Contact Information
Biography
Dr. Trapp is a Professor with the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before joining Illinois in 2014, he was a Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Purdue University from 2003-2014, and a research scientist with the National Severe Storms Laboratory (through the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies) in Norman, Oklahoma from 1996-2003. Four years of his tenure with NSSL were spent as a visiting scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.
Research Interests
Dr. Trapp's research interests include the dynamics and observations of mesoscale convective systems, severe thunderstorms, and tornadoes; mesoscale modeling and predictability.
Education
- Ph.D. in Meteorology, The University of Oklahoma, 1994
- M.S. in Meteorology, Texas A&M University, 1989
- B.S. in Agriculture/Atmospheric Science, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1985
Additional Campus Affiliations
Director, School of Earth, Society, and Environment
Head, Climate, Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
Professor, Climate, Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
External Links
Recent Publications
Berman, M. T., Trapp, R. J., Nesbitt, S. W., & Di Girolamo, L. (2024). The Observed Impact of the Lower Stratospheric Thermodynamic Environment on Overshooting Top Characteristics During the RELAMPAGO-CACTI Field Campaign. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 129(10), Article e2023JD040348. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JD040348
Graber, M., Trapp, R. J., & Wang, Z. (2024). The regionality and seasonality of tornado trends in the United States. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 7(1), Article 144. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-024-00698-y
Hong, Y., Nesbitt, S. W., Trapp, R. J., & Di Girolamo, L. (2023). Near-global distributions of overshooting tops derived from Terra and Aqua MODIS observations. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 16(5), 1391-1406. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1391-2023
Lasher-Trapp, S., Orendorf, S. A., & Trapp, R. J. (2023). Investigating a Derecho in a Future Warmer Climate. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 104(10), E1831-E1852. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-22-0173.1
Sessa, M. F., & Trapp, R. J. (2023). Environmental and Radar-Derived Predictors of Tornado Intensity within Ongoing Convective Storms. Journal of Operational Meteorology, 11, 49-71. https://doi.org/10.15191/nwajom.2023.1105