|
Walker S. Ashley, Ph.D., CCM |
|||
|
Associate Professor, Meteorology Program, Department of Geography, Northern Illinois University Certified Consulting Meteorologist (#668), Storm Forensics.com |
|||
|
|
219-D Davis Hall
|
 |
|
| Photographing a tornadic storm along the CO-OK border on 31 May 2010. | Current office view. | ||
|
I am an atmospheric scientist and physical geographer with interests in
natural hazards and societal interactions, severe storms, synoptic and
mesoscale meteorology, applied meteorology/climatology, hydroclimatic
variability, and the application of geographic information systems in
meteorology.
In the past, my research focused on the examination of mesoscale weather phenomena, principally organized thunderstorm complexes known as mesoscale convective systems. I have investigated the climatology and hazards of widespread and long-lived windstorms known as derechos, the rainfall patterns of convective complexes in the U.S., the importance of increasing population and suburban sprawl on tornado vulnerability, and the geographies of tornado, convective and nonconvective wind, flood, and lightning fatalities in the U.S. My current research focuses on 1) quantifying how human exposure and vulnerability factors contribute to weather-related disasters, 2) the storm morphology of hazardous thunderstorm events, and 3) how urbanization and other land covers influence thunderstorm formation and sustenance. |
|||
| Courses I teach or have taught at NIU: (next time I'll teach course) | |||
|
GEOG 105 - Introduction to the Atmosphere MET 300 - Meteorology GEOG 306 - Severe and Hazardous Weather (spring '13) MET 320 - Synoptic Meteorology GEOG 406/506 - Natural Hazards and Environmental Risk (fall '13) MET 444/544 - Mesoscale Meteorology (spring '13) GEOG 498/600 - Seminar in Meteorology/Climatology ESAS 1800 - Introduction to Thunderstorm Lab (COD Storm Chasing '12) |
|||
| Journal Publications: | |||
|
Stallins, J.A., J. Carpenter, M. Bentley, and W. Ashley, in press. A weekend-weekday cloud-to-ground lightning climatology for an urban region and the scale dependency of weekly anthropogenic signals. Regional Environmental Change. Gensini, V. A., and W. S. Ashley, 2011: Climatology of potentially severe convective environments from the North American regional reanalysis. Electronic Journal of Severe Storms Meteorology, 6(8), 1–40. [PDF] Ashley, W. S., M. L. Bentley, and J. A. Stallins, 2011: Urban-induced thunderstorm modification in the Southeast United States. Climatic Change, DOI: 10.1007/s10584-011-0324-1. [PDF] Bentley, M. L., J. A. Stallins, and W. S. Ashley, 2011: Synoptic environments favourable for urban-enhanced convection in Atlanta, Georgia. International Journal of Climatology, DOI: 10.1002/joc.2344. [PDF] Paulikas, M. J., and W. S. Ashley, 2011: Thunderstorm hazard vulnerability for the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan region. Natural Hazards, 58, 1077-1092. [PDF] Spencer, J. M., and W. S. Ashley, 2011: Avalanche fatalities in the western United States: A comparison of three databases. Natural Hazards, 58, 31-44. [PDF] Black, A. W., and W. S. Ashley, 2011: The relationship between tornadic and nontornadic convective wind fatalities and warnings. Weather, Climate, and Society, 3, 31-47. [PDF] Schoen, J., and W. S. Ashley, 2011: A climatology of fatal convective wind events by storm type. Weather and Forecasting, 26, 109-121. [PDF] Black, A. W., and W. S. Ashley, 2010: Nontornadic convective wind fatalities in the United States. Natural Hazards, 54, 355-366. [PDF] Gensini, V. A., and W. S. Ashley, 2010: An examination of rip current fatalities in the United States. Natural Hazards, 54, 159-175. [PDF; Formal comment and reply]
Bentley, M. L., W. S. Ashley, and J. A. Stallins,
2010: Climatological
radar delineation of urban convection for Atlanta, Georgia.
International Journal of Climatology, 30, 1589-1594. Bentley, M., T. Stallins, and W. Ashley, 2010: The Atlanta thunderstorm effect. Weatherwise (popular press), 63, 24-29. [PDF] Ashley, W. S., and C. W. Gilson, 2009: A reassessment of U.S. lightning mortality. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 90, 1501–1518. [PDF] Ashley, W. S., A. J. Krmenec, and R. Schwantes, 2008: Vulnerability due to nocturnal tornadoes. Weather and Forecasting, 23, 795-807. [PDF] Ashley, S. T., and W. S. Ashley, 2008: Flood fatalities in the United States. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 47, 805-818. [PDF] Hall, S. G., and W. S. Ashley, 2008: The effects of urban sprawl on the vulnerability to a significant tornado impact in northeastern Illinois. Natural Hazards Review, 9, 209-219. [PDF] Ashley, S. T., and W. S. Ashley, 2008: The storm morphology of deadly flooding events in the United States. International Journal of Climatology, 28, 493-503. [PDF] Ashley, W. S., and A. W. Black, 2008: Fatalities associated with nonconvective high-wind events in the United States. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 47, 717-725. [PDF] Ashley, W. S., 2007: Spatial and temporal analysis of tornado fatalities in the United States: 1880-2005. Weather and Forecasting, 22, 1214-1228. [PDF] Ashley, W. S., T. L. Mote, and M. L. Bentley, 2007: An extensive episode of derecho-producing convective systems in the United States during May-June 1998: A multi-scale analysis and review. Meteorological Applications, 14, 227-244. [PDF] Suckling, P. W., and W. S. Ashley, 2006: Spatial and temporal characteristics of tornado path direction. The Professional Geographer, 58, 20-38. [PDF] Ashley, W. S., T. L. Mote, and M. L. Bentley, 2005: On the episodic nature of derecho-producing convective systems in the United States. International Journal of Climatology, 25, 1915-1932. [PDF] Ashley, W. S., and T. L. Mote, 2005: Derecho hazards in the United States. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 86, 1577-1592. [PDF] Ashley, W. S., T. L. Mote, P. G. Dixon, S. L. Trotter, J. D. Durkee, E. J. Powell, and A. J. Grundstein, 2003: Distribution of mesoscale convective complex rainfall in the United States. Monthly Weather Review, 131, 3003-3017. [PDF] |
|||
| Funded Grants: | |||
|
National Science Foundation, Geography & Regional Science Program and Physical & Dynamic Meteorology Program, Climatological and Event-based Radar Delineation of UHI Convection for Urban Corridors within the Southeastern U.S., co-PI with M. L. Bentley (NIU) and J. A. Stallins (FSU), 2007-2012. NIU Undergraduate Research and Apprenticeship Program. Spring 2006, Fall 2006-Spring 2007, Fall 2007-Spring 2008, Fall 2008-Spring 2009, Fall 2009-Spring 2010, Fall 2010-Spring 2011, Fall 2011-Spring 2012, Fall 2012-Spring 2013. NIU Research and Artistry Grant. Summer 2006, Summer 2008. |
|||
| Former and Current Graduate Students: | |||
| Advisor/Major Professor:
Soren Hall, M.S., 2006 (Regulatory Specialist, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers); Alan Black, M.S., 2008 (Ph.D. student and Research
Assistant, University of Georgia); Monica Zappa, M.S., 2009 (co-advisor w/
Dr. Blue;
Gilbert F.
White Thesis Award winner); Chris Gilson,
M.S., 2009 (WHBF-TV); Joe Schoen, M.S., 2009 (Geneva High School, IL); Jeremy
Spencer, M.S., 2009 (Ph.D. student and Teaching Assistant, Kent State
University); Marius Paulikas, M.S., 2010 (Ph.D. student and Teaching Assistant, Kent State
University); Victor Gensini,
M.S., 2010 (Ph.D. student and Research Assistant, University of Georgia); Andrew King, M.S.,
2011 (Lanworth, Inc); Laura Briley, M.S., 2012 (Great Lakes Integrated Sciences + Assessments Center);
Diane Barach, M.S. student; Stephen Strader, M.S. student; Kristina Rohrbach, M.S.
student; Alecia Osborne, M.S. student; Troy Rosencrants, M.S. student
Committee Member: Lauren Lee, M.S., 2006 (GIS Analyst, Carroll County, IL); Dustin Oltman, M.S., 2007 (Aon Benfield); Cameron Lee, M.S., 2010 (Kent State Univ. Ph.D. student); Tom Walsh, M.S, 2010 (Lanworth, Inc); Ryan Coomer, M.S. student; Dan Hansen, M.S. student; Ian Chang, M.S. student; Laura Schutte, M.S. student; Adam Dawson, M.S. student; Rick DiMaio, M.S. student |
|||
| Education: | |||
|
Ph.D. in Geography, 2005, University of Georgia, Athens, GA M.S. in Geosciences (Meteorology/Climatology Specialization), 2000, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE B.S. in Geography, 1997, University of Georgia, Athens, GA A.S., 1995, Young Harris College, Young Harris, GA |
|||
|
My Blog - NIU Met Blog - Links - Mobile - Archived Data Resources - DeKalb Weather Data |
|||
|
What is a chubasco? A violent squall with thunder and lightning, encountered during the rainy season along the west coast of Central America. |
|||
|
Page last updated May 14, 2012. |
|||
