Now more than ever, Mann says it’s critical for scientists and other experts to make their voices heard amid the chaos of "fake news".

Not only do thunderstorms bring us strong winds. They also bring us damaging hail.

Inaccuracies in boundary layer assessment lead to significant errors in forecasts, said John Banghoff, graduate student in meteorology, Penn State.

A particular focus of the program is on understanding the impact of human activities on climate and understanding and predicting natural climate variation.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Alumni Association will recognize 14 graduates on Oct. 3 with the lifelong title of Alumni Fellow, the highest award given by the Alumni Association.

For John Harlim, professor of mathematics and meteorology at Penn State and an Institute for CyberScience (ICS) co-hire, it is similar to reviewing his last decade of research.

"It’s not just the data that’s important," Fuqing Zhang, professor of meteorology and director of ADAPT said. "It’s how we design very sophisticated numerical mathematical algorithms to ingest that satellite data into the model. This is really our expertise and our pride. Our team is the first to be able to effectively take in this high resolution satellite data and prove it can be useful in real-case scenarios."

Researchers with RELAMPAGO-CACTI will track severe thunderstorms in South America's Pampas region.

Greg Forbes, a severe weather expert for The Weather Channel, found a familiar place when he returned to Penn State’s University Park campus to accept one of 14 Alumni Fellow Awards, the highest honor given by the Penn State Alumni Association.

Professor Zhang was selected as a Fellow “for fundamental understanding of multiscale predictability and dynamics and for breakthroughs in hurricane prediction through ensemble data assimilation.”

Penn State researchers were among a team of international scientists whose work on a new climate assessment of North America provides a better understanding of the carbon cycle.