The meeting of the High Plains Chapter of the AMS and NWA was held on the campus of Fort Hays State University. The meeting was attended by 14 members and new members. Prior to the meeting there was a meal.

CALL TO ORDER

President Bruce Entwistle brought the meeting to order at 12:40 PM.  Secretary Julia Berg read the minutes of the meeting on January 20th.  The minutes were accepted as read.

REPORT OF THE TREASURY

The treasurer's report was read by President Bruce Entwistle, in the absence of Treasurer David Lawrence. The chapter started with a balance of $2354.09 on 26 April 2004. Deposits were $161.55 and there were no expenses, leaving a balance of $2515.64. The report sent by David had an incorrect date on it. Once the correction to the final date of 26 April 2004 was made, the treasurer's report was accepted.

OLD BUSINESS

There are two confirmed key note speakers for the High Plains Conference (HPC). The first is Nolan Doesken, Assistant State Climatologist from Colorado State University, and the second is Greg
Stumpf of MDL, formerly of NSSL.

There is a need for T-shirt designs. We are trying to have them available at the conference.

The chapter board is discussing changing the web site domain registration in the interest of saving money.

NEW BUSINESS

Following the meeting guest speaker, Dr. John Heinrichs, spoke about his research, The Influence of Teleconnections on Kansas Winter Wheat Yields. Dr. Heinrichs compared the nature and strength of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) to the yield of the Kansas winter wheat crop from 1903 to 2000. It was discovered there was about a seven percent reduction in the wheat crop in northwest Kansas due to the dry conditions one year after a cold ENSO. From the NAO, the impact was less, but there was still a five percent decrease in yield in southeast Kansas.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 1:15 PM.  A next meeting date/place was not determined, but should be in the April time frame.  Members will be notified.

Respectfully submitted,

Julia Berg, Secretary