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Everything Weather Podcast
A conversational, educational, & educational weather podcast about everything weather. Exploring the world of weather, now every other Monday.
Everything Weather Podcast
Weather Assurance from Reinsurance with Dr. Megan Linkin
Join host Kyle David as he discusses natural catastrophe risk insurance with Dr. Megan Linkin, Senior VP at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions. Dr. Linkin shares insights into her journey from meteorology to insurance, her experience with hurricane predictions, and the challenges of explaining complex weather phenomena. The episode also delves into the importance of parametric insurance for commercial clients and the impact of climate change on risk assessment. Alongside serious discussions, enjoy fun segments with lightning-round questions and 'Would You Rather' games.
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About the Everything Weather Podcast
A weekly podcast where we talk with people about the weather world, explore and discuss everything weather and the many things that connect to it, and have a little fun along the way. The podcast is hosted and produced by Kyle David, a meteorologist and digital science content producer based in New Jersey.
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Hello and welcome to the Everything Weather podcast, where we talk with people about the weather world, explore and discuss everything weather and have a little fun along the way. I'm your host, Kyle David, and today on the podcast, we're excited to have Dr. Megan Linkin. Dr. Linkin is the senior vice president at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, focusing on developing and selling parametric natural catastrophe risk insurance for commercial clients. Hi, Dr. Linkin, and welcome to the podcast.
Megan Linkin:Hi, Kyle. Thanks so much for having me.
Kyle David:Absolutely. Before we get into a little bit about what you do at Swistory and talk about your weather story, I've got our first fun game for you. We've got lightning rounds. We've got a mix of weather, non weather related questions. We're gonna try to tackle them in about under two minutes. With that said, are you ready?
Megan Linkin:Alright, let's do it.
Kyle David:Alright, we've got the hypothetical clock going. First question. Spring mornings or fall evenings? Ooh, spring
Megan Linkin:mornings.
Kyle David:What's your favorite severe weather event to cover or talk about?
Megan Linkin:Hurricanes.
Kyle David:Do you have a favorite quote?
Megan Linkin:Yes, that I read not long before I started at Swiss Re back in 2008, which is, to whom much is given, much is expected.
Kyle David:That's a good quote there. Best snack during weather watching.
Megan Linkin:Best snack during weather? Cheez Its.
Kyle David:Cheez Its, okay. Now, I'll ask you another follow up question. Best drink during weather watching?
Megan Linkin:Depends on how bad the weather's gonna be. Either seltzer, or if it's getting really bad, beer or wine.
Kyle David:Beer and wine, okay. For weather watching, I like that. Best piece of advice you've ever received?
Megan Linkin:Best piece of advice I have ever received? Oh, that's, that's a tough one. I'm trying to think, you know what, it's probably from my grandfather, who told me once, if you have something, you don't have to flaunt it, people will be able to tell by the way that you carry yourselves. You don't have to be, you don't have to have an ego, you don't have to be overwhelmingly obnoxious or trying to prove yourself all the time.
Kyle David:In a way, almost, be humble?
Megan Linkin:Exactly. Be humble because if you have certain qualities, if you have certain characteristics, Your strengths will come through with how you comport yourself. And you don't have to overcompensate for a characteristic that you wish you have, since it will just be evident to people.
Kyle David:Your grandfather's very wise, I like that. He was a
Megan Linkin:wise man.
Kyle David:Freezing rain or heavy snow, what's the worst to forecast?
Megan Linkin:Freezing rain.
Kyle David:Coffee shop or brewery?
Megan Linkin:Close, but I'll say brewery.
Kyle David:How close would you say?
Megan Linkin:I'd say it's like 51 brewery, 49 coffee shop. Love a good coffee shop and love a good brewery.
Kyle David:Favorite brewery. This is a quick add on.
Megan Linkin:Probably Cape May Brewing Company in Cape May, New Jersey, with five dimes in Westwood, New Jersey being a very close second.
Kyle David:Shout out to some local places. If you're a New Jerseyan, you got some good places to check out.
Megan Linkin:Yes, you do.
Kyle David:Best season to study the weather.
Megan Linkin:Probably being that I. I'm from New Jersey, I'm in New Jersey, I'm going to say winter, and forecasting the Nor'easters and the rain snow line, and where that 540 line falls, and the vorticity max, so winter is probably the most fun season to forecast, and watch the weather, but, I mean, summer weather here, in my opinion, is the best.
Kyle David:Some weather is supreme, and that rain snow line, boy, that makes the difference in snow events here in the I 95 Corridor, the New York, the Philly metro area. Now, city skyline or countryside views?
Megan Linkin:City skyline. I lived in New York for eight years.
Kyle David:So would you say that's your favorite skyline?
Megan Linkin:Yes, without question.
Kyle David:Do you prefer clear air or stormy skies for your flights?
Megan Linkin:Uh, clear air.
Kyle David:I mean, there's the occasional person that's like, Oh, I'd like a good storm to fly into. I mean, I guess
Megan Linkin:You don't know when you're going to hit clear air turbulence, but I mean, I'd prefer not to have takeoff and landing be an adventure.
Kyle David:Fair enough. You don't want to be Hurricane Hunter flying into storms?
Megan Linkin:No, thank you.
Kyle David:Alright, one more for you. Favorite superhero movie?
Megan Linkin:Probably the original X Men from like, what was that? 1999, 2000, 2001. Like way back in the day when Hugh Jackman made his Wolverine debut.
Kyle David:So there's three of those, I think, in total of that series, right? Which one would you say is your favorite?
Megan Linkin:The first.
Kyle David:The first one?
Megan Linkin:Definitely.
Kyle David:All right. And I'm a big Patrick Stewart fan. So seeing him as Professor X.
Megan Linkin:Yep. And Ian McKellen, I think was, uh, Magneto.
Kyle David:Magneto, yeah. My god, the two playing together. They're friends in real life, so seeing them play enemies in a movie, that, that was awesome to see that.
Megan Linkin:That was a great movie.
Kyle David:And from a comic book side, there's a lot of good stuff to pick out from there as well. Alright, well that is the last lightning round question, and let's get into a little bit more about you, Dr. Linkin. Everybody I have on the podcast, I ask them to tell me about their weather story. We in the industry, Say weather story to talk about the day's weather, but here we talk about it your personal experiences with the weather. So dr Linkin tell me what is your weather story? What got you interested in everything weather?
Megan Linkin:Sure So like I mentioned earlier during our lightning round, I grew up in New Jersey And from the time I was very young my family has had a house At the New Jersey shore. And I remember watching, you know, kind of hurricanes churn up the ocean. And then, uh, in the summer of 1992, when I was nine, Hurricane Andrew was making landfall in Florida and I was just completely and totally fascinated by it. I was fascinated by the idea that there was nothing that could be done about it. There was nothing that could be done to stop it. It was just going to do what it was going to do. At, at that point I decided that, you know, I wanted to kind of. Help and try to help make a difference and forecast the weather specifically hurricanes. So I stuck with that throughout middle school, high school. Uh, I went to Rutgers and. As I was majoring in meteorology, I realized I didn't really want to locate to Miami and try to get a job at the NHC. But what I really enjoyed was teaching. I did some, um, upper, upperclassmen TA ing. We worked all really well together my class year in a group studying for exams and teaching each other the concepts. And I found I really, really, really enjoyed teaching. So, I decided to go to graduate school, and after I graduated from Rutgers, I was accepted to the University of Maryland, where I went and I got my master's and my Ph. D. And as I was finishing my dissertation, I realized that while I like teaching, that wasn't what the major research universities focused on and what the tenure track positions focused on. That focused more on the ability to secure research grants and to secure funding and to constantly be running different research projects and teaching while not unimportant did take on a secondary importance. I decided that I, and wasn't really enthralled with the idea necessarily of moving somewhere for two years for a postdoc and then relocating again and then relocating again. So I thought, all right, I'll do one of two things. I will either stay in Washington DC and look for a job in policy. Or I thought, you know, I'll move back to having grown up in central New Jersey. I'll move back to the New York area and I'll focus on finance or trying to get a job in like the weather derivative arena. And I graduated from the University of Maryland. I got my PhD in 2008, so not long after an inconvenient truth came out a few years after Katrina had made landfall, uh, along New Orleans. So climate policy was a focus. I really just threw my resume up on a bunch of websites and was approached by a headhunter who was looking to fill a role at a reinsurance company. And they were looking for somebody to work on the scientific research and development team at a reinsurer that would study and figure out how to statistically model natural catastrophes. Um, and she found my resume and she asked if I would be interested in applying for the role. The role was with Swiss Re in Armonk, New York. While not quite working in Manhattan was close enough. So I applied and I got the job and I've been in the insurance industry ever since. And I've actually been at Swiss Re ever since, but for a very short one year period where I went and worked for Allianz.
Kyle David:Interesting. So, just to clarify, you have experience in meteorology, but now you're working for an insurance company. What was that transition like? Transitioning from something strictly weather based to something that's a little more not so directly weather related, more related to insurance in your case.
Megan Linkin:Yeah, I would say that the industry that I work in, it's, it's applied meteorology, you know, taking what I learned in my case about severe weather and statistical analysis and applying that to the insurance industry and figuring out how to come up with what's the different Thanks for that. Lost probabilities associated with hurricanes, tornadoes, hail outbreaks, flood, even modeling of the earthquakes, despite the fact that they're not weather events, they do fall into that natural catastrophe bucket. So really looking at how to take what I've learned about those sorts of weather events and apply them to figuring out what the financial loss potential from those are. It's an interesting transition because one of the key components of my job, really since day one, since I joined Swiss Re, was making sure that I could communicate these really complex topics, whether or not it was about technical and detailed statistical analysis, or simply just monitoring hurricanes as they formed and tracked and threatened different parts of the U. S. and the Caribbean, and communicating what the potential impacts of those storms were, and really focusing on communicating those to most people who were not scientists or meteorologists, and making the information understandable and digestible to people who did not have that detailed and educational background that I did, you know, that continues to be a critical part of my job today. And I mean, the other thing that the insurance industry focuses a lot on is climate change. How is climate change changing the risk landscape? How is it changing the probability of, of hurricanes forming? How is it changing the likelihood of rapid intensification occurring? How is it changing shifts in rainfall patterns that could lead to flood? Um, you know, we've seen the wildfires out in California in recent weeks and devastation that has been caused in Los Angeles. Climate change, we talk a lot about a two degree, one and a half, three degree increase in temperature or an inch or foot rise in sea level. But really what the insurance industry is interesting, interested in focusing on is how does that then translate into loss potential? And I think the Regardless of the industry that you work in, that's, that's the concern about climate change. It's not true degrees doesn't necessarily resonate or mean something to a lot of people, but how is that going to impact their everyday life?
Kyle David:Yeah. And I want to go back earlier to, you'd mentioned that it's, it's complicated to. Break down the science to those who aren't as familiar with the nuances of meteorology, the weather, the science. Can you talk about a moment where it was really rewarding? You got to help people out. Like you had said earlier about your weather story, and then maybe talk about an instance where it was a challenge for you, breaking down the science to people who didn't understand the science.
Megan Linkin:Yeah, I, if I think back to when it has been really most rewarding is probably in particular in the space that I work in, which I know we're going to go into in a little more detail as we get further into our conversation. Um, but just to give a very high level summary, parametric natural catastrophe insurance pays out not on the actual loss that's incurred by the insured, but on the intensity of the underlying event that causes that loss. So, hypothetically, if your house is impacted by a hurricane, claims adjuster is going to come out, they're going to review the damage, they're going to say you need to fix your roof, you need to fix your shingles. Whatever damage is observed, And you will receive a check from your insurance company to make those repairs. And what we focus on is not so much that of the loss, but more on when a hurricane happens, or when an earthquake happens, or when a major flood happens. There is going to be all sorts of costs that Particularly my segment of clients that we focus on, which is commercial and public sector clients are going to incur, you know, they're going to be worried. Can I get to my location? If I have to shut my facility down, if I have to shut my brick and mortar store down, how is this going to impact my ability to run my business and generate revenue if I am in the hospitality industry and the area has been impacted by a hurricane, even if my particular hotel. Or restaurant or whatever is hardened and built to withstand that storm is the area broadly going to be disrupted enough where My long term revenues impacted because people aren't coming to visit or there's not conferences being hosted. So that's what these parametric insurance policies are designed to address. And again, we've said, we'll say not if the hurricane causes X dollars of loss to your location, but more. If the wind speeds caused by a hurricane at your location are 90 miles an hour or higher, you are eligible to receive either a partial or total payout on your parametric insurance policy. And I think the times that, the times that my job has been most rewarding is when we've paid out on those policies and when we've received feedback from customers after delivering our conclusions and then the funds about how easy and straightforward we made the claims, the insurance claims process, and how appreciative they were of making one small piece of the recovery. Easy, straightforward, and uncomplicated in what's a really challenging aftermath. So that's when it's been the most rewarding. When has it been the most challenging? You know, sometimes weather events can be left to interpretation, and weather maps can be left to interpretation. There were some years ago where we've had challenging conversations with clients, or Maybe brokers, because they've hired a external expert to read and interpret weather maps and determine when did the event begin, when did the event end, and internally, myself or somebody else who has a background in meteorology has been tapped, and we've come to a different conclusion. They're just difficult conversations, and they're conversations where it has to be managed, and you have to Make your position clear and you have to communicate your position in a very linear and straightforward fashion Without necessarily getting oh, well, I'm right, you know you're just you're just trying to report the facts and you're just trying to report what you see and what you saw on on the Maps and how you saw that event evolve over synoptic weather map and how the storm system Or the hurricane evolved
Kyle David:And you had touched upon earlier that the clients may have gotten an external source to interpret those weather maps. So I wanted to ask you, what is the value of having an in house meteorologist for companies like Swiss Re where you're focusing on insurance and finances?
Megan Linkin:So I will say in the 15 plus years that I've been in the industry, what I have seen more and more companies, whether or not they are insurers or re insurers, hiring scientists and hiring experts in the scientific fields. But the re insurers did it first. And why is that? Reinsurance is insurance for insurers. So a direct insurer will issue a bunch of policies to homeowners, to commercial entities, to autos. And on a one off basis, if, if one or two of those individual risks, what we would call them, a house is impacted because there's a plumbing problem and a pipe bursts, or somebody is in a car accident. That's going to be within an insurer's ability to meet their claim's burden, which means paying their claims, and cover the, for the risk as outlined in the terms and conditions in the, in the insurance policy. But where the reinsurance industry comes in is when there can be a large number of those claims at once. When there can be a large number of homes affected, when there can be a large number of commercial entities affected, when there can be a large number of automobiles affected, or all three of them affected. And what's going to cause that to happen? Simultaneous hundreds, thousands of individual risk being impacted at once. It's going to be a severe weather event or an earthquake. So, Insurers will buy insurance from reinsurers to protect losses from those sorts of events. And because that's really what the reinsurance industry has been focused on for so long, that's why there was the earlier adoption, probably by the reinsurers of hiring experts in meteorology, seismology, hydrology, engineers, wind engineers, civil engineers, seismic engineers. But again, as, as climate change has moved towards the forefront, as the number, as the frequency and severity of extreme weather events appears to be increasing, there's just been an industry wide shift, I think, to internalizing that expertise.
Kyle David:Interesting and kind of touching upon a little bit about reinsurance and insurance and diving a little bit more about what Swiss Re does and talking a little bit about the clientele and stuff you work with. Talk about some of the weather events that you have had to cover and work with during your time at Swiss Re and like some of the clients that have been impacted by these weather events.
Megan Linkin:I've been working at Swiss Re since 2008, and I remember, so my first summer at Swiss Re was the hurricane season that featured Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike, and particularly Hurricane Ike was obviously very damaging to the Houston area, and I mean really ever since I've had involvement in every major U. S. catastrophe that has occurred. Hurricane Irene back in 2011, Hurricane Sandy, obviously in 2012 was a huge event. Then we kind of had that lull from 2012 to 2017 and Harvey, Irma, Maria, Michael and Florence in 2018, Orion in 2019, obviously the big 2020 hurricane season with Laura. Delta, Zeta, and I think there were 13 named storms that made landfall in the U. S. that year, 12 or 13. It was a lot. 2021, Hurricane Ida. 2022, Hurricane Ian was a huge, huge, um, event for the insurance industry. And then in 23, there's Adalia, and then recently, obviously, Helene and Milton. Well, that touches on hurricanes. Obviously, we've been involved in, in large hailstorms and, and tornado outbreaks. I remember the 2013, um, More tornado, the second EF5 that went through more, obviously 2011 had the Joplin tornado, the Birmingham tornado. 2011 was, was a really significant tornado related last year because of the, both the frequency with which those events kind of track through or near more developed areas and then it was a very active tornado season that year. So I've been involved in recovery, assessing the impact of all of those events. And so Swiss Re is divided into a few parts. We have our traditional property reinsurance business, and they are going to focus on providing reinsurance to direct insurers, and then we also have the Division that I currently work for, which is our corporate solutions division. And so we focus on, we actually are the direct insurance arm of Swiss Re, but we provide coverage to commercial clients. So commercial could be anything from a medium sized mom and pop business all the way up to very large corporate entities. Can
Kyle David:you talk a little bit more about some of those larger scale clientele that you do? Cause there's a lot out there in the business world. There's, there's agriculture, there's food.
Megan Linkin:Yeah, we will in some way, shape or form look at all of those clients. We'll look at clients in the hospitality industry. We'll look at clients in the tech industry. We'll look at public sector clients, and that can range from municipalities to counties to states, we will work with public. School systems are clients that we have received inquiries from or have worked with in the past, auto manufacturers, car dealerships, those in the aviation industry, you know, everybody in some way, shape or form is going to be exposed to natural catastrophes. So almost every sector of the economy is going to have an interest in securing insurance and protecting themselves the best they can. And in my particular area, the products are so flexible because. They, they settle on how strong the event is that caused the loss, that we just have a variety of clients across hospitality, manufacturing, construction, public sector that have either looked into these products in the past or have bought them.
Kyle David:Interesting. And there are some Obviously, sectors of business that very directly correlate to the weather, but there may be some that are not so obvious. Can you share about one connection between the weather and a certain client of yours that surprised you the most, and how has that changed your viewpoint on insuring these different companies for natural disasters and weather events?
Megan Linkin:You know, honestly, I can't really think of one that's, that's really a surprise. Because everybody has some sort of financial vulnerability to the weather. I mean, I can't, I can't even think of one that actually surprised me. Because in some way, shape, or form, everybody is going to be vulnerable to and sensitive to extreme weather and seismic events as well.
Kyle David:So nothing really surprised you in terms of the weather connection and to the different clients that you've worked with?
Megan Linkin:No. No, it's, you know, once, once we talked, once we have a conversation with them and it really, again, it really, it really all makes sense.
Kyle David:Well, then on that note, then what is the most interesting client that you've had to or sector that you've had to work with in your time at Swiss Re?
Megan Linkin:I spent seven years on our public sector team. So our Swiss Re was one of the first actually, I believe the first reinsurance company to Carve out and dedicate and the team that solely was focused on the needs of the public sector and on developing insurance products to address the needs of the public sector. And I think that as I worked on that team, and as I was working with more and more insureds or potential insureds, you realize just how stretched thin the governments are after these events. And how much they are relied upon to help make communities and citizens whole again. And that they have so many things that they are going to need to recover from and fund. And that the impacts of these events go far beyond just the hurricane landfall or the earthquake shaking. Or the I mean, Asheville is going to take years, if not decades, to recover from what happened during Hurricane Helene. Los Angeles will take a long time to rebuild, or those areas of Los Angeles that were affected. And this, this has long term financial ramifications, not only for the people who, whose homes or businesses were lost, but for the governments as well, because the tax base is going. You know, I don't think that New Orleans population is back to pre Katrina levels yet, and it's going to be 20 years. This year, that has a long term sustained financial impact on these cities when people just up and leave.
Kyle David:Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned Hurricane Katrina because I mean, I just toured that recently, you know, some of the areas that were the most hit was primarily the lower ninth ward and 20 years later to see still areas of neighborhoods that are still empty and you could still see the scars from Katrina and not just Katrina, but you know, there are other areas too that bury these scars. It's just, it's amazing. Is there a moment during your time that you were surprised by the power of weather?
Megan Linkin:Hurricane Sandy. I mean, I, like, as I mentioned, I grew up at the Jersey shore spending summers down there. My family has had a home down there since the early 1960s. And we always knew that, that. A storm was possible. I mean, we've been through hurricanes before. Sandy was just like a monster unto itself, with, with how big it was, and how much storm surge it drove into the coast because of the angle that it approached the coast at. That perpendicular angle was bizarre. And then just seeing the aftermath and seeing the recovery and seeing, you know, we weren't, we weren't even allowed to go back and check our home for weeks because the infrastructure was so badly damaged. The roads were damaged. The bridges were knocked out. There was no electricity. There was no water. And I mean, we were restricted for months with even getting down there. My family's in the Lobelette area and, you know, we would have to show tax bills showing that we were residents to. Allow us to go and see our house and just visually seeing the damage was, was jarring, you know, seeing an area that I love so much destroyed was, was jarring. It was upsetting and even now, I mean, 14 years later, there's still homes that are being rebuilt. There are still lots that remain undeveloped and have been empty since Sandy happened. You know, time moves on the world world continues to spin, but the recovery from a hurricane is in days to weeks. It is months to years to decades.
Kyle David:And I was here for Hurricane Sandy as well, although, be it, I was 12 at the time, so that kind of sparked my interest even more into the weather, but just seeing the impacts, my grandparents live in Long Beach Island, so I know what you mean by the, the, the devastation at the shore, and I'm kind of curious because for me that changed my entire outlook on the weather and that got me even more interested into the weather. How did that change your view of the weather and how you view the weather in your current job?
Megan Linkin:I think that it made me realize that Uh, I would say more broadly to the questions about climate change, you know, there's, there's obviously always talk about that some areas could become unlivable and that there might need to be large scale relocations of communities and of homes and of populations. And while that can be talked about almost in a very sterile way, it's not that easy because a home is a lot more than a house. It's, it's a community. It's a collection of, of people who have made a community and who have made businesses and who have made this neighborhood that they want to live in. And it's not easy to tell people, look, you have to leave that. Or you can't rebuild that. And when you looked at the devastation in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina, when you looked at the devastation after hurricane Ike and Galveston, and you saw the houses go back up and you saw. people rebuild. There's always the question, why, why are we making this investment? Like why, why, why is this allowed to happen again? Because it is very, very hard to leave your home. And despite the fact that I understand climate change and I have a PhD in atmospheric science and a bachelor's in meteorology, I can very much understand the draw of not wanting to leave your home. And I've, I've seen the shore get rebuilt. You know, we're, we're hardened as best we can be now against the I would say. Maybe not as best we can be, but much better than we were in 2012. But, I mean, the idea of not having that place anymore, it's, it's, and you know from your grandfather, it's such an important part of the state of New Jersey and its identity, and it's what people do over the summer.
Kyle David:Absolutely, and there's lessons to be learned in the, the hardships of recovering from these weather events. Katrina, Lake, and Sandy, there's, there's stuff to be learned from that as well. And to, before we go to our break, to end it on a light note, But what's a fun weather event that you've had to work with lately? I'm sure the New Orleans snow as of recording this has been a hot thing.
Megan Linkin:Yeah, I mean that's been, that's been super interesting. Obviously, you know, watching the, the snow in Houston, New Orleans, and then the panhandle of Florida, which I believe is a fun fact. I heard on the news the other day that New Orleans has received more snow than Central park this year. And we recently had a storm up here and actually kind of a two for a punch of storms. One hit North Jersey, one hits out Jersey. That's always, it's always fun to like watch snow, you know, snow tends not to have a huge impact on the insurance industry. It's not a natural disaster. It's just. Disruptive, but it's always fun to watch.
Kyle David:Yeah, and, and to go back to the New Orleans snow, seeing that, because I was there a couple weeks ago as of recording this, and to see like Bourbon Street, the Canal Street, all covered with snow, that, that's, that's weird. It's wild. Combine, combine that with the, the beach pictures of the snow, it's, it's wild. And to go back to your earlier note about New Orleans seeing more snow than Central Park. I think that is true, but I know they've seen for sure more snow than New Brunswick, New Jersey, which is my, my hometown. So, to see New Orleans, a place that normally doesn't get that much snow, get more snow than my hometown in New Jersey, I kind of, as a weather enthusiast, kind of balk at that. I'm like, come on.
Megan Linkin:A little snow envy.
Kyle David:Exactly. All right. We've got so much more still to talk to you about Dr. Linkin, about your work at Swiss three. We're going to take a quick break right here. So don't go anywhere. We've got more podcasts for you coming up on this day in weather history. We returned to the February, 2021 North American cold wave beginning the month of February, 2021. A wavy and active jet stream is set up for multiple systems to sweep across the globe, including over North America. This combined with a weakened polar vortex allowed bitterly frigid air to dip south with the right conditions. And those right conditions came together on February 6th when an arctic front swept across the eastern and central United States. Several additional systems would reinforce the Arctic winds from the north, as well as bring heavy snow and ice accumulations for much of the country. The aggressive cold air would be in place for several weeks across the central United States. Temperatures across the Gulf Coast of the United States fell as much as 25 to 30 degrees below normal. And with the cold air reaching so far south, many places broke several low temperature records for intensity and duration of days. below freezing. The record freeze put enormous strain on power infrastructures across the South Central United States, particularly in the state of Texas. The record freeze also froze networks of pipes across the state. Between the loss of power for millions and burst pipes, at least 210 people were killed directly or indirectly by the severe cold and led to damages in the billions for Texas alone. Across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the cold wave resulted in the lives of more than 330 people being lost and damages in excess of $27 billion. The cold wave was the longest and most intense cold wave in the state of Texas's recorded history. The cold wave is also the costliest winter storm for the United States more than doubling the inflation adjusted damages from the March, 1993. Hello and welcome back to the everything weather podcast. I'm your host, Kyle David. And today we're excited to have Dr. Megan Linkin. She's the senior vice president at Swiss Re corporate solutions. We've been talking a little bit about her weather story, her transition to the insurance and financial industry and how she works to provide insurance, specifically catastrophe insurance for commercial clients. We're going to continue into that conversation, but first I've got another fun game for you, Dr. Linkin. All right, we've got would you rather I've got a mix of weather themed would you rather questions and since you're a New Jersey native I also have some New Jersey themed. Would you rather questions? So we'll kick it off with would you rather experience a week of constant thunderstorms or a week of relentless snowstorms?
Megan Linkin:Oh a week of relentless snowstorms hands down
Kyle David:Would you throw thundersnow in there too, or are you okay with that? Yeah, sure. A
Megan Linkin:little, sure. Thundersnow.
Kyle David:Sure. Have you, have you experienced thundersnow before?
Megan Linkin:I have. I can't remember the last time, but I've definitely heard it. You know, it's one of those things, did I hear what I thought I heard? Oh, yes I did. Okay.
Kyle David:It's very odd hearing it. remember hearing it back in 2018. It's, it's very odd. Next one up. Would you rather spend a summer weekend at the Jersey shore, or exploring the hiking trails of North Jersey?
Megan Linkin:I have a summer weekend at the Jersey Shore. It's pretty much what I do every weekend over the summer anyway.
Kyle David:Do you have a spot at the Jersey Shore that you prefer?
Megan Linkin:Yeah, my family, we have a house in the Lavalette area. So between Point Pleasant and Seaside Heights.
Kyle David:Okay, that's a good spot. Would you rather chase a tornado in the Midwest or witness a hurricane landfall at the coast?
Megan Linkin:Witness a hurricane landfall at the coast.
Kyle David:Would you rather sit in traffic on the Garden State Parkway or the New Jersey Turnpike?
Megan Linkin:Parkway.
Kyle David:Parkway, any specific spot you like to get stuck in?
Megan Linkin:No, I don't really enjoy sitting in traffic in general, but what I will say is that there are more exits on the parkway and they are closer together, so there are more routes for escape.
Kyle David:Ooh, okay, thinking a little strategically there with that one. I like that. I like that. Alright, would you rather live in a place with extreme heat all year round or extreme cold all year round?
Megan Linkin:Extreme cold all year round.
Kyle David:Okay, interesting. I had a guest earlier on, say, extreme heat, because they thought, you know, you can stay inside with air condition and Stay inside. Although, I guess you could say the same for extreme cold. You could just stay inside, and there's so many layers you could put on, right?
Megan Linkin:Exactly. You are somewhat limited with how much you can take off and still, like, function in polite society.
Kyle David:That's true, yeah. Would you rather eat only pork roll, or tail end, depending on where you are, or pizza for the rest of your life?
Megan Linkin:That's a tough one. I think I'm gonna say pizza because you can mix up the toppings.
Kyle David:What's your go to toppings for a pizza?
Megan Linkin:Probably pepperoni or, like, vegetables, but, like, all the vegetables with, you know, getting, like, a slice that has, like, onions and broccoli and olives and fresh tomatoes and mushrooms.
Kyle David:Now you're making me hungry for a pizza.
Megan Linkin:Like, one of those heavily loaded slices.
Kyle David:I'm just curious, since you are a New Jersey native, I always like to ask all the Jersey people on the podcast, is it pork roll or tailor ham?
Megan Linkin:So, interestingly enough, despite the fact that I live north and should call it tailor ham, I call it pork roll, since my parents spent a few years in southern New Jersey.
Kyle David:Okay. Yeah, that, that makes sense. Now, see, I've lived in Middlesex County. I don't know what that falls into the definition of like North, South, Central. I believe that
Megan Linkin:falls into the, if you're doing the pork roll, tailor, ham dividing line, I believe it falls into North because I too grew up in Middlesex County. I grew up in Edison.
Kyle David:Oh, okay. Not that far from my area then, in New Brunswick. And for those, uh, who are not from New Jersey and wondering what we're talking about, You got to look it up and it's a debate in New Jersey for sure
Megan Linkin:long ongoing debate
Kyle David:that in Central Jersey, too All right next up. Would you rather? predict the weather accurately ten days in advance, but not know tomorrow's weather or Know tomorrow's weather perfectly to the dot but never know more than a day ahead what the weather is going to be like
Megan Linkin:Oh, I think Be able to predict the weather accurately 10 days out and not know exactly what tomorrow's weather is going to be.
Kyle David:Okay. That's interesting. All right. Next up, would you rather watch a devil's hockey game or a Giants football game live?
Megan Linkin:I mean, I'm a huge football fan. Probably in any other year, I would say watch the Giants play, but given how badly the season went, maybe I'd rather watch the Devils play.
Kyle David:So curious. Are you a Giants fan?
Megan Linkin:I am. Yes.
Kyle David:Man, seeing that this past season, I feel bad for you guys, but.
Megan Linkin:I feel bad. I feel bad too.
Kyle David:And I'm a, I'm a Ravens fan, but we, we got our, we got our disappointment too with the,
Megan Linkin:sorry about your recent loss.
Kyle David:Yeah, alright. Got one more weather one for you. Would you rather be caught outside during a hailstorm or a blizzard?
Megan Linkin:Probably a blizzard because if hail gets big enough it can hurt.
Kyle David:Fair point, okay. And one more New Jersey one for you. Would you rather visit Cape May during the winter or Atlantic City during a heat wave?
Megan Linkin:Oh, Cape May during the winter.
Kyle David:Okay, I'm not too familiar with Cape May. What's the winter like down there? Do you know?
Megan Linkin:Cape May is at the same latitude as Washington DC, so it tends to be a little warmer, although they did just get snow recently. And as a fun fact, I actually have a second home in Cape May. My husband and I own a condo down there, and we rent it over the summer. So we actually spend quite a bit of time down there during the winter. And enjoying the quaint Victorian mansions when they're covered in snow and enjoying the Christmas decorations in the area.
Kyle David:Mmm, I've heard a lot about the architecture. What did somebody describe to me? Like, uh, gingerbread houses, I think? Yes.
Megan Linkin:Yes. And it is decorated very cutely for Christmas. The town really goes all out.
Kyle David:I'm gonna have to go down there now for Christmas.
Megan Linkin:Highly recommend.
Kyle David:Alright, so that wraps up our stunt game of Would You Rather. So let's get back into the conversation about your work and stuff. And before I get back into your work, you had mentioned earlier that you had done some teaching, you had done some TAing, and I'm curious, what's been the most interesting connection between your experience teaching and TAing to your insurance work that you do right now?
Megan Linkin:I think it all goes back to the communication aspect. Um, so when I was an undergrad, I did TAing weather, climate, and environmental design. I don't know if that is still on the syllabus or class list at Rutgers. And then when I was in graduate school, I did, I TAed kind of like the undergrad. Meteorology 101 course. And then actually I taught a semester remotely at Brooklyn College, the same meteorology 101 course that was just a few years ago. And, you know, generally the students that are taking these classes are doing it to fulfill, are not meteorology majors. They're not necessarily even science majors. They're doing it to fulfill a scientific requirement. So you need to focus on making these somewhat complicated concepts, understandable and digestible. And again, moving into the industry that I've moved into, where a lot of people do not have a scientific background, do not necessarily have a background in high level statistics or mathematics, I'm focused on doing the same thing, making these concepts digestible and understandable. So, I would say that that, the skills, the communication skills that are necessary for teaching. Are similar to those when you work in an applied field. So, when you're working in an applied meteorology field, or an applied seismology field, or hydrology field.
Kyle David:That's an interesting way to look at it. And I'm just curious, and this could go back to your Swiss Re work, What's been the best weather question and the worst weather question that you've been asked?
Megan Linkin:I think probably the, one of the most difficult concepts, I think, to explain Hmm? Is the idea behind returned period, which is a way of communicating probability. So if a statistician says to you, this event is a 100 year return period, that means in any given year, there's a 1 percent chance that that event happened, right? One out of 100 years will have that event in it. When you look at like some kind of long term historical time series or do some sort of probabilistic distribution fitting. What it does not mean is that there is 100 years between each event. It's not an occurrence interval. It's a way of expressing over a long term, over a hundred year period, how many years are likely to have that event happen, which is one. So I would say that's, that's a concept that sometimes has been challenging to communicate and explain because people hear 100 year return period. Oh, okay. It just happened. It's not happening for another 100 years. So. That I would say it's not necessarily the worst question, you know, there are no bad questions, but more just one of the ones that's more complicated to explain and, you know, I think the best questions are really around kind of explaining the, what one of my favorite topics to discuss with people when it comes to the weather is talking about this. Not disconnect, but understanding how a storm like Hurricane Ike could exist where it had a central pressure of landfall, but wind speeds of only 110 miles an hour or same thing with like a Katrina where it had wind speeds of only 120 miles an hour at landfall, but a central pressure of 920 millibars and, you know, really like explaining to people like what that means two dimensionally, my favorite Comparison is always the figure skater, you know, a figure skater. If she throws her arms out, she's going to be taking up more space and she's going to be spinning more slowly. So that's like your Katrina and your Ike. Whereas if they're pulled in really tightly and spinning around really fast, that's going to be like your Hurricane Andrew or your Hurricane Camille or your Hurricane Milton, that peak intensity. So, kind of teaching people about that concept behind how the size of the storm and the central pressure of the storm will inform what the maximum sustained wind speed is, and simply looking at the Saffir Simpson category isn't going to tell the whole story, and a storm like Sandy, which was, I know it technically wasn't a hurricane at landfall, but it's Only a category one, when it came to wind was capable of generating massive storm surge, not only because of the angle of approach, but because it was a thousand miles wide. So it was disrupting a massive amount of ocean surface and just pushing that all on shore.
Kyle David:See, I've heard that analogy used in describing, I think it, what is it? The Coriolis force and my intro to meteorology class or atmospheric dynamics, but I've never heard it used like that before. And describing specific storms, like you said, with the, the ballerina out. Arms out, like Katrina, Ike, and then arms in is like Milton and the smaller, more compact systems. That's a, I'm gonna have to remember that for future reference.
Megan Linkin:Glad it was helpful.
Kyle David:Yeah, I'm sure the listeners found that very interesting as well. But going back to, you know, those specific events, there are some like other risks that aren't as obvious when it comes to those different events. Like with Katrina, for instance, that you had the levy failure, which came down to a small, nuanced Structural failure would just cascaded and just ended up being a whole mess or with, I'm trying to think of other examples like that, but can you tell, talk about some instances in your work with insurance where there was an event that is inherently one thing, but the impacts were more than that and ended up being a challenging situation?
Megan Linkin:Well, I mean, I think Colleen's a great example, right? You know, hurricanes are thought of as, as. Coastal storms and problems for coastal residents. And Helene was strong at Landfall, I think it was Category 4 at Landfall. And you think, like, okay, the Big Bend is gonna bear the brunt of Helene. I mean, it became a story for Asheville, North Carolina. And, you know, I think that There's hurricanes and mostly hurricanes, I mean, talking about in this context, their, their impacts can spread really far inland. And obviously it was the direction of that Helene was moving in and the impact of the topography that just led to this absolute and utter rainfall disaster that, and subsequent flash flooding disaster that happened there. So, you know, I think that the, the message is that, you know, hurricanes are not really just coastal storms, depending on. Where they're making landfall and where they can ultimately go, they can have really devastating And I would say that's kind of where we most often see, you know, the storm is going to be thought of, or the event is expected to be one thing, and then it turns into something else entirely. Another example is, if I, more recently, if I think, Back to 2022, Hurricane Fiona, um, Hurricane Fiona, like kind of pulled a sandy a little bit, where as it got further north, it underwent extra tropical transition, but really deepened explosively. And I mean, I think it made landfall in Halifax with a central pressure of like 931 millibars or something like that. So. You know, Canada isn't exactly thought of as a hotbed for hurricanes, but under the right conditions where these storms can undergo extra tropical transition in a very favorable, uh, now I'm really pulling back, baroclinic environment that allows them to deepen under the right jet stream, under the right upper atmosphere support, they can be extraordinarily powerful when they move further north.
Kyle David:It kind of expands out as it goes further north and it becomes a bigger problem. Definitely. Totally. So. Now I want to talk a little bit more about your work specifically within Swiss Re and how you connect meteorology and natural events to the insurance industry. Both of those industries are a lot on their own, so I'm curious, how do you balance the science, innovating, practicality, with insurance, finances and business. How do you balance all of that?
Megan Linkin:So I think for us, it's really, it's really about focusing on what's our end goal and it's delivering for our clients and it's delivering insurance solutions that address their concerns and that can help better protect them against hurricanes, against floods, against earthquakes, and that can help make them financially whole as quick as possible after the bad thing happens. So I would say that. That's really our focus. And, and when we have that sort of focus, that allows us to marry the two, the science and the financial world together quite well, I mean, Swiss Re's mission statement is we make the world more resilient and that really is our end goal. It's to provide our clients with the best insurance products possible and to allow them to, when, when the event happens, to make sure that we respond in a timely fashion and get them the funds that they are due to help jumpstart their recovery efforts.
Kyle David:And can you share a moment where your work, either whether it be a project or a part of a project, that Exceeded expectations and helped companies, people, community recover faster, like you said?
Megan Linkin:Yeah, back in, um, so back in my public sector days with the public sector team at Swiss Re, we had a, we were participating on a parametric insurance program in the South Pacific that covered, Um, a handful of South Pacific islands. So that's going to be, you know, the Samoas, the Fijis, the, that I can't quite, this is back in 2015, so I can't quite remember exactly what islands were participating at the time, but you know, that's, that's sort of the world, like off the, off of Australia, those smaller Pacific islands. And there was a handful of countries that collectively bought into this parametric insurance program. And one of the nations was hit by a tropical cyclone. And I won't say hurricane because technically, you know, hurricanes are Atlantic and East Pacific and Central Pacific, but hit by a tropical cyclone and under the terms and conditions and their insurance policy, they were eligible for a recovery. And so we went through the claims process. We made the claims payment and got them the money. I think we got it. We got it out the door within. 7, 14 days, which I mean some insurance claims will take much longer to settle. So we were able to get it out the door relatively quickly and a few weeks later, my former manager forwarded me an email that he had received from somebody who I think they were either working in like a church or religious institution. institution or were working for a charity that was maybe based in the church. Long story short, they wrote this really nice email about how their organization was among the recipients of these funds that were paid out as part of this insurance program. And they really appreciated the money that they got because it really helped them deliver on their recovery efforts and really allowed them to help the citizens that they were assisting recover from this tropical cyclone.
Kyle David:Oh, that's awesome to hear. I'm just curious, like, how often do you get emails from clientele or people that you've helped out during these weather events and after them?
Megan Linkin:Yeah, I mean, we've had, we probably have, if I think off the top of my head, about six to eight clients who have had claims since 2020 who have been happy with the process, happy with the results, and have actually given us a public claims testimonial.
Kyle David:Oh, that's awesome. Now,
Megan Linkin:Yeah, that's always, you know, it's always nice to hear and always nice to see that they're happy with the end result.
Kyle David:Yeah, absolutely, because that's the end of the day your job, making sure that they can get back on their feet. And I'm curious, since you had mentioned, you know, the payout that the church received or the organization within the church to get themselves back on their feet. I'm curious, who determines the thresholds for like these insurance payouts and how much does get paid out for these events to different organizations?
Megan Linkin:Yeah. So it's really, it's, it's very much driven mostly by conversations between us, the insurance brokers and the clients. Um, and I mean, we've looked at programs that are as where the amount that is requested is a million dollars or 2 million. And then we've looked at programs where the amount requested is up to a hundred million dollars. And it's really going to depend on how much budget they have. It's going to depend on, you know, what their overall exposure is to such an event. You know, how much financially, physically can they. So it really, it really runs the gamut and we've seen clients op to cover everything from moderately disruptive to catastrophic events. Some clients will say. We feel as though we can retain these kind of moderately disruptive events, but a catastrophic event would truly be devastating for us. So that's what we want the cover for. And it really depends on the client, you know, what's the client's appetite, what the client wants to do and how they want to design their insurance program.
Kyle David:Interesting. So it's kind of more of like a tailored to the client's needs and what the weather's like for there.
Megan Linkin:And that, yeah, that's really the great thing about these products, the parametric insurance products that we work on is we can really work closely with the insured slash client and their broker to adjust it accordingly to make sure that it will pay out for the sorts of events that they want. You know, maybe if they only want truly catastrophic cover, they're going to say, look, until the wind speeds reaches 110 miles an hour. My locations, I'm good, whereas others, if maybe they're a little more vulnerable to winds, they say, once the winds start to reach 75, 80, that's when I start to kind of feel the financial impact of a hurricane, and that's when I'm going to start to need money. And again, we offer similar products for earthquake and hail. So, you know, some. Folks will say, only when the ground shakes really, really, really severely, am I going to want to pay out? Others, it's, you know, moderate shaking can cause disruptions to my operations. Um, and again, on the hail side, it's, you know, some, some insureds are, depending on what their underlying assets are, are going to need even Medium sized hailstones can be damaging others. You know, they're pretty hardened against hail and they only want larger hailstones
Kyle David:Interesting and on that note because you mentioned it earlier a little bit too about your work with earthquakes Specifically and a little bit with hailstorms what insights from your work with that has surprised you the most
Megan Linkin:you know, I think and the Earthquake side, you know, for me, it's kind of a constant learning because I'm not a seismologist. I don't have a background studying earthquake. Um, so, you know, really working with, uh, the team that I joined when I came to Swiss Re, the seismologist on that team, you know, to understand like kind of just how earthquakes work. You know, I kind of thought originally, for example, when I started, I kind of thought that, okay, like an earthquake happens, there's an epicenter and the shaking just like radiates out almost like a pond ripple, right? Like equidistantly from. the epicenter of the earthquake. And then I learned over time that no earthquakes are really more than a point, like they can cause a pretty large fissure and a, and a big fault rupture. And depending on how the fault ruptures, that's going to really depend on how severe the shaking is. And it's not, it's not uniform. It's not homogenous. It can look very different for different earthquakes, even if they're, for example, the exact same magnitude. So definitely interesting to kind of learn all that stuff. And have my zero order understanding of earthquakes maybe being brought up to 0. 5.
Kyle David:Yeah, I didn't know that. That's interesting. That could be more than just a specific point.
Megan Linkin:Yeah, I didn't, you know, I always thought it was like this ripple look, but nope.
Kyle David:Interesting. We're learning a little bit more about not just the weather, but also earthquakes as well, and on the note of earthquakes, because I'm sure a lot of people in the Northeast can talk about this, you know, several months ago had the earthquake based in New Jersey and everybody across the Northeast felt a little bit of that, and we're not really known for earthquakes in the Northeast. So that raises a interesting question that I have about that events like that. They're not as frequent in. Areas like earthquakes in the Northeast or snow in the Gulf Coast. How does Swiss re approach mapping out those risks for less frequent events like earthquakes in the Northeast or snow in the Gulf Coast states?
Megan Linkin:Yeah, I think, you know, that's why it's really critical to, that's why that Swiss Re has made the decision and many others have made the decision to hire experts, hire scientific experts who can look at the historical data and come up with statistical relationships, come up with probability distributions, um, you know, read and review the scientific literature come up with statistically robust ways of assigning. Likelihoods to certain types of events, like more infrequent earthquakes or, uh, more unique hurricanes or hailstorms.
Kyle David:Now, we had talked a little bit earlier about, you know, the frequency, the intensity of not just these odd events, but normal events as well, increasing, and that can be due to Or is due to climate change. I'm curious, how has that changed how you map risk at, at Swiss Street? And like, how do you address that going forward?
Megan Linkin:Yeah. So, I mean, most insurance policies are done on an annual basis. So it's not as though we can, we're not going to inherently include. Climate change climate change projections out to 2050 or 2080 or 2100. But you know, I think that the Acknowledgement that I mean maybe for certain sorts of um, natural catastrophes the past is no longer prologue Um, and you know a careful look has to be taken that trends and and what do we see in the data over time? And how has the data evolved? and the likelihood of different extreme events evolved. And then there's always the question of parsing between, okay, well, what's, if you look, for example, HERDAT goes back to 1851, right? So you look and you say, okay, well, if we look from 1851 to 2024, what's the, like, is, is there a climate change signal in there? Okay. And then how do you parse that out from what's the impact of just improved observations? Okay. What's the impact of the satellite, satellites being rolled out? You know, how many, how many weak storms were missed before the satellite era? How much are we now capturing these storms at more extreme or at their peak intensities because there's more planes that could be flown or the equipment is, is the observational platforms are just improved, you know, I think that that's, that continues to be an area of ongoing study and analysis. I mean. The HERDAT database is not constantly being assessed, but underwent a project for reassessment on a, on a decade by decade basis. So, you know, there's a lot of, there's, there's always a lot of questions when you're trying to parse, like what's, what's climate change doing versus what's improvements in technology doing versus what's just increased spatial monitoring doing and understanding, understanding all that.
Kyle David:And continuing on the note of climate change, as we talked about it a little bit earlier in the conversation, you know, it's going to be interesting to see how things change over the next year, five years, 10 years, and overall, how insurance companies and risk companies respond to that. So I'm curious, how do you see the insurance industry's response to climate change changing in the next decade? And this could be specifically the Swiss rate or. The industry in general.
Megan Linkin:Yeah. I mean, I think it's just the ongoing acknowledgement and the ongoing education that this is, first of all, this is no longer a future problem. This is a present problem. Um, and that there is going, this is something that we're going to have to live with, and this is something that we're going to have to, the best we can harden ourselves against and putting our heads in the sand and pretending like it isn't happening, isn't going to fix the problem or make it go away.
Kyle David:Absolutely, and on the note of the inconvenient truth, because you'd mentioned it earlier, if the sequel were to be made about the current weather events that are going on, the natural disasters that are going on What would you include in that sequel that is not necessarily covered in the first one?
Megan Linkin:one of the things that has concerned me ever since the beginning of the 2020s is What at least what seems to me to be the increasing frequency with which rapid intensification of hurricanes is happening particularly as they near the coast because The preparations for a strong tropical storm week hurricane are going to be very, very different for a category five hurricane, and it is going to be extremely challenging to pivot and do necessary evacuations if the window to do so is so dramatically short.
Kyle David:Yeah, we've had a lot of instances just this year with rapid intensification and Oscar, for instance, is a very good case where rapid intensification happened. Like nobody. Thought I was going to turn into anything and then all of a sudden 12 hours later category one hurricane is heading towards the Caribbean's
Megan Linkin:Yeah, I mean another example example is Hurricane Otis in 2020 You know, it was it was a tropical storm and then 12 hours later It was a category 5 hurricane making landfall near Acapulco. I mean, how do you prepare for that?
Kyle David:Yeah, I think that's probably the most extreme case of the the rapid intensification case study if you were to do one was just beyond anything what Anybody was imagining. And to be honest, yeah. And to be honest, I covered that a little bit. And to be honest, that, that was scary seeing this little blob and then category five hurricane. That's.
Megan Linkin:Yeah, it was
Kyle David:scary.
Megan Linkin:Models didn't get it. Nobody got it.
Kyle David:And on the note of models, I gotta ask, you know, because the AI conversation has been very, very hot as of late, especially with the weather world, with forecasting, modeling. What role do you see AI playing in the future of weather modeling, and even more specifically with your work, catastrophe modeling?
Megan Linkin:To be honest, I have no idea yet. I'm not sure. I mean, I know it's a hot topic. I know that we're not going to get away from AI, but I have absolutely no idea. I can't even, can't even.
Kyle David:That's fair. And to be honest, I admire you being honest because not a lot of people know what's going to happen with AI and how machine learning and all that gets incorporated into weather forecasting. Some don't know it. I don't know either. So the fact that you're being honest about it, I commend you for that.
Megan Linkin:Yeah, who knows? I also feel like the technology is just growing in leaps and bounds these days that it's hard to even know what it's going to be capable of in a few years, let alone a few months.
Kyle David:Hopefully it doesn't turn into a 2001 Space Odyssey future where Hal becomes omnipotent and, you know, ejects us out of the space airlock or whatever. But it's a little scary, but on a lighter note, kind of looking back at your career, your experiences. What, what's been the most important thing that you've learned from your experience in the weather world and your transition to insurance?
Megan Linkin:You know, I would say take chances, um, don't, you know, don't be afraid to try something new or look into an industry that maybe is not commonly thought of as hiring meteorologists, atmospheric scientists, mathematicians, physicists, um, and if it's, if it's an area that you feel interested in, if it's an area that you feel passionate about, go ahead and pursue it.
Kyle David:That's good advice there. And to kind of wrap up before we get into our tried and true whether or not segment, I leave the floor open to you for this last few minutes. Is there a piece of advice that you want to pass on? A misconception that you want to bust that has really been grinding your gears lately or something that I did not touch upon in our conversation?
Megan Linkin:Yeah, I think it's, you know, I think that there's maybe like a, a perception that working in the insurance industry is boring, um, and I can safely say after being here 15 plus years, it is most definitely not. Every day is certainly not the same. Every day is certainly not just, you know, doing the, doing the same thing over and over and over again. It's a really interesting and fascinating way to make a living. Um, and it's also, it's also an industry that because it always has to think about how risk evolved, evolves rather, it's kind of always at the forefront of a lot of issues. So I mean, obviously weather, extreme weather and climate change, but even topics like cyber, AI, the insurance industry is going to be thinking about all present and emerging risks. So if you're interested in, if you're interested in. These sorts of fields, the insurance industry can be a great. Industry in which to make a career.
Kyle David:And that goes not just for the people listening to the podcast that are interested in the weather, but anybody else out there in the world figuring they want to do in these uncertain times, I will call it. So for sure, definitely. With that said, that's the end of the interview, but not the end of the podcast episode. We've got our weather or game. So we've got a mix of weather theme, non weather theme, trivia questions based on your interests and we'll see how it goes with that said, are you ready?
Megan Linkin:All right. Yeah, I'm ready.
Kyle David:All right. This is whether or not your question is related to the Jersey Shore. The location, not the TV show people.
Megan Linkin:Okay.
Kyle David:The Jersey Shore is home to the highest concentration of oceanside boardwalks in the U. S., and for the country's first boardwalk. Which one of these Jersey Shore boardwalks is the first boardwalk in the United States? Is it A. Long Branch, B. Atlantic City, C. Ocean City, or D. Asbury Park?
Megan Linkin:Final
Kyle David:guess? You are correct, it is Atlantic City. I believe the second oldest is Long Branch. Don't quote me on that one, but We've got some good boardwalks here. All right, this is whether or not your next question is related to hurricane season records. The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season broke multiple long and short standing records for the Atlantic Basin. Which of the following records was not broken by a hurricane in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season? Is it A, most tornadoes spawned? B, Earliest Category 4 Hurricane, C. Strongest June Hurricane by Wind Speed, or D. Fastest Intensification from Tropical Depression to Hurricane.
Megan Linkin:I think it's D. I think.
Kyle David:Fastest Intensification from Depression to Hurricane?
Megan Linkin:Yeah, although Oscar might have done that. I'm gonna go with D, final answer, but.
Kyle David:Final guess is D? Final guess. Your gut instinct was correct. Oscar does hold that record now for fastest intensification from depression to hurricane. The correct answer was most tornadoes spawned. That record still belongs to Hurricane Ivan with 120 tornadoes. Hurricane Beryl did come close to it. I think it's the fifth spot. I don't know how many exactly tornadoes were spawned from that, but it holds the fifth spot for most tornadoes spawned by an Atlantic hurricane. So This is whether or not your next question is related to Rutgers football. Which Rutgers player holds the record for most rushing yards in a single season? Is it A. Kyle Mnangai, B. Isaiah Pacheco, C. Jawin Jamison, or D. Ray Rice? D. Ray Rice. Final guess? Final guess. You are correct. It is D. And for a bonus question, can you name the second highest record for most rushing yards? I
Megan Linkin:think now it's Mnangai, isn't it? Did he surpass it this year?
Kyle David:You're correct. It is Kyle Mnangai. He's very close to getting up to Ray Rice's numbers. I think it's like, what, 4, 000 and change for Ray Rice? Something like that.
Megan Linkin:Uh, the 2006 football season.
Kyle David:The football team was a lot better back then, I will say that.
Megan Linkin:For a brief point in time, yes.
Kyle David:Alright, this is whether or not your next question is related to atmospheric dynamics. Which of the following best describes the Coriolis force? Is it A. The warming of the atmosphere due to greenhouse gases. B, the apparent deflection of moving objects due to Earth's rotation. C, the rising of warm air and sinking of cool air. Or D, the formation of clouds in the upper atmosphere. B. Final guess? Final guess. I shouldn't have to verify because you are correct. It is B, the apparent deflection of moving objects due to Earth's rotation. This is whether or not your final question is related to New Jersey wineries. Which of the following is the oldest winery in the state of New Jersey and known for its historic vineyards and award winning wines? Is it A, the Alba Vineyard, B, the Cape May Winery, C, the Tomasello Winery, or D, the Renault Winery?
Megan Linkin:That's a tough one. I think it's Renault. I think it's D. Final guess is
Kyle David:Renault Winery? Final guess. You are correct. It is the Vernault winery. And with that, that is the last whether or not question, the end of our conversation. But before we go, how can people stay in touch with you and your work, Dr. Linkin?
Megan Linkin:So you can follow me on LinkedIn, uh, connect with me on LinkedIn, which it's just my full name, Megan Linkin. Um, and yeah, that's probably, that's probably the best way.
Kyle David:Dr. Megan Linkin on LinkedIn. Yep. That's got a twister, a tongue twister to it. We'll make sure to include your LinkedIn profile in the show notes for everybody to go and check out your work. With that said, thank you so much, Dr. Linkin, for joining me on the podcast and thank you to the listeners. And we'll catch you on the next episode.
Megan Linkin:Thank you, Kyle.
