Dr. Scott M. ('Doc') Rochette
Chair and Professor of
Synoptic Meteorology/Weather Center Director
Department of the Earth Sciences
SUNY Brockport
350 New Campus Drive
Brockport, NY 14420-2936
Academic Background
Ph.D. (Meteorology), Saint Louis University, September 1998
M.S.(R) (Meteorology), Saint Louis University, May 1994
B.S. (Meteorology), Lyndon State College, May 1988
About Me (not that you asked)
I am a
professor of meteorology and department chair in the Department
of the Earth Sciences at SUNY Brockport,
,
a small state college in western New York.
I have loved weather ever since I can remember, and now I get to share
that love with others. My background is
in operational meteorology (forecasting); prior to entering graduate school I
worked as a meteorologist for a private consulting firm in Hartford, CT. My teaching and research interests reflect
that background. From 2003 to 2006, I
served as technical editor of the National Weather Digest, the official
publication of the National Weather Association
(NWA). From January 2007 to December 2009 I served as a councilor to the NWA. If you're truly
bored, you can look at my CV.
I am originally from
Hartford, CT, but have spent varying amounts of time living (in order) in
Vermont, Missouri, Minnesota, and (now) New York. I have found western New York to be one of the most
meteorologically interesting places that I’ve ever lived! If you are interested in studying
meteorology in an environment with dramatically changing weather (and a little
of everything, from tornadoes to whiteout conditions), then this is
the place for you! Drop me a line and we’ll talk.
Courses Taught
See ESC 311 syllabus here.
ESC 312 – Synoptic Meteorology II (4 hours, every spring; *Spring 2022)
See ESC 416 syllabus here.
ESC 417/517 Dynamic
Meteorology (3 hours, odd spring; *Spring 2021)
ESC 452/552 – Mesoscale
Meteorology (3 hours, even spring; *Spring 2022)
ESC 460 – Meteorological
Internship (1-3 hours, every semester; *Summer 2019)
ESC 464 – Environmental
Internship (1-3 hours, by arrangement; *Summer 2011)
ESC 490 – Advanced Weather
Lab (1 hour, odd fall; *Fall 2021)
ESC 499/599/699 – Independent
Study (1-3 hours, occasionally; *Fall 2001)
* indicates most recent semester that I
taught/will teach the course
Class Links
Radar
Presentation for ESC 311 (Synoptic Meteorology I)
Jet
Streaks Presentation for ESC 312 (Synoptic Meteorology II)
Class Presentations (Journal Club) for ESC 452 (Mesoscale Meteorology)
PowerPoint Presentations for ESC 462 (Hydrometeorology)
Research Interests
Coupled Upper-level
Jet Streaks in the Northeastern U.S.
Diagnosis and
Prediction of Local/Regional Severe Weather Events
Warm- and Cold-Season
Excessive Precipitation
Elevated Convection
Mesoscale Modelling
Applications
Publications
Wood, J. D., E. J. Sadler, N. I. Fox, S. T. Greer, L. Gu, P. E. Guinan, A. R. Lupo, P. S. Market, S. M. Rochette, A. Speck, and L. D. White, 2019: Land-atmosphere responses to a total solar eclipse in three ecosystems with contrasting structure and physiology. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124, 530-543, doi:10.1029/2018JD029630.
Rochette, S. M., P. S. Market, C. M. Gravelle, and T. A. Niziol, 2017: A case study of anomalous snowfall with an Alberta clipper. Advances in Meteorology, 2017, doi:10.1155/2017/8406379.
McCoy, L. P., P. S. Market, C. M. Gravelle, C. E. Graves, N. I. Fox, S. M. Rochette, J. Kastman, and B. Svoma, 2017: Composites of heavy rain producing elevated thunderstorms in the central United States. Advances in Meteorology, 2017, doi:10.1155/2017/6932798.
Market, P. S., S. M. Rochette, J. Shewchuk, R. Difani, J. S. Kastman, C. B. Henson, and N. I. Fox, 2017: Evaluating elevated convection with the downdraft convective inhibition. Atmos. Sci. Lett., 18, 76-81, doi:10.1002/asl.727.
Kastman, J. S., P. S. Market, S. M. Rochette, and A. R. Lupo, 2017: Assessing upper tropospheric jet streak proximity using the Rossby radius of deformation. Atmosphere, 8(2), doi:10.3390/atmos8010002.
Market, P. S., S. M. Rochette, and A. R. Lupo, 2013: A comparison of modern and historical methods of calculating Montgomery streamfunction. Atmos. Sci. Lett., 14, 41-44, doi:10.1002/asl.414.
Rochette, S. M., and P. S. Market, 2011: A case study of an anomalous cold-season easterly jet streak in the mid-latitudes.
National Weather Association Electronic Journal of Operational Meteorology, 2011-EJ6.
See it here.
Market, P. S., S. M. Rochette, and R. L. Cripe, 2009: Case Studies in Meteorology, 2nd Ed. Kendall-Hunt, 75 pp.
Market, P. S., S. M. Rochette, and R. L. Ebert-Cripe, 2007: Case Studies in Meteorology. Kendall-Hunt, 60 pp.
Rochette, S. M., and P. S. Market, 2006: A primer on the ageostrophic wind.
Natl. Wea. Dig., 30, 17-28.
See it here.
Market, P. S., R. W. Przybylinski, and S. M. Rochette, 2006: The role of sublimational cooling in a late-season Midwestern snow event. Wea. Forecasting, 21, 364-382.
Rochette, S. M., 2005: Ice storms. Encyclopedia of New York State, P. Eisenstadt, Ed., Syracuse University Press, 762.
Rochette, S. M., 2005: Lake effect snow. Encyclopedia of New York State, P. Eisenstadt, Ed., Syracuse University Press, 856.
Moore, J. T., F. H. Glass, C. E. Graves, S. M. Rochette, and M.
J. Singer, 2003: The environment of warm-season elevated thunderstorms associated
with heavy rainfall over the central United States. Wea. Forecasting, 18, 861-878. See it here.
Market, P. S., J. T. Moore, and S. M. Rochette, 2000: On calculating vertical motions in
isentropic coordinates. Natl. Wea.
Dig., 24(4), 31-37.
Rochette, S. M., J. T. Moore, and P. S. Market, 1999: The importance of parcel choice in elevated
CAPE computations. Natl. Wea. Dig.,
23(4), 20-32. See it here.
Rochette, S. M., and J. T. Moore, 1996: Initiation of an elevated mesoscale convective system associated
with heavy rainfall. Wea.
Forecasting, 11, 443-457. See it here.
Market, P. S., and S. M. Rochette, 1996: On the use of cloud symbology in modern
forecasting. Natl. Wea. Dig.,
20(3), 47-52.
Recent Papers and Presentations
Market, P. S., and S. M. Rochette, 2017: Shadows over envelopes: How weather balloons shed light on eclipse science.
Invited oral presentation, Jefferson City Capital Eclipse Rotunda Series, Jefferson City, MO.
Bliss, M., S. M. Rochette, and S. Jessup, 2017: Influence of short wave troughs on the resulting snow-to-liquid ratios of lake effect snow bands.
Presented in poster session, 42nd Annual Northeastern Storm Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY.
Market, P. S., S. M. Rochette, J. Shewchuk, N. I. Fox, R. J. Stefani, J. S. Kastman, and C. B. Henson, 2017: Downdraft convective inhibition as a means to discriminate elevated convection. Presented in poster session, 28th Conference on Weather Analysis and Forecasting/24th Conference on Numerical Weather Prediction, Seattle, WA, Amer. Meteor. Soc.
Walker, B. N., J. P. Mulholland, and S. M. Rochette, 2016: The evolution of wintertime mesoscale vortices over the Great Lakes.
Presented in poster session, 41st Annual Northeastern Storm Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY.
Market, P. S., S. M. Rochette, M. Bodner, N. I. Fox, and J. Kastman, 2015: Stability tendency during elevated convective events with heavy rainfall.
Presented in poster session, National Weather Association 40th Annual Meeting,
Oklahoma City, OK.
Gagan, J. P., P. S. Market, C. M. Gravelle, and S. M. Rochette, 2014: NWA winter weather workshop 2014.
Presented in oral session, NWA Broadcasters Meeting, National Weather Association 39th Annual Meeting,
Salt Lake City, UT.
Rochette, S. M., 2012: Confessions of a reluctant stormchaser.
Invited oral presentation, Morning with the Professors, The College at Brockport,
Brockport, NY.
See it here.
Wehner, B. M., and S. M. Rochette, 2012: Differences between Northeast and Midwest United States environments that lead to tornadic thunderstorms.
Presented in oral session, 3rd Annual Great Lakes Atmospheric Science Symposium,
Oswego, NY.
Market, P. S., and S. M. Rochette, 2011: A comparison of methods for calculating Montgomery streamfunction using modern data.
Presented in poster session, National Weather Association 36th Annual Meeting,
Birmingham, AL, 83. See it here.
Rochette, S. M., 2011: An overview of the 27 April 2011 tornado outbreak.
Invited oral presentation, A. D. Oliver Middle School Science Fair, Brockport, NY.
See it here.
Rochette, S. M., 2011: Did we ever know what we were talking about? A brief history of weather forecasting.
Invited oral presentation, Morning with the Professors, The College at Brockport,
Brockport, NY.
See it here.
Geasey, J., and S. M. Rochette, 2011: An analysis of lake-effect rain events associated with Lake Ontario.
Presented in oral session, 2nd Annual Great Lakes Atmospheric Science Symposium,
Oswego, NY.
Miller, S., P. S. Market, and S. M. Rochette, 2010: The application of the four-quadrant model to real-world jet streaks.
Presented in poster session, National Weather Association 35th Annual Meeting,
Tucson, AZ, 39. See it here.
Market, P. S., S. M. Rochette, and A. Giannandrea, 2010: A brief 10-year climatology of flash flooding and elevated convection for central Missouri.
Presented in oral session, Missouri Academy of Science Annual Meeting, Springfield, MO.
Rochette, S. M., and C. M. Gravelle, 2010: The little snowstorm that could: Analysis of the 19-20 December 2008 snowfall event.
Presented in poster session, 35th Annual Northeastern Storm Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY, 74.
See abstract here.
Rochette, S. M., and C. M. Gravelle, 2009: Examination of an overachieving snowfall event: 19-21 December 2008.
Presented in poster session, National Weather Association 34th Annual Meeting,
Norfolk, VA, 111. See it here.
Giannandrea, A., S. M. Rochette, and P. S. Market, 2009: A 15-year climatology of flash flooding and elevated convection for central Missouri.
Presented in poster session, National Weather Association 34th Annual Meeting,
Norfolk, VA, 49. See it here.
Rochette, S. M., C. M. Gravelle, and P. S. Market, 2009: Contribution of ageostrophic wind components in coupled upper-level jet streaks.
Presented in poster session, 34th Annual Northeastern Storm Conference, Springfield, MA, 73.
See it here.
Rochette, S. M., C. M. Gravelle, and P. S. Market, 2008: Decomposition of the ageostrophic wind in cold-season coupled upper-level jets.
Presented in poster session, National Weather Association 33rd Annual Meeting,
Louisville, KY, 79. See it here.
Rochette, S. M., C. M. Gravelle, and S. J. Earle, 2008: The 11-12 February 2006 NYC snowstorm: A remote sensing perspective of forcing mechanisms.
Presented in poster session, 33rd Annual Northeastern Storm Conference, Springfield, MA, 69.
See it here.
Rochette, S. M., S. J. Earle, and C. M. Gravelle, 2007: An analysis of forcing mechanisms responsible for the 11-12 February 2006 NYC snowstorm.
Presented in poster session, National Weather Association 32nd Annual Meeting,
Reno, NV, 85. See it here.
Snavely, E. E., S. M. Rochette, and C. E. Graves, 2007: A diagnostic analysis of significant cold-season elevated thunderstorms. Presented in poster session, National Weather Association 32nd Annual Meeting,
Reno, NV, 48. See it here.
Gravelle, C. M., C. E. Graves, and S. M. Rochette, 2007: A climatology and statistical classification of Midwestern snow bands: A process-oriented approach.
Presented in poster session, National Weather Association 32nd Annual Meeting,
Reno, NV, 48-49.
See it here.
Gravelle, C. M., S. M. Rochette, T. A. Niziol, and C. E. Graves, 2007: Composite analyses of coupled upper-level jet streaks east of the Rocky Mountains: Weak dynamic cases.
Presented in oral session, Missouri Academy of Science Annual
Meeting, St. Joseph, MO.
See it here.
Gravelle, C. M., C. E. Graves, and S. M. Rochette, 2007: A process-oriented observational study of snowfall potential in the Central United States.
Presented in oral session, Missouri Academy of Science Annual
Meeting, St. Joseph, MO.
See it here.
Rochette, S. M., C. M. Gravelle, and T. A. Niziol, 2007: Composite analyses of coupled upper-level jet streaks in the Northeastern U. S. Part I: Weak dynamic cases.
Presented in poster session, 32nd Annual
Northeastern Storm Conference, Springfield, MA, Lyndon State College
Chapter, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 68.
See it here.
Rochette, S. M., C. M. Gravelle, and T. A. Niziol, 2007: Cold-season coupled upper-level jet streaks in the Northeastern U. S. Part II: Strong dynamic cases.
Presented in poster session, 32nd Annual
Northeastern Storm Conference, Springfield, MA, Lyndon State College
Chapter, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 69.
See it here.
Graves, C. E.. and S. M. Rochette, 2007: Jim Moore remembered with 2007 Russell DeSouza award.
Daily BAMS, 5, 2.
Rochette, S. M., C. M. Gravelle, and T. A. Niziol, 2006: Cold-season coupled upper-level jet streaks in the Northeastern U. S. Part I: Weak dynamic cases.
Presented in poster session, National Weather Association 31st Annual Meeting,
Cleveland, OH.
See it here.
Rochette, S. M., C. M. Gravelle, and T. A. Niziol, 2006: Cold-season coupled upper-level jet streaks in the Northeastern U. S. Part II: Strong dynamic cases.
Presented in poster session, National Weather Association 31st Annual Meeting,
Cleveland, OH.
See it here.
Rochette, S. M., C. M. Gravelle, and T. A. Niziol, 2006: The influence of jet streak interaction on the Northern Plains heavy snow event of 21 January 2005. Presented in poster session, 31st Annual
Northeastern Storm Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY, Lyndon State College
Chapter, Amer. Meteor. Soc. See abstract here.
Gravelle, C. M., S. M. Rochette, and T. A. Niziol, 2005: The role of coupled jet streaks in a Midwestern heavy snow event.
Presented in poster session, National Weather Association 30th Annual Meeting,
St. Louis, MO.
See it here.
Rochette, S. M., 2005: Warm-season elevated thunderstorms with heavy rainfall: A composite study. Invited oral presentation, Spring Severe Weather
Workshop, National Weather Service Forecast Office, Buffalo, NY. See it
here.
Rochette, S. M., T. A. Niziol, and C. M. Gravelle, 2005: Examination of forcing mechanisms leading to a surprise heavy snow event.
Abstracts, 30th Annual
Northeastern Storm Conference, Burlington, VT, Lyndon State College
Chapter, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 62.
Rochette, S. M., and T. A. Niziol, 2004: 11 inches of snow from an Alberta clipper?! Post-analysis of an unlikely heavy snow event.
Presented in poster session, National Weather Association 29th Annual Meeting,
Portland, OR.
See it here.
Rochette, S. M., 2004: Conventional and isentropic analyses of a cold-season heavy rainfall episode associated with elevated convection. Abstracts, 29th Annual
Northeastern Storm Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY, Lyndon State College
Chapter, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 77. See it here.
Rochette, S. M., 2003: Jet streak dynamics. Invited oral presentation, Winter Weather
Workshop, National Weather Service Forecast Office, Buffalo, NY. See it
here.
Roohr, P. B., P. S. Market, and S. M. Rochette, 2003: More
submissions, please. Presented in oral
session, National Weather Association 28th Annual Meeting,
Jacksonville, FL.
Market, P. S., and S. M. Rochette, 2003: Flash-flood producing
mesoscale convective systems: A statistical analysis of precipitation efficiency. Abstracts, 28th Annual
Northeastern Storm Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY, Lyndon State College
Chapter, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 45. See it here.
Market, P. S., and S. M. Rochette, 2002: Precipitation efficiency
aspects of flash flood producing MCSs.
Preprints, 21st Conference on Severe Local Storms, San
Antonio, TX, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 387-388.
Rochette, S. M., 2002: (Hydro)Meteorological aspects of the
Cattaraugus Creek flash flood of 26 June 1998.
Invited oral presentation, Department of Soil and Atmospheric Sciences,
University of Missouri-Columbia.
Rochette, S. M., and J. A. Zollweg, 2002: An analysis of the
Cattaraugus Creek flash flood of 26 June 1998.
Abstracts, 27th Annual Northeastern Storm Conference,
Saratoga Springs, NY, Lyndon State College Chapter, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 14.
Blahyj, D. M., and S. M. Rochette, 2002: An analysis of the 27-28
May 2001 Great Plains derecho.
Abstracts, 27th Annual Northeastern Storm Conference,
Saratoga Springs, NY, Lyndon State College Chapter, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 39.
Pfendler, A. P., T. A. Niziol, and S. M. Rochette, 2002: Verification of day 4 through day 7 forecast
for Buffalo and Rochester, NY.
Abstracts, 27th Annual Northeastern Storm Conference,
Saratoga Springs, NY, Lyndon State College Chapter, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 32.
Rochette, S. M., and J. A. Maliekal, 2001: An examination of the
4 March 1999 blizzard. Abstracts, 26th
Annual Northeastern Storm Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY, Lyndon State
College Chapter, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 14.
Maliekal, J. A., S. M. Rochette, J. D. Caughel, R. J. Ballantine,
and A. J. Stamm, 2001: The Genesee Valley blizzard of 4 March 1999: An analysis
of forcing mechanisms. Preprints, Symposium
on Precipitation Prediction: Extreme Events and Mitigation, Albuquerque,
NM, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 22-23.
Rochette, S. M., 2000: An
episode of elevated convective heavy rainfall: A numerical study. Abstracts, 25th Annual
Northeastern Storm Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY, Lyndon State College
Chapter, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 14.
Interesting Links (meteorological and otherwise)
Jim Moore’s Homepage – my grad advisor at SLU; should
give some insight into why I am the way I am (academically and otherwise).
UPDATE: Doc Moore passed away on 25 July 2006 after a brief illness. He was 54. You can read a tribute booklet here, and read the text of my memorial speech here. In January 2007 he received (posthumously) the Russell L. De Souza Award
for Outstanding Community Service, given annually by Unidata. I was humbled and honored to accept the award on his behalf. Read the related
article in the Unidata Newsletter here. Please note that Doc's web page has been disabled; I am leaving the link intact in his memory.
Meteorology Pages – a list of various
meteorology links, including data archives.
AMS Employment
Announcements – need a job?
Pat Market’s Homepage – a met prof at Mizzou; my
collaborator, co-author, partner in crime, and suspected twin brother.
HPC Homepage – Hydrometeorological
Prediction Center; lots of good weather info here.
Interactive Weather Information Network – current weather hotspots.
Gary Lackmann’s
Forecasting Lab Links – an NCSU met prof, formerly of Brockport; no-nonsense link
page, lots of good stuff.
Lyndon State College
Department of Meteorology (MET Navigator) – my alma mater.
Saint
Louis University Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences – my graduate alma mater.
Cooperative Institute for Precipitation
Systems – Jim
Moore (r.i.p.) and Chuck Graves run this show; lots of good information here.
COMET’s MetEd
Homepage – meteorology education and
training.
Texas
A & M Weather Discussion Links – many excellent current data sources, for
when you just can’t run GARP.
National Weather Association – a great organization for
operational meteorologists.
SPC’s National Weather
Analysis and Briefing Page – interactive, with a focus on severe weather; again, good
for the GARP-less.
National Weather Service
Forecast Office Buffalo – our local WFO; great for local/regional weather data and
lake effect snow info.
Weather Challenge – so how are YOU doing in the forecast contest?
Operational
Models Matrix – (almost) everything you’ve wanted to know about the models,
and in one place.
NCAR-RAP Real-Time
Weather Data – another fine source of weather data for the GARP-impaired.
National Public Radio – precious few make better
radio…
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – …but these people come
mighty close.
St. Louis Blues - will this be the year that the Stanley Cup comes to 14th and Clark? Yeah, right. Well, I'll be damned.
Rush - THE met geek's soundtrack band!
Richard Thompson - the finest singer/songwriter you've never heard of, as well as one of the world's most brilliant guitarists.
93.9 FM--The River - a great radio station in Turners Falls, MA: check 'em out now before they too fall prey to corporate programmers.
Department of the Earth
Sciences
SUNY Brockport
Last updated 26 September 2022; my opinions are just that.
