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David Parsons

Presidential Professor, Director Emeritus, and Fellow of the American Meteorological Society

Dave B. Parsons is an accomplished professional with vast experience in the field of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences.

He has served as the Founding Co-chair of the Global Weather Enterprise Forum, a collaborative initiative by the World Bank, World Meteorological Organization, and the Association of the Hydro-meteorological Equipment Industry to foster relationships among academic, private, and public sectors.

Dave is actively engaged in the Fellows Selection Committee of the Atmospheric Sciences Section of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) showcasing his dedication to promoting excellence in the atmospheric sciences field.

His educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from Rutgers University–New Brunswick and a Doctor of Philosophy in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington.

With a rich professional history, Dave has served as a Professor at the University of Oklahoma and as the Director of the School of Meteorology at the same institution.

He has also held key positions such as Chief of the World Weather Research Division at the World Meteorological Organization under the United Nations and as a Senior Scientist at NCAR - The National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Dave B. Parsons' expertise and leadership in the field of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences make him a prominent figure in the global weather research and academic community.

Highlights

Aug 27 · linkedin

I have joined NWRA (NorthWest Research Associates)

I am excited to say that I have retired from my faculty position at the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma (OU) earlier this month and joined NWRA in Boulder, Colorado. It will be great to be mainly doing research as teaching, research, mentoring, outreach, and service pulls you in so many different directions. The diversity of the science at NWRA is also appealing as the NWRA researchers span such a broad range of expertise. NWRA is relatively unique as it is owned and operated by its Principal Investogators with a "mission is to achieve excellence in basic and applied research by providing a working environment designed to support the success of every scientist and engineer."

Back to my old story....

My career at OU began in 2010 when I formally left NCAR where I was already on leave to oversee weather research at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Our goal at the WMO was to advance weather research leading to help in reducing the detrimental impacts of weather and climate. I interacted with so many talented scientists around the world while at the WMO including several early/mid-career researchers (e.g., Celeste Saulo, Florence Rabier, Gilbert Brunet – to name just a few) who have moved onto prestigious international leadership positions.

My first eight years at OU were as Director of the School of Meteorology. I am proud to say OU is a now a national leader in federal funding for atmospheric research. After stepping down as Director, I became a regular faculty member holding the title of Presidential Professor, while also serving on the OU President’s Academic Planning and Budget Advisory Committee (PAPBAC). This committee was a fantastic learning experience working with the Provost Kyle Harper and with faculty across the wide variety of disciplines taught at a university. The vision of PAPBAC led to significant improvements at OU across education, research, and outreach.

Oh well, back to research. That makes me smile. 😎

Aug 12 · linkedin

An Extreme Rainfall Event (ERE) in Oklahoma

Recent research, led by Jason Chiappa, has found that Extreme Rainfall Events (EREs) often occur in narrow (20-40 km wide) bands that are a challenge to predict in global weather and climate models. Oklahoma experienced this type of banded ERE with a magnitude consistent with a 1-in-200+ year event using 12-hour accumulations in NOAA's MRMS (Multi-Radar/Multi-Sensor) data set. The highest total rainfall total, according to the National Weather Service office in Norman, was 9.94 inches falling between Saturday morning and Sunday morning east of Noble. Will Rogers Airport reported 5.26 inches as of 7 a.m. CT, setting the record for the wettest August day before sunrise. Our paper on the structure, causes, and trends of these EREs is in press in GRL (Geophysical Research Letters).

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David Parsons
David Parsons, photo 1
David Parsons, photo 2
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Location

Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area