Olympic forecaster

CIMMS's David Schultz was a forecaster on the Olympic Weather Support Group in Salt Lake City during the Olympic Winter Games of 2002. David was part of an NWS group that forecast the weather for transportation corridors, parkand- rides, and avalanche zones. The NWS group also lead the coordination among various groups providing weather support. The weather was cooperative during much of the Olympics, with below normal precipitation and above normal temperatures at the mountain venues. The most exciting time for David was the last day of the Olympics as a cold front was bearing down on the venue of the closing ceremonies, almost forcing the fireworks to be cancelled. He said that seeing how his research on Utah weather systems impacts operational weather forecasting was a satisfying part of his Olympic experience.