All in all today was a very productive day. Things started up at 8 AM with the keynote address from the director of the Central Region District Manager. The morning continued with several speakers talking on issues ranging from what ingredients are needed to create a thunderstorm to how GIS systems can be a great aid to local emergency managers.

Tyler Costantini and myself skipped out a little early in the morning to checkout some of the vendors booths they have setup. New Mountain Innovations was here with their sonic anemometer, which is a very neat device if one has the dough to lay down for it. Gibson Ridge Software was also here, makers of the awesome GRlevelX products. They were showing a new software package they are currently developing GREarth. GREarth is a satellite program they are currently developing that places updated satellite images on a Google Map like interface. It shows water vapor, cloud cover, and anything else one would want to see in a satellite imaging software package. It will defiantly be something you will want to check out if it makes it to the market.

The afternoon session consisted of breakout sessions. I attended two sessions, one dealing with situational awareness and the other dealing with utilizing all of the products that NOAA offers via the forecast offices and the Storm Prediction Center. The evening ended with a great speech from Ann Dixon during the Evening Banquet. Ann Dixon is the Magistrate Judge in Greensburg, KS. She gave a very moving speech about her experiences involving the Greensburg Tornado. Its one thing to see the pictures of the carnage and another to hear someone narrate before and after pictures of their own home being destroyed.

Now I am sitting at the bar, having a few drinks before heading up and hitting the hay. Tomorrow sounds like it will be as good as today.