Dr. Christopher Landsea grew up in Miami and started paying attention to hurricanes and tropical weather systems at a young age. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of California Los Angeles, and then his Master's and Doctorate degrees in Atmospheric Science from Colorado State University under the tutelage of Dr. Bill Gray, who is considered one of the world's leading experts on hurricanes and tropical meteorology.
Dr. Landsea's main expertise is in seasonal forecasting of hurricanes, hurricane climate variability and change, and in testing applied research projects for possible use in weather forecasting.
These days he is Chief of the Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, where his team generates wind and wave forecasts for the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, tropical North Atlantic Ocean, and tropical northeastern Pacific Ocean. The TAFB supports the Hurricane Specialist Unit at the National Hurricane Center by providing tropical cyclone position and intensity estimates.
Dr. Landsea was on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus on Thursday, Nov. 21 to give a talk titled “Forecasting Hurricanes and Marine Weather at the National Hurricane Center – Providing Science-based Service to the Americas” so we brought him by the studio to talk about hurricane meteorology and forecasting and how it’s evolved over time and what lies ahead as technology advances.
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