Karl Jungbluth

Karl is in charge of Science and Training at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Des Moines, Iowa. His duties range from issuing tornado warnings, to collaborative research with Iowa’s universities. When he’s not tracking severe thunderstorms on the Doppler radar, Karl uses his knowledge of birds and radar to monitor bird migration signatures, which are known to “contaminate” the wind information from the radar. Karl has a B.S. and M.S. in Meteorology, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A member of the Audubon of Kansas board since February 2005, Karl is also past president of his local Big Bluestem Audubon Society, which covers Ames and Boone, Iowa, plus surrounding areas. He and his wife Carmen are currently chapter Birdathon Coordinators. Karl is also past president of Iowa’s statewide Audubon organization, Iowa Audubon. He remains a leader on the Iowa Audubon board of directors, where a major focus is growing the Iowa Important Bird Areas program to identify, monitor, and protect Iowa’s most essential bird habitats. Interests include “birding with a purpose”, all the way from Christmas Bird Counts to Birdathons to breeding bird surveys for Iowa’s Important Bird Areas and other quality habitats.