My name is Erin Thead, and I hold a Ph. D. in Earth & Atmospheric Sciences from Mississippi State University. (This is my own web site, though; they have nothing to do with the content or the hosting.) My Master’s degree is in meteorology, and my undergraduate degree is in software engineering. I have combined the two fields of study for my research. My Master’s thesis was about the use of a statistical learning machine algorithm to forecast lightning, and my dissertation was about uncertainty analysis in deterministic model ensembles of severe weather outbreak forecasts.
I currently work for the National Weather Service’s Meteorological Development Laboratory as a contract employee. My writings and other posts are my opinion alone and do not necessarily reflect their views.
I also have written on a voluntary basis for the Climate Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to publishing sound science in climate change for the public and working with partners in the cause of climate resiliency. Anything I say on my personal website, erinthead.com, is not necessarily their opinion either.
From 2006 to 2007, I worked in social media outreach, nonprofit liasing, database/web development, and administrative functions in the John Kerry for Senate political campaign. They also had (and have) nothing to do with the content that is on this website, including blog content. Everything I have written here is my own opinion.
Currently I am a “classical liberal” or possibly even a NeverTrumper.
This site pretty well explains most of my interests and hobbies, but I’ll reiterate them anyway because there are a few that aren’t covered: meteorology, weather, politics, art, writing, Steampunk, fantasy fiction set in a modern(ish) era, and following Red Sox baseball. Check out my links and weather links for sites that I like.
In 1997 and 1998, I took part in the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee representing the newspaper The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, MS. I made the finals both years. Later, in 1999, the Mississippi Legislature passed a resolution acknowledging it (PDF).
PolitiCalypso is my personal, political, and culture blog. Synoptic Flow is my weather blog. Neither blog is frequently updated anymore, because doctoral dissertation work occupies a lot of a person’s time. This site, ErinThead.com, also reachable at ErinThead.net, is now my official personal site.
This is my Facebook page. Please “like” this if you want to follow my posts there. Please do not send me a friend request for my personal Facebook account (not linked here) unless you know me. I don’t approve friend requests unless they are from people that I know. Here is my Twitter account. I have a brief profile on LinkedIn as well; here it is.