Paige Veserat, a professional meteorologist with the National Weather Service, is the featured speaker for the Feb. 19 Thursdays at the U presentation at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire – Barron County.
Veserat will present “Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network: CoCoRaHS” from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the Blue Hills Lecture Hall in Ritzinger Hall. The presentation also will be livestreamed at ricelaketv.com.
The National Weather Service in Chanhassen, Minnesota, is one of 122 offices across the country, including Puerto Rico and Guam. Over 2,000 NWS meteorologists are dedicated to protecting life and property 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Barron County is covered by NWS Chanhassen/Twin Cities while NWS Duluth serves neighboring counties.
Veserat will discuss the work of the NWS and its efforts to keep communities safe. To improve forecasts, the NWS utilizes CoCoRaHS, a nonprofit, community-based, high-density network of volunteers consisting of all ages and backgrounds. The program uses low-cost measurement tools and stresses the importance of training and education. The goal is to provide real-time quality data for education, research and operational applications. All that is needed is a standard four-inch rain gauge and a few minutes each day.
Based in the NWS Twin Cities office in Chanhassen, Veserat plays a key role in providing weather forecasts, warnings and impact-based decision support for the region. As a meteorologist, she utilizes atmospheric models and meteorological data to track storm systems and provide timing for the precipitation and temperature changes across Minnesota and northern Wisconsin.
Additionally, Veserat provides critical updates and safety messaging to federal, state and local agencies as well as the public. She is recognized for her ability to translate complex atmospheric data and ground observations into actionable information for the community, helping residents prepare for the varied and sometimes severe weather conditions of the Upper Midwest.
Veserat earned her bachelor’s degrees in atmospheric and oceanic sciences and environmental studies from UW-Madison.
The Thursdays at the U weekly series is free and open to the public thanks to support from the UW-Eau Claire – Barron County Foundation. Neither seating reservations nor parking permits are needed for in-person attendees.
While in-person attendance is encouraged, most presentations in the series are livestreamed and archived on the Thursdays at the U webpage.
The next program in the series will be Feb. 26, with a presentation about adventure travel by Dave and Sue Tindell.
For more information, contact Laura Holden at 715-788-62
