@article{sugg_runkle_dow_barnes_stevens_pearce_bossak_curtis_2022, title={Individually experienced heat index in a coastal Southeastern US city among an occupationally exposed population}, ISSN={["1432-1254"]}, DOI={10.1007/s00484-022-02309-y}, journal={INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY}, author={Sugg, Margaret M. and Runkle, Jennifer D. and Dow, Kirstin and Barnes, Janice and Stevens, Scott and Pearce, John and Bossak, Brian and Curtis, Scott}, year={2022}, month={Jun} }
 @article{runkle_michael_stevens_sugg_2021, title={Quasi-experimental evaluation of text-based crisis patterns in youth following Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas, 2018}, volume={750}, ISSN={["1879-1026"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141702}, abstractNote={Crisis text lines have proven to be an effective and low-cost means for delivering texting-based mental health support to youth. Yet there has been limited research examining the use of these services in capturing the psychological impact on youth affected by a weather-related disaster. This ecologic study examined changes in help-seeking behavior for adolescents and young adults in North and South Carolina, USA, before and after Hurricane Florence (2018). A retrospective, interrupted time-series design was used to examine pre- and post-hurricane changes in crisis text volume among youth help seekers in the Carolinas for the following outcomes: (1) text for any reason; (2) stress & anxiety; (3) depression; and (4) suicidal thoughts. Results showed an immediate and sustained increase in crisis texts for stress/anxiety and suicidal thoughts in the six weeks following Florence. Overall, an immediate 15% increase in crisis texts for anxiety/stress (SE = 0.05, p = .005) and a 17% increase in suicidal thoughts (SE = 0.07, p = .02) occurred during the week of the storm. Text volume for anxiety/stress increased 17% (SE = 0.08, p = .005) and 23% for suicidal ideation (SE = 0.08, p = .01) in the 6-week post-hurricane period. Finally, forecast models revealed observed text volume for all mental health outcomes was higher than expected in the 6 weeks post-Florence. A low-cost, crisis texting platform provided 24/7 mental health support available to young people in the Carolinas impacted by Hurricane Florence. These findings highlight a new application for text-based crisis support services to address the mental health consequences in youth following a weather-related disaster, as well as the potential for these types of crisis platforms to measure situational awareness in impacted communities. • Limited research on mobile crisis counseling services following weather-related disasters • Low-cost, crisis texting platform provided 24/7 mental health support available to youth. • A notable increase in crisis help-seeking behaviors for youth in Carolinas post-Hurricane Florence, 2018 • A parallel increase in emergency department volume for mental conditions among youth in impacted communities • Near real-time behavioral data from crisis text can inform situational monitoring.}, journal={SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT}, author={Runkle, Jennifer D. and Michael, Kurt D. and Stevens, Scott E. and Sugg, Margaret M.}, year={2021}, month={Jan} }
 @article{kunkel_stevens_stevens_karl_2020, title={Observed Climatological Relationships of Extreme Daily Precipitation Events With Precipitable Water and Vertical Velocity in the Contiguous United States}, volume={47}, ISSN={["1944-8007"]}, DOI={10.1029/2019GL086721}, number={12}, journal={GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS}, author={Kunkel, Kenneth E. and Stevens, Scott E. and Stevens, Laura E. and Karl, Thomas R.}, year={2020}, month={Jun} }
 @article{lawrimore_wuertz_wilson_stevens_menne_korzeniewski_palecki_leeper_trunk_2020, title={Quality Control and Processing of Cooperative Observer Program Hourly Precipitation Data}, volume={21}, ISSN={["1525-7541"]}, DOI={10.1175/JHM-D-19-0300.1}, abstractNote={Abstract The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has operated a network of Fischer & Porter gauges providing hourly and subhourly precipitation observations as part of the U.S. Cooperative Observer Program since the middle of the twentieth century. A transition from punched paper recording to digital recording was completed by NOAA’s National Weather Service in 2013. Subsequently, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) upgraded its quality assurance and data stewardship processes to accommodate the new digital record, better assure the quality of the data, and improve the timeliness by which hourly precipitation observations are made available to the user community. Automated methods for removing noise, detecting diurnal variations, and identifying malfunctioning gauges are described along with quality control algorithms that are applied on hourly and daily time scales. The quality of the hourly observations during the digital era is verified by comparison with hourly observations from the U.S. Climate Reference Network and summary of the day precipitation totals from the Global Historical Climatology Network dataset.}, number={8}, journal={JOURNAL OF HYDROMETEOROLOGY}, author={Lawrimore, Jay H. and Wuertz, David and Wilson, Anna and Stevens, Scott and Menne, Matthew and Korzeniewski, Bryant and Palecki, Michael A. and Leeper, Ronald D. and Trunk, Thomas}, year={2020}, month={Aug}, pages={1811–1825} }
 @article{bailey_fuhrmann_runkle_stevens_brown_sugg_2020, title={Wearable sensors for personal temperature exposure assessments: A comparative study}, volume={180}, ISSN={["1096-0953"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.envres.2019.108858}, abstractNote={The impacts of heat on human health has sparked research on different approaches to measure, map, and predict heat exposure at more accurate and precise spatiotemporal scales. Personal heat sensor studies rely on small sensors that can continuously measure ambient temperatures as individuals move through time and space. The comparison between different types of sensors and sensor placements have yet to be fully researched. The objective of this study is to assess the validity of personal ambient temperature sensors. To accomplish this objective, we evaluated the performance of multiple low-cost wearable sensors (HOBOs, iButton Thermochrons, iButton Hygrochrons, and Kestrel DROP D3FW Fire) for measuring ambient temperature in a (1) field exposure study by varying the placement on human subjects and in a (2) field calibration study by co-locating sensors with fixed site weather station monitors. A secondary aim involved investigating consensus between validation metrics that can be used in future sensor comparison studies. Bland-Altman analysis, correlation coefficients, and index of agreement statistics were used to quantify the difference between sensor and weather station ambient temperature measurements. Results demonstrated significant differences in measured temperatures for sensors based on sensor type and placement on participants. Future research should account for the differences in personal ambient temperature readings based on sensor type and placement.}, journal={ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH}, author={Bailey, Elizabeth and Fuhrmann, Christopher and Runkle, Jennifer and Stevens, Scott and Brown, Michael and Sugg, Margaret}, year={2020}, month={Jan} }
 @article{sugg_stevens_runkle_2019, title={Estimating personal ambient temperature in moderately cold environments for occupationally exposed populations}, volume={173}, ISSN={["1096-0953"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.envres.2019.03.066}, abstractNote={Despite high mortality and morbidity rates in the winter season, few studies have investigated the health effects from working in moderately cold environments, especially among vulnerable outdoor worker populations in the southeastern US. Yet recent research has shown that the mortality risk from cold events is greatest in southern cities compared to other US locations. We performed repeated personal cold exposure measurements in outdoor grounds management workers in the southeastern US using consumer-based sensors. We recruited outdoor workers from two locations (Raleigh, NC and Boone, NC) each characterized by climatological differences in cold temperature to participate in a 3-week data collection period at the peak of the winter (Jan/Feb 2018). Lower personal ambient temperatures were observed among participants who worked in a warmer climate (Raleigh, NC). The relative risk for cold symptomatology was higher in moderately cold personal ambient temperatures (0 °C to 20 °C) than extremely cold personal ambient temperatures (less than 0 °C). A weak significant relationship was observed between personal ambient temperatures and weather station measurements highlighting that epidemiological researchers should be cautious when investigating the health effects of ambient temperatures based on fixed site measurements. As mobile technology progresses, real-time temperature health monitoring and analysis of environmental conditions at the individual level across multiple occupational-settings will become more feasible and ultimately, we believe, a digitally enhanced workforce will become standard practice in the field.}, journal={ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH}, author={Sugg, Margaret M. and Stevens, Scott and Runkle, Jennifer D.}, year={2019}, month={Jun}, pages={497–507} }
 @article{runkle_cui_fuhrmann_stevens_del pinal_sugg_2019, title={Evaluation of wearable sensors for physiologic monitoring of individually experienced temperatures in outdoor workers in southeastern US}, volume={129}, ISSN={["1873-6750"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.envint.2019.05.026}, abstractNote={Climate-related increases in global mean temperature and the intensification of heat waves present a significant threat to outdoor workers. Limited research has been completed to assess the potential differences in heat exposures that exist between individuals within similar microenvironments. Yet, there is a paucity of individual data characterizing patterns of individually experienced temperatures in workers and the associated physiologic heat strain response. The objective of this study was to apply a wearable sensor-based approach to examine the occupational, environmental, and behavioral factors that contribute to individual-level variations in heat strain in grounds maintenance workers. Outdoor workers from three diverse climatic locations in the southeastern United States - high temperature, high temperature + high humidity, and moderate temperature environments - participated in personal heat exposure monitoring during a 5-day work period in the summer. We performed Cox proportional hazards modeling to estimate associations between multiple heat strain events per worker and changes in individually experienced temperatures. Heat strain risk was higher among workers with a place to cool-off, higher education, and who worked in hotter temperatures. A mismatch was observed between workers' perceptions of heat strain and actual heat strain prevalence across exposure groups. We also used a quasi-Poisson regression with distributed lag non-linear function to estimate the non-linear and lag effects of individually experienced temperatures on risk of heat strain. The association between increasing temperature and heat strain was nonlinear and exhibited an U-shaped relationship. Heat strain was less common during issued heat warnings demonstrating behavioral adaptive actions taken by workers. This study is one of the first temperature monitoring studies to quantify the individual-level exposure-response function in this vulnerable population and highlights the elevated risk of heat strain both immediately and several days after worker exposure to high temperatures.}, journal={ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL}, author={Runkle, Jennifer D. and Cui, Can and Fuhrmann, Chris and Stevens, Scott and Del Pinal, Jeff and Sugg, Margaret M.}, year={2019}, month={Aug}, pages={229–238} }
 @article{stevens_schreck_saha_bell_kunkel_2019, title={Precipitation and Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Continental Analysis with High-Resolution Radar Data}, volume={100}, ISSN={["1520-0477"]}, DOI={10.1175/BAMS-D-18-0001.1}, abstractNote={Abstract Motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of accidental death in the United States, and weather is frequently cited as a contributing factor in fatal crashes. Previous studies have investigated the link between these crashes and precipitation typically using station-based observations that, while providing a good estimate of the prevailing conditions on a given day or hour, often fail to capture the conditions present at the actual time and location of a crash. Using a multiyear, high-resolution radar reanalysis and information on 125,012 fatal crashes spanning the entire continental United States over a 6-yr period, we find that the overall risk of a fatal crash increases by approximately 34% during active precipitation. The risk is significant in all regions of the continental United States, and it is highest during the morning rush hour and during the winter months.}, number={8}, journal={BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY}, author={Stevens, Scott E. and Schreck, Carl J., III and Saha, Shubhayu and Bell, Jesse E. and Kunkel, Kenneth E.}, year={2019}, month={Aug}, pages={1453–1462} }
 @article{stevens_2019, title={Trends in Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) Conditions at Major Airports in the United States}, volume={58}, ISSN={["1558-8432"]}, DOI={10.1175/JAMC-D-18-0301.1}, abstractNote={Abstract Weather-related delays are among the most common in aviation and are frequently the result of low visibility or cloud ceilings, which cause landing aircraft to be spaced farther apart for safety, reducing the capacity of an airport to land aircraft in a timely fashion. Using 45 years of archived surface observations from 30 of the busiest airports across the United States, the prevalence of low-visibility and low-ceiling conditions is examined, along with the meteorological conditions that support them and the associated trends over time. It is shown that these conditions are becoming less frequent at most locations—for many significantly so—and that this decrease can be seen at all times of day and in all seasons.}, number={3}, journal={JOURNAL OF APPLIED METEOROLOGY AND CLIMATOLOGY}, author={Stevens, Scott E.}, year={2019}, month={Mar}, pages={615–620} }
 @article{hennon_knapp_schreck_stevens_kossin_thorne_hennon_kruk_rennie_gadea_et al._2015, title={Cyclone Center: Can Citizen Scientists Improve Tropical Cyclone Intensity Records?}, volume={96}, ISSN={["1520-0477"]}, DOI={10.1175/bams-d-13-00152.1}, abstractNote={Abstract The global tropical cyclone (TC) intensity record, even in modern times, is uncertain because the vast majority of storms are only observed remotely. Forecasters determine the maximum wind speed using a patchwork of sporadic observations and remotely sensed data. A popular tool that aids forecasters is the Dvorak technique—a procedural system that estimates the maximum wind based on cloud features in IR and/or visible satellite imagery. Inherently, the application of the Dvorak procedure is open to subjectivity. Heterogeneities are also introduced into the historical record with the evolution of operational procedures, personnel, and observing platforms. These uncertainties impede our ability to identify the relationship between tropical cyclone intensities and, for example, recent climate change. A global reanalysis of TC intensity using experts is difficult because of the large number of storms. We will show that it is possible to effectively reanalyze the global record using crowdsourcing. Through modifying the Dvorak technique into a series of simple questions that amateurs (“citizen scientists”) can answer on a website, we are working toward developing a new TC dataset that resolves intensity discrepancies in several recent TCs. Preliminary results suggest that the performance of human classifiers in some cases exceeds that of an automated Dvorak technique applied to the same data for times when the storm is transitioning into a hurricane.}, number={4}, journal={BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY}, author={Hennon, Christopher C. and Knapp, Kenneth R. and Schreck, Carl J., III and Stevens, Scott E. and Kossin, James P. and Thorne, Peter W. and Hennon, Paula A. and Kruk, Michael C. and Rennie, Jared and Gadea, Jean-Maurice and et al.}, year={2015}, month={Apr} }
 @article{peng_zhang_frank_bidlot_higaki_stevens_hankins_2013, title={Evaluation of Various Surface Wind Products with OceanSITES Buoy Measurements}, volume={28}, ISSN={["1520-0434"]}, url={http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=ORCID&SrcApp=OrcidOrg&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS_CPL&KeyUT=WOS:000328520200001&KeyUID=WOS:000328520200001}, DOI={10.1175/waf-d-12-00086.1}, abstractNote={Abstract To facilitate evaluation and monitoring of numerical weather prediction model forecasts and satellite-based products against high-quality in situ observations, a data repository for collocated model forecasts, a satellite product, and in situ observations has been created under the support of various World Climate Research Program (WCRP) working groups. Daily measurements from 11 OceanSITES buoys are used as the reference dataset to evaluate five ocean surface wind products (three short-range forecasts, one reanalysis, and one satellite based) over a 1-yr intensive analysis period, using the WCRP community weather prediction model evaluation metrics. All five wind products correlate well with the buoy winds with correlations above 0.76 for all 11 buoy stations except the meridional wind at four stations, where the satellite and model performances are weakest in estimating the meridional wind (or wind direction). The reanalysis has higher cross-correlation coefficients (above 0.83) and smaller root-mean-square (RMS) errors than others. The satellite wind shows larger variability than that observed by buoys; contrarily, the models underestimate the variability. For the zonal and meridional winds, although the magnitude of biases averaged over all the stations are mostly <0.12 m s−1 for each product, the magnitude of biases at individual stations can be >1.2 m s−1, confirming the need for regional/site analysis when characterizing any wind product. On wind direction, systematic negative (positive) biases are found in the central (east central) Pacific Ocean. Wind speed and direction errors could induce erroneous ocean currents and states from ocean models driven by these products. The deficiencies revealed here are useful for product and model improvement.}, number={6}, journal={WEATHER AND FORECASTING}, author={Peng, Ge and Zhang, Huai-Min and Frank, Helmut P. and Bidlot, Jean-Raymond and Higaki, Masakazu and Stevens, Scott and Hankins, William R.}, year={2013}, month={Dec}, pages={1281–1303} }