Some Changes and a Standing Stone

Kelton Halbert

Published: 2024-03-25

Before diving right into things, I want to set some expectations up front, and talk about a little bit of history. In ancient times, people would erect what are known as “Standing Stones” to commemorate important moments: treaties, spiritual encounters, victory in conquest, mourning, and the likes. Standing Stones were effectively meant to cause passers-by to wonder, “what happened here?”, and for those that knew, they were meant as a reminder to keep the memory present. This blog post is, for me, a form of a Standing Stone. It is meant to be a marker and a record of something important that has happened in my life, and to remember the strife as well as the blessings it took to get here. All that’s to say: this post is, first and foremost, for me. Well, future me. However, the news is also exciting and worthy of sharing, and I’m happy to let other people see a glimpse into my life. But, if you’re wondering “man, isn’t this a bit self indulgent?”, well, maybe it is, but it’s not for you. The summarized tweet thread will keep you plenty informed!

Departing OU-CIWRO/SPC

These next two weeks will be my last with the SPC branch of OU-CIWRO. The story of how I came to CIWRO/SPC is a saga in and of itself, and one I'm willing to tell if you want to meet me for some drinks at The Standard sometime, but suffice to say, 2022 was the year my life, my family, my community, and my self worth fell apart. I felt truly, and utterly, without hope. In the background of personal life and pandemic, the original grant that had funded my PhD work was running out and I was running out of options. To cut a long story short, even though I had options that would have kept me in Madison to finish my PhD, I knew for my own emotional and mental health that I needed change. I felt a bit like Frodo at the end of The Return of the King - too much had happened, and no matter how much I loved my home, I was irreparably damaged. I was also feeling increasingly isolated in my PhD, since I was the only student working on severe convective weather and struggled to get outside expertise and feedback. The opportunity to return to Norman to work for OU-CIWRO/SPC felt quite literally like a miracle, and everyone involved in making that happen from my advisor and committee members, to SPC and CIWRO leadership have my deepest gratitude for their efforts, support, and encouragement.

My experience working with OU-CIWRO/SPC since fall of 2022 has been incredible. From participating in the NSSL Hazardous Weather Testbed, to shadowing forecasters during active severe weather on the operations room floor, there has been no shortage of opportunity to participate in cool research topics, learn from decades of forecaster experience, and get incredible, real-time feedback from some of the best of the best. Working on the next generation of NSHARP/SHARPpy related tools (SHARPlib) was also an incredible, full circle moment.

The Winds of Change Are Blowin’

So after gushing about how incredible of an experience it's been, and how thankful I am, what on Earth could possibly cause me to leave? Well, if you came from Twitter there's no surprise here, but I am ecstatic to say that it's because I received an offer to join the Storm Prediction Center as a federal Techniques Development Meteorologist! So yeah, I'm leaving SPC to join SPC. While cool, what's the big deal then? Well, sometimes it's good to remember what your dreams and goals were, way back when. I have a distinct memory of working late one night during my Junior year of undergrad, where me and my roommate were outfitting the newly minted Oklahoma Weather Lab space with AWIPS-II machines. While I was working on the EDEX/CAVE localizations, my roommate was working on other hardware setup and blurted out "You know, one day, I'm gonna come back and work at SPC as a forecaster, and you're gonna join the Science Support Branch, and we're gonna take over the world". Of course it probably didn't go exactly like that, but the spirit of the exact quote is preserved accurately enough. That roommate was Andrew Lyons, current SPC Mesoscale Assistant Forecaster. I am now Kelton Halbert, SPC Techniques Development Meteorologist.

Dream Big

My first NWS product, a special weather statement, issued with Sam Shamburger of NWS Nashville. July, 2013.

When I was just a wee 3-year-old lad, I used to stand on the bottom rung of the white picket fence on the outskirts of our neighborhood in Spring Hill, TN, and watch the thunderstorms roll in from the southwest. I distinctly remember the April 16th, 1998 tornado that went straight through Nashville, TN, and the "Forgotten F5" that dissipated mere miles from where we lived. I remember the VHS my grandfather gave me, a documentary from The Weather Channel called "The Enemy Wind", which I still have today. I remember how sad I was, living in Southern California for 8 years, with little to no interesting weather to keep the passion alive. The arrival of Storm Chasers on Discovery (and my DVD copy of Twister) at least kept me interested long enough until we moved back to Tennessee. I remember visiting Nashville on a house-searching mission the day of April 10, 2009, when the Good Friday EF-4 tornado went right through Murfreesboro with a live camera view on the news as it crossed I-24. I remember following every single product issued by the Storm Prediction Center from that moment forward, and seeing the names of Edwards, Hart, Thompson, Corfidi, Jewell, Goss, Guyer, and many, many more (sorry, if I listed everyone we'd be here a while) - continually amazed about how much knowledge these people expertly imparted into their discussions. I remember in May of 2010, when I experienced my first PDS tornado watch in the middle of a massive flood event, and in 2011 the sinking feeling in my gut as I watched April 27th unfold from the inside of the Wilson County Emergency Management Agency. I remember that summer, attending a "Weather Camp", where I struck up a conversation with the counselor because he was a graduate student at OU. I wanted to learn more, and I wanted to learn how to get involved with SPC - I dreamt of a day I could work there.

My first office and office-mates when I started at OU. August, 2013.

I remember when our family friend Dave came to visit, and suggested I should learn a cool programming language called Python - he thought it would benefit me one day. I remember January of 2012, where I got to attend my first ever annual American Meteorological Society meeting as part of the aforementioned weather camp, where I heard a talk from Patrick Marsh about this cool open source program initiative he called SHARPpy. I remember being in complete disbelief when I was selected as a graduating high school senior to be a student intern at NWS Nashville, and the incredible amount of encouragement, support, and education I received from Larry, Angie, Tom, Sam, Brittany, and Trevor. I remember how incredible it was to arrive on campus at OU in 2013, and my disbelief that they hired me as an undergraduate research assistant on day 1. I remember the first time I got to sit down with Rich Thompson at the forecast desk with this same camp counselor (now friend, mentor, and collaborator: Greg Blumberg) in 2014 to discuss NSHARP and SHARPpy, since I had taken it upon myself to continue Patrick’s efforts with SHARPpy. I remember sitting in the unfinished Oklahoma Weather Lab space, putting together the next generation of tools so that students could gain experience in AWIPS-II before graduating, when my roommate mused about both of us returning to work at SPC one day. I remember when that prediction became a reality.

Like I said in the intro - this is my standing stone. This is my record and recollection, albeit sparse and scattered, of what it looked and felt like getting here. It is a moment of reflection to look at everything that has lead to this moment, a moment of thankfulness for the people who supported me along the way, and a moment of serenity and joy in what has been a crushing and depressing few years. This was far from a series of accidents and random chances, but a life-long passion to be involved in this work and community, and a hunger to seek out the people that would give me the time of day just to gain even a fraction of the knowledge they possessed. Individual effort can get you far, but nowhere near as far as you can get when you have incredible people providing support, encouragement, and wisdom. Now, I’m sitting here wondering: what on God’s green Earth are you to do when you achieve one of your life long dreams and passions before you even turn 30? Where do you even go from here? My advice to anyone younger and early in their career that may read this: learn to dream, be bold in your pursuit of those dreams, never be afraid to ask for help, and learn to dream a little bit bigger than I did… because now I have to teach myself how to dream again :).

Closing Thoughts

This is far from an exhaustive account and list of people to thank, so if you happened to feel left out, I promise it was not intentional. The purpose of a Standing Stone is not to be a full authoritative record, but a marker, that on this day, and at this time, something truly remarkable has happened: a dream and a passion has been fulfilled, by the grace of God and the help of so many others.

I also remember the more painful things. I remember when my grandfather who gave me my first tornado VHS passed away - the very man who inspired my passion for science sadly never got to see where I’d end up. I remember when my sister was diagnosed with cancer… twice… one of which was Stage 4. I remember being told I would never make it to graduate school due to my slipping grades during cancer. I remember being told by a colleague that a professor referred to me as “a disappointment and wasted potential”. There are even deeper conflicts and pains, and especially more recent ones, but that’s for a conversation over a drink sometime. I share these things not for the pity party, but to make sure I don’t paint an unrealistic expectation of what achieving a dream looks like. Like many, I had to fight and persist to hold on to these dreams.

I hope something about this was encouraging to anyone who has taken the time to read it. May you be blessed in your endeavors. And Kelton, if you ever again feel like you’ve completely lost hope… come back, read this, and remember this period of time.