UMass Lowell Meteorologist Available for Interviews
UMass Lowell Professor Frank Colby, a meteorologist, is available as an expert source for reporters.
09/14/2023
Media Contacts: Emily Gowdey-Backus and Nancy Cicco
Devastating rain and flooding throughout Massachusetts overnight this past Monday gave way to even more “flooding Wednesday, with thunderstorms through Thursday,” according to UMass Lowell meteorologist Frank Colby, who is available for interviews.
The forecast comes as residents and public works crews across the state assess the infrastructure damage and clean up and after Monday night’s rainstorms. Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency Tuesday in the Bay State, owing to catastrophic flash flooding and property damage, much of it in Worcester and Bristol counties.
New Englanders will cap the week with heavy surf along the coastline and strong winds, thanks to Hurricane Lee, according to Colby. Wednesday morning saw the storm tracking southwest of Bermuda and rated as a Category 3 storm.
“The trend over the last 36 hours is for Lee to stay further offshore,” said Colby, an authority on weather modeling, analysis and forecasting, whose research includes analyzing tropical storms, hurricanes, nor’easters and snow squalls. “The current forecast keeps any precipitation from the storm itself confined to the immediate Massachusetts and New Hampshire coastlines south of Cape Cod. Maine will be more heavily impacted as the center of Lee moves to the southwestern tip of Nova Scotia.”
Colby is available to discuss factors that give rise to severe weather events, the outlook for the remainder of the 2023 hurricane season and what could lie ahead for this winter.
A professor in UMass Lowell’s environmental, earth and atmospheric sciences (EEAS) department, Colby teaches in the university’s meteorology and atmospheric sciences program in the Kennedy College of Sciences. He is a member of UMass Lowell’s Climate Change Initiative, which works to research, educate and engage the community in initiatives to better understand and mitigate the climate crisis.
To arrange an interview with him contact Emily Gowdey-Backus or Nancy Cicco.