DOCSLIB.ORG

Extratropical Cyclones and Surface Winds in June 1944

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Extratropical Cyclones and Surface Winds in June 1944 The D-Day landing of June 1944: extrat- ropical cyclones and surface winds in June 1944 compared with a climatology based on the Twentieth Century Reanalysis Christoph Welker,1 Melanie conditions (e.g. light winds and non-stormy caught by surprise and the landings on the 2 2 seas) would permit the largest military inva- Normandy beaches marked the beginning Bieli, Nicolas Piaget and sion in history to go forward on 5 June 1944 of the end of World War II. Michael Sprenger2 or not. On top of that, the forecast of these 1Oeschger Centre for Climate change conditions had to be made at least 2 days in advance – at a time when forecasting Reconstructing the D-Day Research and Institute of Geography, weather for several days and beyond was weather – goals and questions University of Bern, Switzerland still unknown scientific territory, especially The historical background of the D-Day 2Institute for Atmospheric and Climate for the highly variable UK weather. landings sets the stage for our investiga- Weather – July 2014, Vol. 69, No. 7 69, No. Vol. – July 2014, Weather Science, ETH Zurich, Switzerland Given this background, Stagg and his team tion of the weather conditions in June 1944. hoped for a stable ‘blocking high’ associated Our analyses are based on the Twentieth Introduction with persistent calm weather. However, as Century Reanalysis (20CR; Compo et al., Historical overview from a May turned to June, the placid weather 2011), a novel global atmospheric reanalysis turned into a ‘forecaster’s nightmare’. It was meteorological perspective which extends back to 1871, as well as his- exceptionally stormy (e.g. Montgomery, torical weather charts provided by the Met Near the end of World War II, as the D-Day 1948; Ambrose, 1994; Fleming, 2004), Office. The weather evolution during the invasion of Normandy by thousands of ships with conditions more like those during D-Day landings is examined with emphasis was approaching, the whole enterprise was April. Under these conditions, climatology on wind and atmospheric moisture, which totally dependent on an accurate prediction and analogue forecasts could not provide we regard as the key variables determin- of weather. The lives of more than half a much of a guideline for the predictions. ing sea swell and visibility in the landing million soldiers were at stake, as well as the With D-Day approaching, the commanders area. Because historical reports stressed the fate of the war in Europe (for a very recent became more and more anxious, and the uncommonly unsettled and stormy weather account on D-Day, see Atkinson, 2013). three teams were struggling to arrive at a conditions over the British Isles and north- Under the pressure of these highly dramatic final consensus. Behind the scenes, during ern France during June 1944, the ‘stormi- circumstances, six meteorologists working long telephone conferences over scrambled ness ’ of this month is assessed in terms of in three different teams were responsible signals, critical differences among the weather cyclone frequency and near-surface wind for the D-Day forecasts. Their decision to forecasters, especially between the Norwegian speed in comparison to the climatology. go ahead would come down to the most Sverre Petterssen and the American Irvin important weather forecast ever made. Krick, were fought out in an atmosphere of Operation Overlord, the operation that increasing tension and occasional hostility The 20CR and objective launched the invasion of German-occupied (Cox, 2002). Krick’s team consistently found cyclone identification western Europe, would use allied air, naval historical analogues that called for accept- The 20CR data set and land forces. It was decided that this able weather on 5 June 1944. On the other joint multinational undertaking should be hand, Petterssen’s upper-air analyses and Retrospective analyses (or reanalyses) have accompanied by a combined effort on the Douglas’s intuition, both meteorologists become an important tool in studying weather forecasting side as well (see e.g. working together at Dunstable, just as con- weather and climate variability. By incorpo- Douglas, 1952; Stagg, 1971; Petterssen, sistently indicated deteriorating weather rating a variety of measurement data into 2001). Three separate teams, from the (Ackerman and Knox, 2006). numerical models, they produce a tem- British Meteorological Office (referred to as Finally, the bleak, windy forecast that porally and spatially consistent synthesis Dunstable group), the British Admiralty, and Stagg presented to General Eisenhower led of observations and analyses of variables the US Air Force, were assembled by the to the postponement of the D-Day landings. that are not easily observed. To reconstruct Allied Supreme Commander, General (later However, at the time this decision was taken, the weather in early June 1944, we made US President) Dwight Eisenhower. They first the weather in the Channel region was still use of the 20CR data set, which contains made separate forecasts and then sought fairly calm, because the weak anticyclonic global weather conditions and their uncer- consensus in telephone conferences, with flow associated with the high-pressure sys- tainty in six-hourly intervals for the period the British meteorologist James Stagg lead- tem over the Azores was still prevailing. The from 1871 to present. Surface-pressure ing the debate and presenting the findings decision to invade on 6 June was made in observations were combined with a short- to Eisenhower – an early example of what the morning of 5 June and was based on term forecast from an ensemble (with 56 is referred to as ensemble forecasting today. the forecast of a short period of improved ensemble members) of integrations of a While the Allied combat troops were weather that would open a small ‘window numerical weather-prediction model using waiting in a state of what their commander of opportunity’ for the assault. Indeed, the Ensemble Kalman Filter technique to called ‘suspended animation’ (Cox, 2002), the invasion weather on 6 June was mar- produce an estimate of the complete state 176 this group of forecasters had to decide if ginally acceptable. The German army was of the atmosphere, and the uncertainty in that estimate. Monthly sea-surface temper- the months of June in the period 1871–2008 the landing by 1 day (Douglas, 1952). Due ature (SST) and sea-ice distributions from based on the 20CR ensemble data set. to the rapid movement of the cyclones, the the HadISST data set (Rayner et al., 2003) cyclones were expected to pass the Channel served as boundary conditions. For further region on the morning of 5 June. Early June 1944 in 20CR The D-Day landing of June 1944 details on the 20CR refer to Compo et al. For the period in early June 1944 analysed (2011). Among others, the 20CR data set and historical weather charts in this section, the ensemble spread among was intended for the assessment of decadal- In this section, we provide only a brief the 56 SLP fields of the 20CR for the NA scale climate variability. Furthermore, the overview of the weather dynamics during and European sectors is generally small and 20CR can be used as a kind of ‘time machine’ D-Day and the preceding days, because ear- none of the fields shows a fundamentally to study historical weather events. lier studies have investigated the meteoro- different pattern; in particular, the ensemble In this study, we analysed different logical situation (e.g. Douglas, 1952; ECMWF, members hardly differ in the spatial extent atmospheric variables from the 20CR data 2004). The purpose is rather to show that of the Azores high. It is therefore sufficient set to assess on the one hand the synoptic the 20CR is able to capture the main fea- to analyse the ensemble-mean SLP fields weather situation, in particular the location tures of the D-Day weather, compared with in Figure 2, without studying all ensemble and development of cyclones in the North historical weather charts provided by the members individually. 7 69, No. Vol. – July 2014, Weather Atlantic (NA) and European sectors during Met Office. On 4 June (0700 UTC) the centre of the east- June 1944; on the other hand, the 20CR was According to historical weather charts, ern cyclone, which had rapidly deepened, was used to describe surface winds and asso- two relatively weak surface cyclones were located northwest of Scotland (Figure 1(b)). ciated wind-generated waves that could located over the NA on 3 June 1944 At the same time, another cyclone was have seriously endangered the ships and (0700 UTC): one south of Iceland, head- already forming near Newfoundland. The paratroopers in the English Channel region. ing towards the British Isles, and another 20CR (Figure 2(b)) again agrees well with Furthermore, atmospheric moisture is used one east of Newfoundland (Figure 1(a)). At the historical chart. In the afternoon of 4 to estimate the probability of bad visibility, this time, the English Channel region was June, the cold front associated with the deep cloud coverage, or even precipitation. located between two frontal zones. The cyclone over Scotland was located over Great synoptic situation depicted in the histori- Britain (not shown). An increase in atmos- Surface cyclones and associated cal charts is captured by the 20CR, with a pheric moisture over the English Channel cyclone centre east of Newfoundland and region (Figure 3(d)) was associated with the high wind speeds in the 20CR the possibility of a second cyclone south of approaching cold front, and near-surface ensemble Iceland, although not visible as a closed SLP wind speed increased substantially over the To further examine the synoptic weather contour in Figure 2(a). Based on the weather course of the day (Figure 3(a)). situation during June 1944, the cyclone situation on the morning of 3 June, the At the break of dawn of 5 June, rain was identification algorithm developed by development of the weather that was to be falling from overcast skies and gale-force Wernli and Schwierz (2006) was applied to expected for 5 June was still too uncertain winds drove large waves to the beaches of the 20CR ensemble data set.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Cumulated Bibliography of Biographies of Ocean Scientists Deborah Day, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Archives Revised December 3, 2001
    Cumulated Bibliography of Biographies of Ocean Scientists Deborah Day, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Archives Revised December 3, 2001. Preface This bibliography attempts to list all substantial autobiographies, biographies, festschrifts and obituaries of prominent oceanographers, marine biologists, fisheries scientists, and other scientists who worked in the marine environment published in journals and books after 1922, the publication date of Herdman’s Founders of Oceanography. The bibliography does not include newspaper obituaries, government documents, or citations to brief entries in general biographical sources. Items are listed alphabetically by author, and then chronologically by date of publication under a legend that includes the full name of the individual, his/her date of birth in European style(day, month in roman numeral, year), followed by his/her place of birth, then his date of death and place of death. Entries are in author-editor style following the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 14th ed., 1993). Citations are annotated to list the language if it is not obvious from the text. Annotations will also indicate if the citation includes a list of the scientist’s papers, if there is a relationship between the author of the citation and the scientist, or if the citation is written for a particular audience. This bibliography of biographies of scientists of the sea is based on Jacqueline Carpine-Lancre’s bibliography of biographies first published annually beginning with issue 4 of the History of Oceanography Newsletter (September 1992). It was supplemented by a bibliography maintained by Eric L. Mills and citations in the biographical files of the Archives of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD.
    [Show full text]
  • Owen-Rhea-Meteorological-Library
    May 2014 Owen Rhea’s Meteorological Library 1 John Owen Rhea’s Meteorological Library Inventory Contact Rosemary Rhea: 530-823-0549 [email protected] Topic Directory: General Meteorology 2 Climatology 5 Forecasting and Analysis 9 General Circulation and Fluid Dynamics 12 Tropical Meteorology 17 Air Pollution and Dispersion 19 Mesoscale Modeling 20 Cloud Physics and Convection Modeling 24 Remote Sensing, Instrumentation and Measurement 28 Mountain Meteorology 33 Snow & Quantitative Precipitation Forecasting 35 Hydrology and Snow Hydrology 37 Water Management 41 Weather Modification 44 Colorado Weather Modification 48 Utah Weather Modification 50 California Weather Modification 50 AMS Journals 64 Papers written by Owen Rhea 65 May 2014 Owen Rhea’s Meteorological Library 2 General Meteorology THE ATMOSPHERE - A CHALLENGE The Science of Jute Gregory Charney Richard S. Lindzen, Edward N. Lorenz, George W. Platzman American Meteorological Society Boston, Massachusetts Copyright 1990 by the American Meteorological Society ISBN l-R7R220-03-9 Library of Congress catalog card number 90-81190 PROCEEDINGS OF THE FOREST-ATMOSPHERE INTERACTION WORKSHOP Lake Placid, New York October 1-4, 1985 Published: May 1987 Coordinated and Edited by Harry Moses, Volker A. Mohnen, William E. Reifsnyder, and David H. Slade Workshop cosponsored by: U.S. Department of Energy State University of New York - Albany Yale University UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Office of Energy Research Office of Health and Environmental Research Washington, D.C. 20545, New York, Toronto, London Historical Essays on Meteorology 1919-1995 The Diamond Anniversary History Volume of the American Meteorological Society Edited by James Rodger Fleming American Meteorological Society 1996 ISBN 1-878220-17-9 Paper) May 2014 Owen Rhea’s Meteorological Library 3 WEATHER AND LIFE An Introduction to Biometeorology William P.
    [Show full text]
  • Air Force Weather Historian a QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER of the AIR FORCE WEATHER HISTORY OFFICE
    Autumn 2003 Volume 1, Issue 4 Air Force Weather Historian A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE AIR FORCE WEATHER HISTORY OFFICE Origins of the First Air Force Weather Recon Unit It is not clear when the Pearl Harbor on activated the Army Air first dedicated weather December 7, 1941, and Forces Weather reconnaissance flight was the US’s subsequent entry Reconnaissance made, but reconnaissance into World War II Squadron (Test) Number in all its forms was the seemingly delayed any One at Patterson Field, raison d’être of the Army’s further action on the Ohio. air service. By the 1920s, establishment of weather Air Corps pilots were reconnaissance units for regularly collecting nearly eight months. weather data. The North Atlantic aircraft Mr. Al Moyers ferry route to Europe Air Force Weather presented unique weather Historian challenges to aircrews. The Air Staff recognized that reliable, consistent Officers of the Army Air Forces Mr. Jerry White Weather Reconnaissance Deputy Air Force An Army Air Corps pilot and weather data was needed Weather Historian Squadron (Test) Number One Army Signal Corps forecaster to ensure that the maximum numbers of with one of their B-25s at Truax confer beside a DH-4 at Scott Field, Wisconsin, June 1943. Field, Illinois, following an early- aircraft and crews made morning weather reconnaissance the journey safely. The Air Staff programmed flight, 1927. the unit to be equipped with B-24s, but the Air Corps pilots continued demand for these to conduct weather bombers necessitated a reconnaissance flights in Inside this issue change. Planners addition to their other identified the B-25 for the flying duties throughout 20 OWS Heritage 2 squadron and in June the 1930s, supporting 1943, following training at Aldrich Recalls 3 both Air Corps missions Truax Field, Wisconsin, and US Weather Bureau Emblem of the Army Air Forces New Reading 3 the squadron was sent to work.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Defender and Expositor of the Bergen Methods of Synoptic Analysis: Significance, History, and Translation of Bergeron's
    1 Defender and Expositor of the Bergen Methods of Synoptic Analysis: 2 Significance, History, and Translation of Bergeron’s (1928) 3 “Über die dreidimensional verknüpfende Wetteranalyse” 4 [“Three-Dimensionally Combining Weather Analysis”] 5 6 DAVID M. SCHULTZ 7 Centre for Atmospheric Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and 8 Centre for Crisis Studies and Mitigation, University of Manchester, Manchester, United 9 Kingdom 10 11 HANS VOLKERT 12 Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, 13 Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany 14 15 BOGDAN ANTONESCU 16 National Institute for Research and Development in Optoelectronics, Măgurele, 17 Romania, and European Severe Storms Laboratory, Wessling, Germany 18 19 HUW C. DAVIES 20 Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland 21 22 23 For submission as an Article to Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 24 25 26 March 2020 26 27 Corresponding author: Prof. David M. Schultz, [email protected] 1 28 ABSTRACT 29 Tor Bergeron was a key member of the famous Bergen School of Meteorology that 30 developed one of the most influential contributions to synoptic analysis in the 20th 31 century. However, the eventual success of the so-called Bergen methods of synoptic 32 analysis was not guaranteed. Concerns and criticisms of the methods—in part from the 33 lack of referencing to prior studies, overly simplified conceptual models, and lack of real 34 data in papers by Bjerknes and Solberg—were inhibiting worldwide adoption of the 35 methods. Bergeron’s research output in the 1920s was aimed at addressing these 36 concerns.
    [Show full text]
  • D-Day Forecast Fictionalized from the Leading Authority of the Day, the Difficult Genius Wallace Ryman
    NATURE|Vol 460|13 August 2009 OPINION the stability and collapse of sand piles, with a genuine mystery. In 1922, the and the forensic study of sand to solve discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in murders. This leads to a discussion Egypt yielded a famous necklace with of the weird and wonderful micro- a scarab beetle carved from a glowing, scopic life forms — such as rotifers, yellow-green, gem-like material, which tardigrades, gastrotrichs, turbellarians its discoverer Howard Carter did not and others — that have evolved to recognize. In the 1990s, the material flourish in the spaces between shifting, was shown to be a unique silica glass, abrasive sand grains. Such an environ- 28 million years old and 98% pure, ment may become the last refuge for from a particular part of the Libyan life in the event of catastrophic climate desert. PHOTO SCALA, FLORENCE/EGYPTIAN MUS., CAIRO FLORENCE/EGYPTIAN SCALA, PHOTO change. Welland then addresses sand Welland travels to this desolate spot on a progressively larger scale: along and cherishes the glassy samples he the course of meandering rivers, in the finds glittering on the dunes. But, he formation of beaches, in deserts and muses, what could have produced heat mid-ocean sandbanks, in the forma- that was intense enough to fuse silica? tion of Old Red Sandstone rocks found A strike from a meteorite or lightning extensively from the Arctic to the Gulf can be ruled out because of the lack of Mexico and, finally, in sand found of visible impact craters or hollow beyond Earth. fulgurite tubes, respectively.
    [Show full text]
  • Air Force Weather, Our Heritage 1937-2012.” AFWA Agreed to This Approach in December 2009
    AIR FORCE WEATHER OUR HERITAGE 1937 TO 2012 “DIRECTORATE OF WEATHER” Jul 1937 - 1950 May 1958 - 1978 Apr 1991 - Present Air Weather Service Air Force Weather Agency 14 Apr 1943 - 15 Oct 1997 15 Oct 1997 - Present Air Force, Reserve, & Guard Component Weather Units 1 Oct 1991 to Present “MEETING THE CHALLENGE FOR 75 YEARS” TABLE OF CONTENTS COVER PAGE FRONTISPIECE ………….…………………………………………ii SIGNATURE TITLE PAGE ………………………………………..iii DEDICATION……………………………………………………...iv TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………….…xii SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LETTER…………………………..…xv FOREWARD……………………………………………………...xvi PREFACE..…………………………………………………..…..xvii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…...…………………………………....xix CHAPTER 1—The Roots and Lineage of Air Force Weather……1-1 CHAPTER 2—Chronology1937 – 1946……………………………2-1 CHAPTER 3—Chronology 1947 – 1956……………………….…..3-1 CHAPTER 4—Chronology 1957 – 1966……………………….…..4-1 CHAPTER 5—Chronology 1967 – 1976……………………..…….5-1 CHAPTER 6—Chronology 1977 – 1986………………………..….6-1 CHAPTER 7—Chronology 1987 – 1996……………………….…..7-1 CHAPTER 8—Chronology 1997 – 2006……………………….…..8-1 CHAPTER 9—Chronology 2007 – 2012………………………..….9-1 CHAPTER 10—Air Force Weather Leadership and Staff……....10-1 USAF Directorates of Weather……………………………………10-1 xii Major Air Command Weather Functional Managers……………..10- 32 Air Weather Service Commanders…………………………..…...10- 34 Air Force Weather Agency Commanders………………………...10- 51 USAF Directorate of Weather Staff…………………………...…10- 68 Air Weather Service Staff…………………………………….…10- 71 Air Force Weather Agency Staff………………………………....10- 77 CHAPTER 11—Air Force
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix A: Petterssen's Correspondence with J.M. Stagg
    Appendix A: Petterssen's Correspondence with J.M. Stagg Dr. Petterssen to Dr. Stagg March 27, 1972 I have with great interest read your recently published book Forecast for OVerlord, and in particular noticed the statement that starts on line 12 from the bottom on page 19 and ends with line 6 from the top of page 20. I would like you to inform me of the background, in documents from the Meteorological Office or any other material, for associat­ ing me, and also indirectly my colleagues in the Upper-Air Branch, with the generation of and/or issuing of forecasts "for two, three or more days." A connection of this nature also seems to be sug­ gested in your conference of January 1944 with Professor Rossby and his colleagues, as expressed on pages 23 and 24 in your book. I assume that the above-mentioned assertions are somewhat based on actual occurrences. Seeing that, in the context in which they appear in your book, these assertions shed an unfavorable light on my professional competence and judgement, I hope that you do not find it unreasonable that I ask you to share with me the actual facts your assertions are based on. I would also appreciate knowing if the quotation marks used in your book to indicate parts of my contributions to your conferences are meant to indicate true reproductions of my statements. Dr. Stagg to Dr. Petterssen March 30, 1972 Your letter dated March 27 has been forwarded to me from Shep­ perton. I regret that you dislike my references to your work as the leader of the Upper-Air Branch (or Group) in Dunstable during 1943/4 as they are represented in my statements on the top of page 20 and on page 24 in my book.
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography of Recent Literature in the History of Meteorology Twenty Six Years, 1983-2008
    History of Meteorology 5 (2009) 23 Bibliography of Recent Literature in the History of Meteorology Twenty Six Years, 1983-2008 Brant Vogel Papers of John Jay Columbia University The following is a bibliography of recent secondary literature in the history of meteorol- ogy, broadly conceived. It is presented in chronological order a) to illustrate the growth of his- tory of meteorology as field in the throes of self-definition, and b) because an artificial schema, whether based on subject, region, period, or discipline, would fail in the face of the diversity of the materials represented. It is intended as a tool for students entering the field, a refresher for those already in it, and a reference for historians in other fields.1 History of the Project The bibliography project began in November 2003 at the History of Science Society An- nual Meeting in Cambridge, MA. James Fleming2 organized a session and a subsequent wildcat dinner for ICHM members. At the session, and afterwards, Fleming told me that the IUHPS had requested that its commissions produce bibliographies for the World History of Science Online Project. I offered that I had already compiled a fairly large bibliographic database while com- pleting my dissertation.3 Because of what I found to be the paucity of literature in the historiog- raphy of meteorology when I started my dissertation research, I had gathered everything I could find. Fleming suggested making a more formal project of it. As there were other bibliographic resources for older material, we decided that twenty years of recent historiography would be the most useful.
    [Show full text]
  • 334 Program of the Scandinavian-American
    334 BULLETIN AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY Program of the Scandinavian-American Meteorological Meeting, 19-25 June 1958, in Bergen, Norway Organization Tuesday, 24 June, 2000 h. After a short sight-seeing Presidium : trip through the landscape south of Bergen, the Uni- Chairman: Professor C. L. Godske, Norway versity of Bergen will give a dinner at Solstrand Director Karl Andersen, Denmark Hotel, Os. Professor Tor Bergeron, Sweden A cocktail party is also being planned, and will prob- Director R. Fj0rtoft, Norway ably take place on the evening of 23 June. Further de- Director Teresia Gudmundsson, Iceland tails about this and the other social arrangements will be Dr. Enok Palm, Norway available at the beginning of the meeting. To all social Professor E. Palmen, Finland arrangements only ordinary business suit is required. Professor Sverre Petterssen, U.S.A. Dr. Francis W. Reichelderfer, U.S.A. PROGRAM Arrangement Committee: Thursday, 19 June 1958, 1000 h. C. L. Godske, Bergen, Norway Opening Jack Nordo, Bergen, Norway Presidential Address H. Schieldrup Paulsen, Bergen, Norway Finn Pedersen, Bergen, Norway Tor Bergeron: Methods in Scientific Weather Forecasting Secretary: Finn Pedersen, Varvarslinga pa Vestlandet, 1315 h. Section I Bergen, Norway Thomas F. Malone: Synoptic Climatological Methods in AMS Committee for the Meeting: Numerical Weather Prediction. Robert M. White (chairman) Edward N. Lorenz: The Application of Synoptic and Max A. Eaton Dynamic Principles to Statistical Weather Forecasting. Donald P. Mclntyre Frank Lewis: A Non-Linear Statistical Model for Short- Jerome Namias Range Forecasting. Philip D. Thompson: Statistical Aspects of the Dynamics GENERAL INFORMATION of Baroclinic Models. The meeting is arranged by Norway under joint 1315 h.
    [Show full text]
  • The Meteorological Mngazine
    Met.O.880 METEOROLOGICAL OFFICE the meteorological mngazine "Hie Senior Meteorological Officw, R.A.F. Lyneham, Chippenham, Wiltshire. SN15 4PZ. APRIL 1975 No 1233 Vol 104 Her Majesty's Stationery Office METEOROLOGICAL OFFICE Met.O.880 THE METEOROLOGICAL MAGAZINE Vol. 104, No. 1233, April 1975 PROFESSOR SVERRE PETTERSSEN, C.B.E. With the passing of Professor Sverre Petterssen at his London home on 31 December, international meteorology lost one of its outstanding figures. Born in Norway in 1898, Petterssen graduated at Oslo University in 1924, took his Ph.D. in 1933, and served in the Norwegian Meteorological Service from 1924 to 1939, during the last eight years as a regional director. In 1939 he left Norway to become Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but, in 1942, came to England as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Norwegian Air Force and served for the rest of the war in the Meteoro­ logical Office at Dunstable where he established techniques of upper-air analysis which have since become standard throughout the world. As a senior member of the team responsible for producing the weather forecasts for the D-Day landings in Normandy, he received a letter of commendation from General Eisenhower. His services to the war effort were further recognized when he was appointed C.B.E. in 1948, and Commander of the Order of St Olaf by the Norwegian Government in 1949. While serving with the Norwegian Meteorological Service, Petterssen made many highly original contributions to the theory of frontogenesis and con­ vection, to the kinematics of weather systems, to the theory of development of the pressure field and to the physics of fog.
    [Show full text]
  • Weather for Unit.Pdf
    Five Star General Series Field Trip Enhancement Program D-DAY: Whether the Weather Matters Created by the Eisenhower Foundation D-DAY: Whether the Weather Matters INTRODUCTION CONTENTS Extreme planning was required to 3 Core Standards coordinate the 5,000 ships, 11,000 airplanes, over 150,000 soldiers, and all 4 Lesson Plan the supplies required for the D-Day 5 The Purpose of D-Day invasion. General Eisenhower relied on information from weather forecasters and 6 Primary Sources: Preserving the Past other scientists to determine the best time to successfully invade. One of the six 7-8 Primary Source Analysis meteorologists, Lawrence Hogben stated, 9-10 Background Briefing "The outcome of D-Day, perhaps the whole future of the western world rested on those 11-12 Primary Source Set: 1. WEATHER forecasts . .” 13 Commence or Delay? In this program, students will examine primary source artifacts to evaluate the 14 The Reality conditions on D-Day and either support or 15 Countdown Assessment refute Eisenhower’s decision to allow D-Day to commence June 6, 1944. 16 Sources TARGET AUDIENCE TIME REQUIREMENT: 1 Hour Grades 6 - 12 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OBJECTIVES This unit was produced in June 2013 by the • Students will gain an understanding of Eisenhower Foundation. the overall objective of D-Day, primary sources, and the importance of the Mitzi Bankes Gose, writer environmental conditions surrounding Emily Miller, editor D-Day. Robin Black, contributor Thanks to the Dane G. Hansen Foundation • Students will evaluate primary sources for funding and Cliff Lawson at the to determine for themselves if they Radiosonde Museum of North America a g r e e w i t h G e n e r a l D w i g h t D .
    [Show full text]
  • Ropical Cyclones and Surface Winds in June 1944 Compared With
    The D-Day landing of June 1944: extrat- ropical cyclones and surface winds in June 1944 compared with a climatology based on the Twentieth Century Reanalysis Christoph Welker,1 Melanie conditions (e.g. light winds and non-stormy caught by surprise and the landings on the 2 2 seas) would permit the largest military inva- Normandy beaches marked the beginning Bieli, Nicolas Piaget and sion in history to go forward on 5 June 1944 of the end of World War II. Michael Sprenger2 or not. On top of that, the forecast of these 1Oeschger Centre for Climate change conditions had to be made at least 2 days in advance – at a time when forecasting Reconstructing the D-Day Research and Institute of Geography, weather for several days and beyond was weather – goals and questions University of Bern, Switzerland still unknown scientific territory, especially The historical background of the D-Day 2Institute for Atmospheric and Climate for the highly variable UK weather. landings sets the stage for our investiga- Weather – July 2014, Vol. 69, No. 7 69, No. Vol. – July 2014, Weather Science, ETH Zurich, Switzerland Given this background, Stagg and his team tion of the weather conditions in June 1944. hoped for a stable ‘blocking high’ associated Our analyses are based on the Twentieth Introduction with persistent calm weather. However, as Century Reanalysis (20CR; Compo et al., Historical overview from a May turned to June, the placid weather 2011), a novel global atmospheric reanalysis turned into a ‘forecaster’s nightmare’. It was meteorological perspective which extends back to 1871, as well as his- exceptionally stormy (e.g.
    [Show full text]