NSSL Staff Profiles

From 2010 to the present, I have been employed as a Research Scientist at CIMMS / CIWRO as part of the Warn-on-Forecast (WoF) project. I received my PhD at the University of Alabama in Huntsville in May 2006. My primary duty involves developing and testing methods to assimilate satellite data, with an emphasis on GOES-R products, into storm-scale numerical weather prediction models such as the Warn-on-Forecast System (WoFS).. In 2020, a new project integrating HRRR-Smoke technology in collaboration with GSL was begun to allow for short-term probabilistic forecasts of smoke generated from wildfires, resulting in WoFS-Smoke. I am also leading a fire weather “tiger team” within NSSL to coordinate fire related research across divisions, which includes planning for future field products, fire-weather model coupling, and increased observations of the active and post-fire conditions. In addition to research efforts, I have been involved in real-time support of the WoFS as part of the HWT. I was responsible for all satellite-DA aspects of the system, which includes realtime observation processing and monitoring until 2022 before being transitioned to a cloud-based system. I led the development of synthetic satellite, convection initiation, tropical cyclones and drought related parameters for WoFS and have received positive feedback from NWS forecasters on their usefulness in real-time applications.

I currently serve as the CIWRO representative to the NWC library committee and have also served as a member of the CIWRO travel, and best paper committees. I am currently an organizer for the CIWRO fire weather workshop scheduled to occur in February 2024.  Finally, I have been involved with several University of Oklahoma (OU) related activities. I was appointed as Adjunct Associate Faculty in 2019, and I have advised two OU Honors and OU Capstone projects. I served on the Master’s committee for Joel McAuliffe who graduated in May 2020 and on the Ph.D. committee of Sijie Pan. I also performed guest lectures on satellite DA for the Advanced Data Assimilation Methods class (METR-6313) and served as instructor for the Convective Seminar Series class from Fall 2019 until Spring 2020. As part of the fire weather project, I will be co-advising a student starting in spring 2024.

Jones, T. A., K. Knopfmeier, D. Wheatley, G. Creager, P. Minnis, R. Palikonda, 2016: Storm-Scale Data Assimilation and Ensemble Forecasting with the NSSL Experimental Warn-on-Forecast System. Part II: Combined Radar and Satellite Data Experiments. Weather and Forecasting, 31, 297–327, doi:10.1175/WAF-D-15-0107.1.

Jones, T. A., X. Wang, P. Skinner, A. Johnson, Y. Wang, 2018: Assimilation of GOES-13 Imager Clear-Sky Water Vapor (6.5 mm) Radiances into a Warn-on-Forecast System. Monthly Weather Review, 146, 1077–1107, doi:10.1175/MWR-D-17-0280.1.

Jones, T. A., P. Skinner, K. Knopfmeier, E. Mansell, P. Minnis, R. Palikonda, W. Smith, 2018: Comparison of Cloud Microphysics Schemes in a Warn-on-Forecast System Using Synthetic Satellite Objects. Weather and Forecasting, 33, 1681–1708, doi:10.1175/WAF-D-18-0112.1.

Jones, T. A., P. Skinner, N. Yussouf, K. Knopfmeier, A. Reinhart, X. Wang, K. Bedka, W. Smith Jr., R. Palikonda, 2020: Assimilation of GOES-16 Radiances and Retrievals into the Warn-on-Forecast System. Monthly Weather Review, 148, 1829–1859, doi:10.1175/MWR-D-19-0379.1.

Jones, T. A., R. Ahmadov, E. James, G. Pereira, S. Freitas, G. Grell, 2022: Prototype of a Warn-on-Forecast S 1 ystem for Smoke (WoFS-Smoke). Weather and Forecasting, 37, 7, 1191–1209, doi:doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-21-0143.1.

Jones, T. A., R. Ahmadov, E. James, 2022: Assimilation of aerosol optical depth into the Warn-on-Forecast System for Smoke (WoFS-Smoke). JGR Atmospheres, 127, 24, 1–21, doi:10.1029/2022JD037454.