Storm Chaser Convention, Denver CO.
    31. March 2011 - convective modes and near-storm environments with significant severe thunderstorms, webinar for Midwest Bow Echo Workshop, St. Louis MO.
    32. February 2009 - High risk verification and tornado forecasting, 11th National Storm Chaser Convention, Denver CO.
    33. January 2008 - operational tornado forecasting, Japanese Meteorological Agency, Tokyo, Japan.
    34. March 2007 - featured presentation on tornado forecasting at annual TESSA meeting, Colleyville TX.
    35. April 2006 - supercell and tornado forecasting, NWS Dodge City KS.
    36. March 2006 - supercell and tornado forecasting, Ball State University, Muncie IN.
    37. October 2005 - proximity soundings and watch process, NWS Great Divide Workshop, Great Falls MT and NWS Billings MT.
    38. July 2004 - SPC operations and proximity soundings, NWS Memphis TN and Little Rock AR.
    39. April 2004 - SPC operations and proximity soundings, NWS Springfield MO.
    40. February 2004 - thunderstorm forecasting, Aviation Weather Center (CCFP), Kansas City MO.
    41. January 2003 - SPC mesoanalysis products, NWS Warning Decision Making Workshop, Boulder CO.
    42. March 2002 - tornado forecasting, College of DuPage Severe Weather Symposium, Wheaton IL.
    43. April 2001 - tornado forecasting, Texas A&M University, College Station TX.
    44. May 2000 - National Symposium on the Great Plains Tornado Outbreak of 3 May 1999, Oklahoma City OK.
    45. April 2000 - SPC probability forecasts, NWS Norman OK.
    46. April 2000 - SPC probability forecasts, NWS Warning Decision Making Workshop, Boulder CO.
    47. March 2000 - severe storm forecasting, University of Oklahoma.
    48. February 2000 - SPC probability forecasts, NWS Pleasant Hill MO.
    49. January 2000 - The impacts of VORTEX on forecast operations, VORTEX Symposium, Amer. Meteor. Soc. annual meeting, Long Beach CA.
    50. July 1998 - SPC operations, NWS Downburst Prediction Workshop, Boulder CO.
    51. March 1998 - severe storm forecasting and estimating wind/hail, College of DuPage multi-county spotter training, Wheaton IL.
    52. March 1997 - guest instructor for Advanced Forecasting Techniques METR 5463 (Dr. Charles A. Doswell III), University of Oklahoma.
    53. March 1995 - severe storm forecasting, College of DuPage multi-county spotter training, Wheaton IL.
    54. November 1992 - air mass modification and moisture return, NWS Houston TX and New Braunfels TX.
    55. March 1992 - air mass modification and moisture return, NWS Slidell LA.