Nicholas Metz joined the HWS faculty in 2011 and currently serves as chair of the Department of Geoscience where he teaches courses focused on specialized areas in meteorology, including hydrometeorology and weather analysis, as well as a first-year seminar exploring climate change and the intersection of science and politics. His research examines high-impact weather, including large-scale weather systems and severe weather affecting the Finger Lakes and Great Lakes regions such as lake-effect snow and thunderstorms.
During his tenure as a professor, Metz has overseen dozens of student research projects both during the academic year and over the summer, led the HWS weather forecasting team in the national Weather Challenge competition, and taken students to Hawaii and the Midwest to learn about various weather phenomena. With his collaborators, including HWS faculty and students, he has obtained numerous grants from the National Science Foundation to study various aspects of lake-effect snow, among other projects.
Research Description
Synoptic and mesoscale interactions
Mesoscale convective systems near the Great Lakes
The effects of high-impact weather on climate
Southern Hemisphere cold surges
Lake-Effect Snow
The impacts of recurving tropical cyclones on downstream weather
Atmospheric Rivers in the Northeast