Vernon Francis Dvorak (November 15, 1928 – September 19, 2022) 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 ...

. He studied meteorology at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and wrote his

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

''An investigation of the inversion-cloud regime over the subtropical waters west of California'' in 1966. In 1973 he developed the

Dvorak technique The Dvorak technique (developed between 1969 and 1984 by Vernon Dvorak) is a widely used system to estimate tropical cyclone intensity (which includes tropical depression, tropical storm, and hurricane/typhoon/intense tropical cyclone intensitie ...

to analyze

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

s from

satellite imagery Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell ima ...

. He worked with the

National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) was created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to operate and manage the United States environmental satellite programs, and manage the data g ...

. He lived in

Ojai, California Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is ...

, until his death on September 19, 2022.

Life and career

Vernon Francis Dvorak was born in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

on November 15, 1928.. Dvorak's most influential work was the creation of the

, a method of estimating tropical cyclone intensity using infrared satellite. The Dvorak technique is credited as "fundamentally nhancingthe ability to monitor tropical cyclones on a global scale." The method provides an invaluable tool in monitoring these systems given the limitations of direct measurements on such a vast scale. Dvorak married Joanne Foyola Schafroth in Los Angeles in January 1958. He died on September 19, 2022, at the age of 93.

Selected works

* * * *

Awards

Dvorak was a recipient of a

United States Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...

Meritorious Service award in 1972 and in 2002 he received a Special Lifetime Achievement Award from 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, ...

References

1928 births 2022 deaths American meteorologists American people of Czech descent National Weather Service people People from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Scientists from Iowa {{US-scientist-stub

Life and career

Selected works

Awards

See also

References