Connor Belak is originally from Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with honors in Geography/Meteorology, a minor in Outdoor Recreation and Education, and a certificate in Geographic Information Science. He completed the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) internship program after his sophomore year (Summer of 2017) by interning at the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland where he researched the quality of snowfall forecasts in the warm sector of low-pressure systems. He also interned at AccuWeather in State College, Pennsylvania during the Summer of 2018. Throughout Connor’s four years at Ohio University, he was heavily involved with OUCAMS. Connor served as the Event’s Coordinator during the 2018-2019 academic year. He was also an undergraduate research assistant for Dr. Ryan Fogt where he studied Antarctic Pressure, which led to his undergraduate honor’s thesis, “A Validation of Antarctic Pressure Reconstructions Using Historical Climate Data.”

After graduating from OU, Connor worked as a Pathways Meteorologist at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in San Diego, CA during the summer of 2019. Connor then went on to Purdue University to obtain his Master’s Degree in Atmospheric Science as a Research Assistant, where he completed his thesis, “Verification of Simulated DSDs and Sensitivity to CCN Concentration in EnKF Analysis and Ensemble Forecasts of the 30 April 2017 Tornadic QLCS during VORTEX-SE.”

Connor now works at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Baltimore/Washington DC, where he leads the Upper Air Observations program.