This image is from the National Weather Service, St. Louis, MO.
Ron was born in South Bend, Indiana, in 1953, and obtained
his B.S. (1977) and M.S. (1981) degrees in meteorology from St. Louis
University. His full-time professional
life began in 1981 when he joined the staff of the National Weather Service
(NWS) office in Indianapolis, Indiana.
In 1991, Ron was selected for the position of science and operations officer
at the St. Louis office of the NWS, which he held right up to his passing. Although his service to those offices was at
the highest levels, his influence and knowledge went well beyond them, spreading
throughout the nation and the world through his publications and his many
presentations.
Ron was a forecast meteorologist dedicated to the science of
meteorology, applying scientific principles to his forecasts as well as
contributing to that science by his research.
His primary interests were bow echoes and quasilinear convective systems
(QLCSs), especially when those systems produced tornadoes. Not only did he do the research, he served
that science whenever the opportunity arose:
he was a project leader for the Operational Test and Evaluation of the
new WSR-88D Doppler radars in the 1980s.
Ron also helped to organize (and participated in) the Bow Echo and
Mesoscale Convective Vortex Experiment in 2003.
As part of the COMET Cooperative Project with Saint Louis University, he
investigated severe wind gusts from convective systems, starting in 1994. Ron also made time in his busy schedule to
volunteer as a tornado damage investigator as a member of the NWS Quick
Response Team.
In addition to numerous scientific publications and
conference presentations, Ron served a term on the Severe Local Storms
Committee of AMS, as well as two terms as a Councilor of the National Weather
Association. He was awarded the
NWA Operational Achievement Award in 1989, and in 2003 he received the NWA’s
Fujita Award for his research achievements.
The AMS awarded Ron the Charles L. Mitchell Award for outstanding
service by a weather forecaster in 2012, and in 2013 he was recognized by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with a Distinguished Career
Award for his forecasting and research achievements.
Another important facet of Ron’s career was sharing his
passion for storms. It seemed he could
always find time to talk at length with anyone who shared an interest in storms:
with youngsters, students and NWS
interns, and his professional colleagues.
He helped to develop COMET training materials, particular those related
to bow echoes and QLCSs, and shared his abundant experience and knowledge with
many younger forecasters, helping them learn how to deal with diverse weather
situations. Ron’s infectious passion for
storms was irresistible to those around him, inspiring everyone who knew him to
work a bit harder and learn a bit more. He
had an engaging manner that endeared him to all his friends and colleagues, and
he also had a delightful sense of humor.
Ron was a serious meteorologist, but he didn’t take himself too
seriously.
Ron Pryzbylinski can never be replaced, but those of us who
had the distinct pleasure of knowing Ron and working with him are grateful for
the legacy of professional dedication and knowledge that he left us. We miss him and would like to convey our
deepest condolences to his family and close friends.
1 comment:
Ron was one of those rare individuals who could move between the operational community and academic community and be equally respected by both. I had the opportunity to be with him through COMAP 1 and a life long friend thereafter. He would stop at my duty station (Chicago) coming back from his Indiana family and his station in St Louis just to chat and drop off home-made perogis. He even drove the 5hrs from STL to be at my retirement party (and was late as usual!)
Ken Labas
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