Lauren Pounds

Graduate Research Assistant

lauren.pounds@ou.edu
lauren.pounds@noaa.gov
National Weather Center 4340B

Education

PhD, Meteorology, University of Oklahoma, in progress
MS, Meteorology, University of Oklahoma
BS, Geosciences with a Concentration in Professional Meteorology, Mississippi State University

About

Lauren is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Oklahoma working as a Graduate Research Assistant with CIRWO and NSSL. Her master's work was focused on understanding hail processes using observations and a hail trajectory model. For her PhD, she is working on understanding tornadic environments in the Southeast United States using large a large dataset of field campaign observations.

Research Focus

Hail processes
Southeast United States convective environments
Environmental evolution
Sounding observations

CIWRO Research Themes

Weather Radar and Observations
Mesoscale and Stormscale Modeling R&D
Forecast Applications Improvements R&D

Honors and awards

Best Student Oral Presentation, 33rd Conference on Weather Analysis and Forecasting/29th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction, 105th AMS Annual Meeting – 3rd Place
Yoshi Sasaki Award for best M.S. manuscript/publication, University of Oklahoma, School of Meteorology
Richard J. Doviak Award, University of Oklahoma, School of Meteorology

Publications

Pounds, L. E., C. L. Ziegler, R. D. Adams-Selin, and M. I. Biggerstaff, 2024: Analysis of Hail Production via Simulated Hailstone Trajectories in the 29 May 2012 Kingfisher, Oklahoma, Supercell. Mon. Wea. Rev., 152, 245–276, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-23-0073.1

Conference presentations

Pounds, L. E., M. D. Flournoy, R. L. Miller, M. C. Coniglio, and A. D. Wade, 2025: Analysis of Southeast US Tornadic and Non-tornadic Environments of Varying Storm Modes using Observed Soundings from the VORTEX-SE, Meso18-19, and PERiLS Field Campaigns. 105th AMS Annual Meeting, Amer. Meteor. Soc., J3B.3.
Pounds, L. E., M. D. Flournoy, and M. C. Coniglio, 2024: Comparing Observed Tornadic and Non-tornadic Environments from Multiple Field Campaigns in the Southeast US. 31st Conference on Severe Local Storms, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 10.3.
Pounds, L. E., M. D. Flournoy, and M. C. Coniglio, 2024: Analysis of Southeast US Storm Environments using Observed Soundings from the VORTEX-SE, Meso18-19, and PERiLS Field Campaigns. 31st Conference on Severe Local Storms, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 97.
Pounds, L. E., C. L. Ziegler, and R. D. Adams-Selin, 2022: Hailstone Trajectory Analysis from the Radar-Observed 29-30 Kingfisher, OK Supercell. 30th Conference on Severe Local Storms, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 11.3B.
Pounds, L. E., C. L. Ziegler, and R. D. Adams-Selin, 2022: Introduction of Oblate Hailstones and Additional Sensitivity Tests using HAILCAST Hail Growth Physics. 30th Conference on Severe Local Storms, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 111.
Pounds, L. E., A. E. Mercer, 2019: Analyzing the Importance of Model Physics in Simulating Environments Associated with Tornadogenesis Within Tropical Cyclones. 7th Annual NCSA Blue Waters Symposium.