NASA Invites Media to Learn About Mission Studying Snowstorms

NASA will hold a briefing for members of the media to learn more about an airborne science campaign studying snowstorms at 11 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 10. The agency will stream audio of the call live online.

Through its Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Storms (IMPACTS) mission, NASA works to understand snow particles and the conditions in which they form. The program involves a suite of instruments aboard NASA’s ER-2 and P-3 aircraft that gather data on snow particles. Scientists use that data to determine how snowstorms develop, how much snow a storm will bring, and where the bulk of it will fall.

The briefing will be held via WebEx and focus on the IMPACTS campaign. Members of the media will have opportunities to ask questions of panelists.

Media must RSVP at least two hours prior to the virtual event by sending their full name, media affiliation, email address, and phone number, to Elena Johnson at: [email protected].

The briefing’s panelists are:

• Lynn McMurdie, IMPACTS principal investigator and research associate professor, University of Washington
• Will McCarty, program scientist, NASA’s Earth Science Division at the agency’s headquarters in Washington
• Greg “Coach” Nelson, NASA ER-2 pilot, Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California
• Brian Bernth, NASA P-3 pilot and chief of Aircraft Operations, Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia

The multi-year IMPACTS campaign is the first comprehensive study of East Coast snowstorms in 30 years. The science team includes researchers from NASA, as well as from several universities across the country, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including partners at the National Weather Service.