__NOTOC__ Leslie R. Lemon (January 19, 1947 – May 29, 2020) was an American

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

bridging research and

forecasting Forecasting is the process of making predictions based on past and present data. Later these can be compared (resolved) against what happens. For example, a company might estimate their revenue in the next year, then compare it against the actual ...

with expertise in

weather radar Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern weather radars are mostly pulse- ...

, particularly regarding severe convective storms. Lemon was, along with

Charles A. Doswell III Charles A. Doswell III (born November 5, 1945) is an American meteorologist and prolific severe convective storms researcher. Doswell is a seminal contributor, along with Leslie R. Lemon, to the modern conception of the supercell, which was develo ...

, a seminal contributor to the modern conception of the

supercell A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms ( ...

which was first identified by

Keith Browning Keith Anthony Browning (born 31 July 1938) is a British meteorologist who worked at Imperial College London, the Met Office, and the University of Reading departments of meteorology. His work with Frank Ludlam on the supercell thunderstorm at ...

, and he developed the

Lemon technique The Lemon technique is a method used by meteorologists using weather radar to determine the relative strength of thunderstorm cells in a vertically sheared environment. It is named for Leslie R. Lemon, the co-creator of the current conceptual model ...

to estimate updraft strength and thunderstorm organization (in highly sheared environments) also as a continuation of Browning's work.

Early life

Lemon's interest in severe storms was triggered in earnest after he witnessed the F5 Ruskin Heights tornado on May 20, 1957, which caused light damage to his family's home and severe damage very nearby. Lemon studied meteorology at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

(KU) and the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

(OU), graduating with a B.S. from the University of Oklahoma in 1970.

Career

Lemon embarked on graduate school studies but being the

Vietnam era Vietnam Era is a term used by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to classify veterans of the Vietnam War. Various departments of federal, state and local governments as well as private employers often give Vietnam Era veterans s ...

he wasn't able to continue and he joined the

NOAA Commissioned Corps The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, known informally as the NOAA Corps, is one of eight federal uniformed services of the United States, and operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administ ...

. Afterward, in addition to developing the Lemon technique at the Techniques Development Unit (TDU) of the National Severe Storms Forecast Center (NSSFC) and his work on the supercell thunderstorm, Lemon was a major developer of the WSR-88D or "

NEXRAD NEXRAD or Nexrad (Next-Generation Radar) is a network of 160 high-resolution S-band Doppler weather radars operated by the National Weather Service (NWS), an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the United S ...

". In 1976 NOAA bestowed a Special Achievement Award for his co-discovery of

tornado vortex signature A tornadic vortex signature, abbreviated TVS, is a Pulse-Doppler radar weather radar detected rotation algorithm that indicates the likely presence of a strong mesocyclone that is in some stage of tornadogenesis. It may give meteorologists the abil ...

(TVS). He has since taught widely on the subjects of radar and severe convective storms throughout the United States and internationally. At Lockheed Martin, Lemon was a key developer of its microburst prediction radar. Lemon also worked at

Unisys Unisys Corporation is an American multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. It provides digital workplace solutions, cloud, applications, and infrastructure solutions, ...

and other companies during his career and operated a forensic and consulting meteorology company. Lemon was president of the

National Weather Association The National Weather Association (NWA), founded in 1975, is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities. Background The National Weather Association is, ...

(NWA) in 2001 and served on a National Academy of Sciences

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

(NAS NRC) committee on "Weather Radar Technology Beyond NEXRAD" that same year. He also has expertise in storm damage surveying and surveyed the first documented

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

in Romania while doing radar work there.

Death

Lemon died on May 29, 2020, at the age of 73. He is survived by his wife and three children.

References

External links

L.R. Lemon Meteorological Services
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lemon, Les American meteorologists University of Oklahoma alumni 1947 births 2020 deaths National Weather Service people

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References

External links