Synopses & Reviews
Inand#160;1951, Robert H. Simpson lifted off in a specially-equipped plane, flying directly into the path of a storm that would send most people running for cover. For more than four hours he observed Typhoonand#160;Margeand#160;from its eerily calm eye, later describing it inand#160;
The Bulletin of the American Meteorological Societyand#160;as and#147;a coliseum of clouds whose walls on one side rose vertically and on the other were banked like the galleries in a great opera house.and#8221;
For Simpson this was just one of his many pioneering explorations of hurricanes and extreme storms. Over his decades-long career his research led to great leaps in our understanding of tropical meteorology and our approach to hurricane safety. He was the first director of the National Hurricane Research Project andand#160;the secondand#160;director of the National Hurricane Center, though he may be best known as co-creator of the widely used Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, familiar to anyone who has heard a reporter use the words and#147;category five.and#8221;
Simpsonand#8217;s memoirs take readers from his experience with theand#160;Corpus Christi hurricane of 1919and#160;to his travels to study weather across the globe. Along the way he crosses paths with other weather greats, including his trailblazing wife, meteorologist Joanne Simpson.and#160;Hurricane Pioneerand#160;is a riveting first-hand account at a revolutionary time in meteorology.
Synopsis
Robert (Bob) Simpson, along with his wife, Joanne, are both meteorological pioneers and icons, particularly with respect to tropical meteorology.and#160; Bob was the first director of the National Hurricane Research Project in the late 1950s, and a former director of the National Hurricane Center 1967-1974. Along with Herbert Saffir, he was also the creator of the widely used Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (Categories 1-5). Simpson is an Honorary Member of the American Meteorological Society, the highest honor that is bestowed by the Society.
His memoirs cover his adventurous early life in Texas, including his familyand#8217;s encounter with the Mississippi Flood of 1927, which would prove formative. His training took him far and wide to domestic and international centers of meteorological study right at the time the field was developing and burgeoning, where he intersected with other colleagues who would become the pioneers in a host ofand#160; specialties in the weather enterprise.
About the Author
Robert H. Simpson (1912andndash;2014) was the first director of the National Hurricane Research Project and former director of the National Hurricane Center. Neal M. Dorst is a meteorologist in the Hurricane Research Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.