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Jerome Namias: Weather Pioneer
| Article
# : |
14570 |
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Section : |
NATURAL SCIENCE
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| Issue
Date : |
3 / 1988 |
2,879 Words |
| Author
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Philomène d'Ursin and John O. Roads
Philomène d'Ursin is administrative assistant for the Scripps
Experimental Climate Forecast Center. John O. Roads is
director of the Scripps Experimental Climate Forecast Center
and was one of Namias' postdoctoral students at Scripps. This
article is based in part on Namias' autobiography, published
in "Namias Symposium," (1985) J.O. Roads, ed. |
In the central Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, where skiing is the lifeblood of the winter economy, Jerome Namias is almost a household word. His winter forecast is big news, and in fact, seasonal hiring decisions are based on it. However, most of the ski enthusiasts who benefit from his expertise do not know that the world-famous 77-year-old meteorologist was decorated in World War II for his weather forecasts that assisted the Allied invasion of North Africa. All skiers want to know is: Is it going to snow--and how much?
Although he is known for almost always being right, Namias candidly recalls some memorable forecast busts. While attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge in 1936, Namias was asked to make forecasts for the upcoming Harvard tercentenary celebration, particularly for the main outdoor event. After analyzing a number of surface maps and charts--only sparse data was available at that time--and predicting light rain, he was dismayed at the appearance of a tropical storm off the coast, which threatened to develop into a northeaster. The "light rain" he predicted turned out to be a downpour, devastating about equally the festivities and Namias' spirits. Ruefully recalling the event, Namias commented that even with the vastly superior technique available today, he was grateful he hadn't forecast for Harvard's recent 350th anniversary.
Self-Education
Born on March 19, 1910, in Fall River, Massachusetts, Jerome Namias was the grandson of a merchant in the Azores and the son of an optometrist who, seeing no future in meteorology, tried to encourage the young Jerome to follow in his footsteps. A high school physics teacher, however, recognizing Namias' interest, made special efforts to explain the intricacies of meteorology and suggested that he might seek a career with the U.S. Weather Bureau. The town's meteorologist, a wealthy stockbroker and unpaid observer for the Weather Bureau, spent considerable time teaching and advising him. Shortly after, Namias set up his own weather station, using instruments bought with earnings from playing percussion in a jazz band and from door-to-door sales.
After graduating from high school, Namias was offered a four-year scholarship to Wesleyan University in Connecticut, an opportunity that was delayed by a protracted illness of his father and abandoned altogether when he himself contracted tuberculosis a year later. During his long illness, Namias doggedly pursued his education via many correspondence courses, especially in college math and
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