Registration fees:
Student $15
Early Bird $25 Aug 1st–Sep 15th
Open Registration $30 Sep 16th–Oct 18th
Embedded Files
Central Indiana Severe Weather Symposium 2024
October 19, 2024 8 AM–4:30 PM EDT
(In person only)
Follow #CISWS24 on Twitter!
A symposium focused on Severe Weather
A symposium focused on Severe Weather
through the years and
through the years and
a look at the future NWS
a look at the future NWS
October 2024 brings the next installment of the Central Indiana Severe Weather Symposium, brought to you by the Indiana Chapter of the American Meteorological Society, and Ball State University Department of Geography and Meteorology. This website serves as your one stop shop for all information relating to the event.
Last Updated: 9/12/2024
Recent updates: Parking Info, Symposium Agenda
Session 1 – The 50th Anniversary of the Superoutbreak
Session 1 – The 50th Anniversary of the Superoutbreak
Sam LashleyWarning Coordination Meteorologist NWS Indianapolis
Session 2 – Local Case Studies Part 1 March 31, 2023 and March 14, 2024
Session 2 – Local Case Studies Part 1 March 31, 2023 and March 14, 2024
Greg Melo and Joe NieldMeteorologistsNWS Indianapolis
Session 3 – Student Research and Poster Session
Session 3 – Student Research and Poster Session
Moderated by Aaron UpdikeMeteorologistNWS Indianapolis
Session 4 – Local Case Studies Part 2 June 29, 2023
Session 4 – Local Case Studies Part 2 June 29, 2023
Matt EckhoffMeteorologistNWS Indianapolis
Session 5 – Storm Surveys with a Panel Discussion
Session 5 – Storm Surveys with a Panel Discussion
Sam LashleyWarning Coordination MeteorologistNWS Indianapolis
Mike RyanSenior MeteorologistNWS Indianapolis
Aaron UpdikeMeteorologistNWS Indianapolis
Mike RyanSenior MeteorologistNWS Indianapolis
Aaron UpdikeMeteorologistNWS Indianapolis
Session 6 – The Future of Weather Forecasting
Session 6 – The Future of Weather Forecasting
Randy BowersSenior MeteorologistNWS Indianapolis
REGISTRATION (please read carefully)
Click the link below to fill out and submit the Registration Form, then submit a payment based on your registration selection. Payment must be received by October 18.
The goal of this event is educate weather spotters, chasers and the general public about severe weather.
The goal of this event is educate weather spotters, chasers and the general public about severe weather.
Follow #CISWS24 on Twitter!
The Speakers
The Speakers
Sam Lashley
Sam Lashley is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM) for the National Weather Service Indianapolis office. Sam is a 31 year employee with the NWS and has worked in the Milwaukee WI, Northern Indiana and Indianapolis Indiana offices during his career. As the Indianapolis WCM, Sam is responsible for maintaining close working relationships with core partners, supporting emergency management officials, first responders and healthcare partners with weather preparedness, safety and Impact-Based Decision Support Services. Sam also oversees the education, outreach, verification and damage survey programs at NWS Indianapolis and is a member of the NWS Central Region Quick Response Damage Survey Team (QRT). Sam enjoys supporting his alma mater, the Purdue Boilermakers (Boiler Up!), fishing, and golfing in his spare time.
Matthew Eckhoff
Matthew Eckhoff is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. He began his career at the Department of Energy's Hanford Site in eastern Washington in 2015 and worked there until 2022, after which he joined the NWS in Indianapolis. His interests and specialties are in severe weather and mesoanalysis. Matt got his BS in Meteorology at Millersville University in 2011, and did some graduate level studies from 2012 to 2015 at the University of North Dakota.
Aaron Updike
Aaron is a Meteorologist with five years of experience at the National Weather Service in Indianapolis, IN. He holds a Master’s in Geography from Virginia Tech, where his research centered on convective properties of hurricane rainbands, and a Bachelor’s in Meteorology from Valparaiso University.
Aaron is particularly interested in QLCS hazards and storm surveying, contributing to training, and discussions in these areas. Aaron plays a key role in NWS student programs for the Indianapolis WFO, organizing student volunteer programs and outreach efforts to engage local schools and universities.
Greg Melo
Greg Melo is a Meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. He started his career at the Indianapolis office and has been in the NWS for over two years. During his short time in the Midwest, Greg has worked radar or conducted damage surveys for multiple significant weather events. This includes the March 31, 2023 and March 14, 2024 severe weather outbreaks which both produced EF3 tornadoes over portions of central Indiana.
Greg, who is originally from New Orleans, became interested in Meteorology as a kid after going through Hurricane Katrina. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 2021, and was briefly in graduate school at Florida State University before moving to Indianapolis.
Mike Ryan
Mike Ryan is a Senior Meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. He has been with NWS Indy since 2009 after starting his career at the Wilmington, Ohio National Weather Service office in 1999. Throughout his NWS career, he has been involved with public outreach and decision support services through the Weather Ready Nation, StormReady and storm spotter programs, interacting with local and state emergency management officials, broadcast media and amateur radio networks. He also leads a state climate services team for Indiana made up of NWS personnel, regional, state and local officials including the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, the state climatologist’s office and the Midwest Climate Center.
Mike has had the opportunity to work operations and/or conduct storm surveys during events that have produced significant severe weather impacts to the Ohio Valley throughout his career, including the March 2 2012 severe weather outbreak, the November 17 2013 tornado outbreak, the August 24 2016 tornado outbreak and most recently the severe weather and tornadoes on March 14 2024.
Mike is a native of Columbus, Ohio and received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Atmospheric Sciences from The Ohio State University in 1998 and 2000 respectively.
Joe Nield
Joseph Nield has been a meteorologist at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Indianapolis for over 20 years. Throughout the course of his career, which began as a student in 2001, he has worked numerous historic, high-impact weather events, such as the May 30, 2004 tornado outbreak, the January 2005 floods, the June 2008 tornadoes and floods, the February 2011 ice storm, the March 31, 2023 tornado outbreak, and the March 14, 2024 severe weather outbreak, to name a few.
Joseph has focused extensively over the years on Impact-based Decision Support Services (IDSS), public outreach, and radar operations, and has been a leader in WFO IND IDSS and outreach efforts, helping to develop and tailor services to partners and the public, and having personally trained hundreds of spotters via dozens of spotter training presentations. Additionally, he has taken an active role in the office’s Aviation program, and has served in a reserve capacity as aviation meteorologist for the NWS Center Weather Service Unit at the Indianapolis FAA Air Route Traffic Control Center for many years.
In addition to working extensively to improve and promote WFO IND’s mission-critical services, Joseph has led the annual Combined Federal Campaign charity drive for over 20 years, and is a proud member of the National Weather Service Employees Organization (NWSEO), serving as WFO IND Union Steward since 2020.
Joseph is an Indianapolis area native, raised in Plainfield, Indiana, and is a 2004 graduate of Purdue University. He is a longtime member of the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. In his free time, he enjoys storm chasing, barbecuing, football, history, music, and caring for his 75-pound shepherd mix, Radar.
Randy Bowers
Randy Bowers is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. Prior to coming to Indiana in 2021, he worked in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Randy's specialties are mesoscale meteorology, severe storms, and radar. Randy has been involved in several testbeds for new techniques and technology to help improve forecast and warning operations nationally.
The Venue - Pruis Hall
The Venue - Pruis Hall
1000 N McKinley Ave, Muncie, IN 47306
1000 N McKinley Ave, Muncie, IN 47306
Free parking available at the New York and McKinley Parking Garages
Free parking available at the New York and McKinley Parking Garages
Let us know if you'll be attending!
Let us know if you'll be attending!
Follow #CISWS24 on Twitter!
Follow the Indiana Chapter of the American Meteorological Society on social media!
Ready to join the chapter outside of the symposium? Head over to our membership form to sign up and pay nominal dues.
T-Shirt ($20) Design
T-Shirt sales closed, but a limited
number will be available at the event
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse