JOHN JENSENIOUS

John Jensenius is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service Office in Gray, Maine.

John works extensively on weather-related safety issues, including education and public awareness. On weather-related issues, he is the primary contact person for state and local emergency management agencies in Maine and New Hampshire.

John is particularly active in both local and national efforts to promote lightning safety. In 2000, he used the success of his statewide lightning safety campaigns to initiate a national effort. John organized a team of lightning safety experts to begin working on the a national effort to promote lightning safety. Both NOAA's Lightning Safety Web Site (www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov) and NOAA's Lightning Safety Awareness Week are a result of his efforts.

John continues to be very involved in writing or editing much of NOAA's lightning safety educational and outreach materials available on the web site. He also serves as a NOAA spokesperson on lightning safety and works to provide other NWS offices across the country with lightning safety information.

In 2003, John developed a "Coaches and Sports Officials Guide to Lightning Safety," which was published by NOAA in 2004. John is also very active in working with private organizations to promote lightning safety and in 2004 initiated a partnership between NOAA and Little League Baseball.

Prior to moving to Maine in 1995, John worked for 17 years at the National Weather Service's Techniques Development Laboratory, near Washington, D.C., where he was a research meteorologist and served as Chief of the Laboratory's Computer Systems Section. John has a B.A. degree in Earth Sciences from Millersville University of Pennsylvania and an M.S. degree in Meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University.

4 August 2005