Speaker Spotlight - Zeb Leffler

We are excited to welcome Zeb Leffler, a second-year Master's student in the Atmospheric Earth Science (AES) department at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), to the Student Research Panel at the 2025 Rocket City Weather Festival. Zeb's cutting-edge thesis research delves into the world of hurricanes and tornadoes, exploring the dynamic and complex interactions that occur during landfall.

Zeb’s research focuses on analyzing near-surface wind profiles in land-falling hurricanes using ground-based Doppler radar observations. By examining these wind profiles, Zeb is able to gather critical data on how wind patterns behave close to the Earth’s surface during hurricane landfall. This detailed analysis helps to enhance our understanding of the boundary-layer wind structure of hurricanes, which is vital for assessing hurricane intensity and tracking its evolution as it moves inland. Understanding these wind patterns is crucial for improving the accuracy of hurricane forecasting, particularly with regard to predicting the strength and development of these powerful storms. Furthermore, Zeb’s work sheds light on how changes in wind profiles can impact local weather patterns, such as rainfall and storm surge, which can have significant implications for disaster preparedness and response.

In addition to studying near-surface wind profiles, Zeb’s research also investigates the rapid formation of tornadoes in the outer rainbands of hurricanes. This phenomenon, in which tornadoes can develop quickly and with little warning, is an important area of study in meteorology, as it poses an increased risk to communities located in the outer edges of hurricanes. By using Doppler radar to capture real-time observations of these tornado-producing processes, Zeb’s research contributes to a better understanding of how these tornadoes form and how they can be predicted. This research aims to improve our ability to forecast tornadoes in hurricane-affected areas, thus enhancing our ability to protect lives and property when these dangerous storms occur.

Join us on February 8th at the Rocket City Weather Festival to hear Zeb Leffler and other outstanding student researchers discuss their innovative projects. Don’t miss this opportunity to be inspired by the next generation of meteorologists and their impactful contributions to the field!