Florida Tech Junior Earns First Place in Weather Forecasting Contest

– Chris Bonanno, a Florida Tech junior and meteorology major, represented the university to compete among 1,103 weather forecasters in the National
Collegiate Weather Forecasting Contest (NCWFC) in April. He earned the first-place award for the freshman-sophomore category.

The 42 participating institutions, from the United States and Canada, included Cornell University, McGill University, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Temple University and Texas A&M University.

Bonanno, a resident of Rockledge, Fla., won for his forecast of temperatures and precipitation at Lander, Wyo. over a two-week period this spring. He has
been a member of the Florida Tech American Meteorological Society for the past three years and was recently elected the organization’s publishing officer.

Following completion of his bachelor’s degree, Bonanno hopes to work at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla. His main meteorological interest is in
tropical cyclones. His faculty advisor is Dr Steven Lazarus, assistant professor in the Department of Marine and
Environmental Systems.

The NCWFC is a forecasting contest between students, faculty and staff at participating universities across the United States and Canada. Each year,
participants predict temperatures and precipitation for cities around the United States, competing for bragging rights as best individual and school
forecasters.