Media Coverage

The following articles and news releases were published about the TRACER field campaign.

Media Coverage

• Grid News
  “The hunt is on to find out if air pollution is supercharging violent summer thunderstorms”
  July 11, 2022

• Houston Chronicle (subscription required to view)
  “Houston just had its hottest June yet. The next two months could also be ‘above normal’”
  July 1, 2022″Atmospheric study based from La Porte, Pearland sites”
  June 8, 2022

  “UH researchers seek to learn whether soot and smoke cause stronger storms”
  June 3, 2022

  “Can tiny particles in the atmosphere create stronger thunderstorms? UH is trying to find out.”
  September 28, 2021

• Houston Public Media
  “Is air pollution making thunderstorms more severe? Scientists in Houston want to find out”
  June 15, 2022″Air Pollution Could Be Making Houston Thunderstorms More Intense. Researchers Want To Find Out For Sure”
  September 28, 2021

• KHOU 11
  “Scientists trying to determine if air pollution is making our weather worse”
  June 10, 2022

• Fox 26 Houston
  “TRACER: Storm formation study takes place in Houston”
  March 11, 2022

• AccuWeather
  “Does air pollution help storms intensify?” (video)
  October 7, 2021

• TBR News Media (Long Island, New York)
  “Intensive cloud study in Houston led by BNL’s Mike Jensen may improve weather forecasts”
  October 7, 2021

• Houston Press
  “Is Houston’s Air Quality Triggering Crazy Thunderstorms?”
  October 1, 2021

• Nature World News
  “Does Worsening Air Pollution Cause More Intense Thunderstorms? Experts Are Trying to Find Out”
  September 28, 2021

• Fox 44 News (Waco, Texas)
  “Baylor University preparing for spring semester”
  January 8, 2021

Institutional Articles/Releases

• The University of Oklahoma
  “OU Weather Researchers Explore Deep Convective Clouds in Coastal Cities”
  September 26, 2023

• Columbia University
  “Is Air Pollution Fueling Stronger Thunderstorms? Project Aims to Find Out”
  August 17, 2022

• Brookhaven National Laboratory
  “Classifying Weather to Tease Out How Aerosols Influence Storms”
  March 21, 2022
  (Also published by ScienceDaily)”Does Pollution Make Thunderstorms More Severe?”
  September 27, 2021

• Argonne National Laboratory
  “Argonne scientists advance global climate models by embarking on two new field campaigns”
  December 14, 2021

• Texas A&M Today
  “Texas A&M Scientists To Study Storm Systems In Houston”
  December 3, 2021

• University of Houston
  “Photo Story: Does Pollution Make Thunderstorms More Severe?”
  September 27, 2021

• NASA Langley Research Center
  “NASA Study Examines Houston-area Air Quality Issues”
  September 21, 2021

• NASA
  “NASA Maps Air Quality in Ozone Hot Spot”
  June 25, 2021

• Baylor University
  “Baylor Researchers Earn Department of Energy Grant to Study Impact of Urban Pollution on Thunderstorm Activity”
  January 7, 2021

Podcasts

• Baylor Connections
  “Season 4, Episode 430: Conversation with Rebecca Sheesley and Sascha Usenko”
  Professors of environmental science at Baylor University discuss research that can uncover clues about thunderstorms in urban areas and lead to improvements in public health in Texas and beyond.
  July 23, 2021