The 29th Conference on Severe Local Storms (SLS29), sponsored by the AMS and organized by the AMS Committee on Severe Local Storms, was held 22-26 October 2018 at the Stoweflake Mountain Resort & Spa, in Stowe, Vermont.

Bridging the Gap Between Models and Observations at the Frontier of Severe Storms Science

Oral and poster presentations were solicited on all topics related to severe local storms and associated hazards of tornadoes, large hail, damaging winds, lightning, and flash floods.  Presentations pushing the boundaries of our fundamental physical understanding of severe convective storms through synergies of cutting-edge observations, analysis tools, and numerical modeling are particularly encouraged.

Presentations on the following scientific themes were solicited:

1. Supercells: theoretical, modeling, and/or observational studies of supercell storms; studies relating to supercell structure, dynamics, microphysics, and hazard production.
2. Mesoscale Convective Systems: theoretical, modeling, or observational studies of mesoscale convective systems (MCCs, MCSs, QLCSs, squall lines, bow echoes, etc.); studies relating to their structure, dynamics, microphysics, and hazard production.
3. Tornadoes: theoretical, modeling, or observational studies of processes associated with genesis and dissipation of tornadoes; tornado dynamics; tornadogenesis failure; discrimination of tornadic and nontornadic storms; tornado detection; damage assessment.
4. Hail: theoretical, modeling, and/or observational studies of hail formation, growth, and melting; severe hail detection and sizing; physical properties of hailstones.
5. Severe Local Wind: theoretical, modeling, and/or observational studies of severe convective winds; processes associated with severe wind production; detection.
6. Lightning: Theoretical, modeling, and/or observational studies of lightning; processes associated with the production of lightning; lightning properties; detection techniques.
7. Flash Flooding: theoretical, modeling, and/or observational studies of flash flooding events; including hydrometeorological impacts of severe local storms.
8. Advanced Data Assimilation and Forecasting of Severe Convective Weather: advanced data assimilation or other numerical techniques for the analysis and prediction of convective storms and their hazards; operational forecasting products and prediction systems; severe storms forecasting.
9. Societal Impacts of and Responses to Severe Local Storms: understanding the social impacts of high-impact severe storm events; societal resiliency and response to severe local storms; warning communication; the role of social media in severe storms research and communication.
10. Climatologies and Climate Impacts of Severe Local Storms: Novel techniques to assess regional or global climatologies of severe convective storms and their associated hazards; the impact of changing climate on severe storm environments; severe storm hazard databases; orographic/regional/local influences on severe storm environments.  

             An abstract fee of $95 (payable by credit card or purchase order) was required at the time of submission. Please note that some abstracts may not be accepted, depending on program constraints, relevance, and merit of subject matter. In such cases the abstract fee was refunded. Authors could indicate their preference for an oral or poster presentation during abstract submission; those authors presenting more than one paper should clearly indicate which they prefer for a possible oral presentation. Oral presentation slots were very limited; thus, authors could only request one oral submission, but are welcome to present multiple posters. Authors of accepted presentations were notified via e-mail by mid-July 2018.  All abstracts, extended abstracts and presentations are available on the AMS web site at no additional cost.

        For additional information please contact either of the program chairs: Terra Ladwig, [email protected], Earth Systems Research Laboratory Global System Division, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305; or Matt Kumjian, [email protected], The Pennsylvania State University Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, 502 Walker Building, University Park, PA 16802.