Brad Klotz

PhD Student, 2013-Present

My name is Brad Klotz and I am a current Ph.D. student in Dr. Jiang's research group. I am interested in tropical meteorology, especially tropical cyclones. I also currently work as a contractor at NOAA/AOML/Hurricane Research Division through the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies. Most of my work through CIMAS has been related to maintaining and improving the Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR) data that are obtained on the NOAA P-3 and Air Force Reserve C-130 aircraft. I have also been on several hurricane missions (Tomas in 2010 and Irene in 2011). My other interests in meteorology include remote sensing with radar, African Easterly Waves, and severe weather.

Outside of school and work, I enjoy spending time with my wife and two kids, watching/playing sports, and attending/serving at my local church (www.christjourney.org).

Education

B.S. Texas A&M University, Meteorology (2006)
M.S. University of North Dakota, Atmospheric Science (2008)
Ph.D. Florida International University, Geoscience (expected graduation: December 2016)

Publications

2014:

• Uhlhorn, E. W., B. W. Klotz, T. Vukicevic, P. D. Reasor, and R. F. Rogers , 2014: Observed Hurricane Wind Speed Asymmetries and Relationships to Motion and Environmental Shear. Mon. Wea. Rev., 142, 1290-1311.
• Vukicevic, T., E. Uhlhorn, P. Reasor, and B. Klotz, 2014: A Novel Multiscale Intensity Metric for Evaluation of Tropical Cyclone Intensity Forecasts. J. Atmos. Sci., 71, 1292–1304.
• Walsh, E. J., I. PopStefanija, S. Y. Matrosov, J. Zhang, E. Uhlhorn, and B. Klotz, 2014: Airborne Rain Rate Measurement with a Wide Swath Radar Altimeter. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 31, 860-875.

2013:

• Rogers, R., and Coauthors, 2013: NOAA'S Hurricane Intensity Forecasting Experiment: A Progress Report. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 94, 859–882.

2012:

• Klotz, B. W. and P. Kucera, 2012: Observations of Coastally Transitioning West African Mesoscale Convective Systems during NAMMA. International Journal of Geophysics, vol. 2012, Article ID 438706, 25 pages, doi:10.1155/2012/438706
• Smith, J.W., and Coauthors, 2012: Observations of an 11 September Sahelian Squall Line and Saharan Air Layer Outbreak during NAMMA-06. International Journal of Geophysics, vol. 2012, Article ID 153256, 14 pages, doi:10.1155/2012/153256

Conference Proceedings and Presentations

April 2014: 31st AMS Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology

• Oral Presentation: Further Improvement of SFMR Surface Wind Speeds in Heavy Precipitation
• Oral Presentation: Model Sensitivity to Perturbations of Environment, Structure, and Model Parameters in Idealized, Ocean-Coupled Tropical Cyclone Simulations (A. Aksoy, lead author)
• Poster Presentation: Observed Hurricane Wind Speed Asymmetries and Relationships to Motion and Environmental Shear (E. Uhlhorn, lead author)
• Poster Presentation: HEDAS Vortex-Scale Data Assimilation with Aircraft and Satellite Retrieval Observations: Summary of the 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season Results (A. Aksoy, lead author)

April 2012: 30th AMS Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology

• Oral Presentation: Improving SFMR Surface Wind measurements in Heavy Rain Conditions
• Oral Presentation: Dynamical Boundary-Layer Depths in Hurricanes Derived from Surface Wind Observations (E. Uhlhorn, lead author)
• Poster Presentation: Examining Surface Momentum Balance and Boundary Layer Conditions in Extreme Tropical Cyclones

March 2012: 66th Interdepartmental Hurricane Conference

• Oral Presentation: Improved SFMR Surface Wind Measurements in Intense Rain Conditions: A JHT Project

May 2010: 29th AMS Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology

• Oral Presentation: Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer Algorithm Improvements Addressing Rain Contamination of Surface Wind Speed Measurements in Tropical Cyclones
• Poster Presentation: Improved SFMR Surface Wind Measurements in Intense Rain Conditions (E. Uhlhorn, lead author)

April 2008: 28th AMS Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology

• Poster Presentation: Preliminary Analysis of Mesoscale Convective Systems Transitioning off the West African Coast during NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (NAMMA)

Field Research Experience

2009-Present: NOAA's Intensity Forecast Experiment (IFEX)

2010: Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP)

2005-2006: SOAP Project, Texas A&M University, group leader

2005: Texas Air Quality Study II (TEXAQS2), radar operator