Practicum Experience(s)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (2024)
Summary of Research
I am interested in studying synoptic and mesoscale meteorology in graduate school. In particular, I am eager to expand our knowledge of extratropical cyclones and the jet stream. After studying downslope winds along the Colorado Front Range for my NOAA Ernest F. Hollings internship and expanding upon this research for my undergraduate Honors Thesis (awarded summa cum laude), I plan to continue studying high-impact weather in this region. My graduate school research project involves improving operational weather forecasts for cyclones along the Colorado Front Range. Many believe that the “cyclone problem” has been resolved, but this is far from the truth as there are still many different aspects of cyclones we do not yet fully understand. I want to better understand the physical processes associated with cyclones in this region and will create a real-time website to assist forecasters when they are creating their forecasts. Furthermore, I would like to extend this study to a future climate scenario to examine how cyclone characteristics change in a warmer climate. It is imperative that we improve forecasting these storms as they put lives and property at risk.
Annual Program Review Abstracts
Publications
Publications:
[2] Meehl, G. A., C. A. Shields, B. M. Myers, M. L. Larson, D. Durran, M. Pasha, A. Morales, A. Subramanian, A. C. Winters, P. Schlatter, and M. Weisman: Earth, wind and fire: Are Boulder’s extreme downslope winds changing? Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-24-0091.1
[1] Larson, M. L., A. C. Winters, and P. T. Schlatter 2024: Downslope Wind Verification of the National Blend of Models Across the Northern Front Range of Colorado During the 2020/2021 Cool Season. J. of Operational Meteorology https://doi.org/10.15191/nwajom.2024.1206
Oral and Poster Presentations:
Larson, M. L. and A. C. Winters (2025), Identifying Flavors of Lee Cyclogenesis over the Central U.S. Using Self-Organizing Maps, Abstract [454858] presented at 2025 Annual Meeting, AMS, New Orleans, LA, 12-16 Jan. (Oral)
Larson, M. L. and A. C. Winters (2024), An Updated Climatology of Lee Cyclones Across the Central United States, Abstract [14D] presented at 20th Cyclone Workshop, St. Sauveur, Quebec, Canada, 20-25 Oct. (Oral)
Larson, M. L., C. B. Begeman, and M. R. Petersen (2024), The Impact of Vertical Coordinates on Ice Shelf Cavity Simulations in MPAS-Ocean, Abstract [43] presented at 2024 Annual Program Review, DOE CSGF, Washington D.C., 14-18 Jul. (Poster)
Larson, M. L. and A. C. Winters (2024), An Updated Climatology of Extratropical Cyclones Across the Central United States, Abstract [435100] presented at 2024 Annual Meeting, AMS, Baltimore, MD, 28 Jan-1 Feb. (Oral)
Larson, M. L. and A. C. Winters (2023), An Updated Climatology of Extratropical Cyclones Across the Central United States, Abstract [20] presented at 2023 Annual Program Review, DOE CSGF, Washington D.C., 16-20 Jul. (Poster)
Larson, M., Shields, C. A., Meehl, G., Winters, A. C., Myers, B., Morales, A., Subramanian, A. (2023), Present and Future Climate Sensitivity Studies of Downslope Winds in Boulder, Colorado, Abstract [28APPLIED-5.2] presented at 2023 Annual Meeting, AMS, Denver, CO 8-12 Jan. (Oral)
Larson, M., Shields, C. A., Meehl, G., Winters, A. C., Myers, B., Morales, A., Subramanian, A. (2022), Present and Future Climate Sensitivity Studies of Downslope Winds in Boulder, Colorado, Abstract [A55P-1332] presented at 2022 Fall Meeting, AGU, Chicago, IL 12-16 Dec. (Poster)
Larson, M., Schlatter, P. T. (2021), Downslope Wind Verification of the National Blend of Models Across the Northern Front Range of Colorado, Abstract [390508] presented at 2022 Annual Meeting - Annual Student Conference, AMS, Houston, TX 22-23 Jan. (Poster)
Larson, M., Schlatter, P. T. (2021), Downslope Wind Verification of the National Blend of Models Across the Northern Front Range of Colorado, Abstract [A41E-07] presented at 2021 Fall Meeting, AGU, New Orleans, LA 13-17 Dec. (Oral)
Larson, M., Schlatter, P. T. (2021), Downslope Wind Verification of the National Blend of Models Across the Northern Front Range of Colorado, Abstract [TMAW-4] presented at 2021 Midwest Student Conference on Atmospheric Research (MSCAR), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 25 Sept. (Oral)
Larson, M., Schlatter, P. T. (2021), Downslope Wind Verification of the National Blend of Models Across the Northern Front Range of Colorado, Abstract [B3] presented at 2021 Annual Earth System and Space Science Poster Conference, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 3 Dec. (Poster)
Larson, M., Browne, E. C. (2021), Investigating Wintertime Sources of Organic Aerosols in Cape Cod, Abstract [EC-10] presented at 2021 Rendezvous, CIRES, 21 May. (Poster)
Larson, M., Browne, E. C. (2020), Investigating Wintertime Sources of Organic Aerosols in Cape Cod, [A036-0009] presented at 2020 Fall Meeting, AGU, 1-17 Dec. (Poster)
Awards
1st Place Student Oral Presentation Award, Weather Analysis and Forecasting Conference, AMS Annual Meeting. 2025
Student presentation award for oral presentation entitled “Identifying Flavors of Lee Cyclogenesis over the Central U.S. Using Self-Organizing Maps” after feedback and review from a panel of judges
Woman Who Makes a Difference Award, CU Boulder, 2024
Honors those who are impacting our CU Boulder community
Nominations are accepted from the campus community to honor those who identify as women and awards are presented at a celebration for the nominees and their nominators
Service Award, CU Boulder Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, 2024
“For creating new types of departmental events that appeal to a wider audience and creating a stronger ATOC
community.”
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 2022 (declined to accept DOE CSGF)
A five year fellowship with three years of financial support that recognizes outstanding students in STEM fields. This fellowship application includes a research proposal for the student's graduate studies.
American Meteorological Society Graduate Fellowship, 2022
One year fellowship that recognizes outstanding students who are pursing graduate degrees in atmospheric science or related fields.
University of Colorado Boulder Diversity Recruitment Fellowship, 2022
A fellowship awarded because I was nominated by the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences as a diverse applicant to CU Boulder and to the department's doctoral program.
CU Boulder College of Arts & Sciences Honors Scholar, 2022
As part of the Honors Scholars Program, I completed 3 Honors courses, attended at least 2 Honors events per semester, and completed 5 hours of community service per semester. The purpose of this program is to become more involved in the Honors community at CU. I was selected as the 2022 Featured Honors Scholar and gave a speech at the 2022 Honors Scholars Reception.
NOAA Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship, 2020
A prestigious scholarship and internship program awarded to undergraduate juniors majoring in NOAA mission fields. I was awarded this scholarship in April 2020 and have since completed an internship at the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Boulder, Colorado to research downslope windstorms. My project was entitled "Downslope Wind Verification of the National Blend of Models Across the Northern Front Range of Colorado."
CU Presidential Scholarship, 2018
This scholarship is awarded to the top 1-3% of the University of Colorado Boulder's (CU) nonresident class. As a Florida resident, I was awarded this scholarship when I enrolled at CU in recognition of my high school achievements.
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) Grants, 2020, 2021
UROP grants are awarded to undergraduate students at CU to pursue independent research and fund research projects. I was awarded my first UROP g