Ashley Coles
Summer 2006 WAS*IS

In 2005 I acquired a B.S. in Atmospheric Science at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY . While at Cornell I worked for the Northeast Regional Climate Center on a variety of projects over the four years. I participated in a COMET funded flash flood research project with the Binghamton, NY National Weather Service, Art DeGaetano, the director of the climate center, and Cornell graduate student Steve Jessup. We compiled a list of flash flood events from Storm Data and compared the atmospheric conditions on those days to those of heavy rainfall events and a random sample of days to see what conditions are sufficient for flash flooding. The results are to be implemented in operational forecasting for flash flood prediction. This project has inspired my interest in flash floods, including atmospheric and hydrological variables as well as human impact and response.

I am currently working on my M.A. in Geography at the University of Arizona in Tucson under the guidance of Dr. Katie Hirschboeck. I have done some work looking into the feasibility of using real-time streamflow data as a proxy for human observers to identify unreported flash floods. I am currently working on a paper exploring how cultural factors affect warning response, with particular emphasis on flash floods and other weather-related phenomena.

I am delighted to join the other WAS*ISers for this workshop in the hopes that I may gain new perspectives and network with others interested in similar topics.
(More > Interest Statement > Resume)