Bowling Green, Ky. - A Western Kentucky University geoscience graduate student’s research was recognized last weekend during the second Midwest Extreme and Hazardous Weather Conference.

Ashley Littell of Louisville presented “Seasonal Variation of Severe Weather Events across South Central Kentucky: A Natural Hazard Database to Aid in Disaster Mitigation Planning” in a student poster competition. Littell received an award from Paul Kocin, the Winter Weather Expert at The Weather Channel.

Dr. Stuart Foster, state climatologist and director of the Kentucky Climate Center at WKU, and geoscience graduate student Mark Baldwin of Crossville, Tenn., also attended the Oct. 14-15 conference in Champaign, Ill.

The conference, sponsored by the Central Illinois Chapter of the American Meteorological Society, provided a forum for forecasters, researchers, media, public officials and the public to exchange information on severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, snowstorms, ice storms, heat and cold waves, and other important weather phenomena.

Dr. Foster presented research titled “A Climatology of Cold Waves Impacting Kentucky.”

“Both Ashley’s and Stuart’s research in the Kentucky Climate Center are great examples of how the university contributes to community development and management,” said Dr. David Keeling, head of the Geography and Geology Department. “Their research on weather processes and natural hazards can help our region become better prepared for extreme climate events.”

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For information, contact Stuart Foster at (270) 745-5983.