Charles (Chuck) A. Doswell III (November 5, 1945 – January 18, 2025) 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 atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...

and thunderstorm researcher. Doswell was an influential contributor, along with Leslie R. Lemon, to the modern understanding 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 (su ...

, which was developed originally 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 Wo ...

. He also advanced extensive research on

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

methodologies and forecast verification, especially regarding severe thunderstorms, and was an advocate of ingredients-based forecasting.

Life and career

Education and employment

Doswell was born on November 5, 1945. He did undergraduate school at the

University of Wisconsin in Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

with meteorology as his major and obtained his B.Sc. in the spring of 1967. Doswell continued at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

(OU), finishing a M. Sc. in January 1969. Doswell was called for

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

in August 1969 and after

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique dema ...

was assigned to the Atmospheric Sciences Laboratory at

White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established in 1941 as the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, where the Trinity t ...

, in New Mexico, for a study on fog modeling. In 1972, he resumed graduate studies at OU, where he got a PhD in Meteorology in 1976. Having worked summers as a student at the National Severe Storms Forecast Center (NSSFC is now the

Storm Prediction Center The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is a US government agency that is part of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), operating under the control of the National Weather Service (NWS), which in turn is part of the National Oceani ...

), in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, Doswell was hired as a Research Forecaster at the Techniques Development Unit (TDU) of NSSFC. In 1982, he went to the Environmental Research Laboratories (ERL) Weather Research Program (WRP) in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

, and then to the

National Severe Storms Laboratory The National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather research laboratory under the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. It is one of seven NOAA Research Laboratories (RLs). NSS ...

(NSSL) in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous city and the county seat of Clevel ...

in 1986. He retired from federal service in 2001 at which time joined the

Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies The Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations (CIWRO) is one of 16 NOAA Cooperative Institutes (CIs), hosted at the University of Oklahoma. Before Oct. 1, 2021, it was known as the Cooperative Institute for ...

(CIMMS) at the University of Oklahoma where he also continued to teach part-time. He was a lead forecaster for the first project

VORTEX In fluid dynamics, a vortex (: vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in th ...

in 1994/1995, produced more than 100 refereed publications, and several contributions to books and encyclopedias. He edited the

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is a scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance the atmosph ...

(AMS) monograph ''Severe Convective Storms'' as well as co-authored two papers there.

Storm chasing

Doswell was among the first scientific

storm chasers Storm chaser or stormchaser may refer to: Weather * Storm chasing, the pursuit of any severe weather condition * Storm chaser, colloquial term referring to scammers who enter areas recently afflicted by disasters offering false or shoddy servi ...

, and continued to chase recreationally later in life. He was a semi-professional photographer, with a special emphasis on storm photographs and also was a

Certified Consulting Meteorologist Certified Consulting Meteorologist (CCM) is the title of a person designated by the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and CCM Board to possess the attributes of Knowledge, Experience, and Character as these pertain to the field of meteorology ...

(CCM). His professional storm chasing also included being a storm intercept tour guide as an expert lecturer. He spoke several times annually across the country, and occasionally internationally, to lay crowds to

storm spotter Storm spotting is a form of weather spotting in which observers watch for the approach of severe weather, monitor its development and progression, and actively relay their findings to local authorities. History Storm spotting developed in t ...

seminars to storm chaser conventions to scientific conferences. Doswell appeared in ''The Chasers of Tornado Alley'' (1996) along with friend and meteorologist

Alan Moller Alan Roger Moller (February 1, 1950 – June 19, 2014) was an American meteorologist, storm chaser, nature and landscape photographer known for advancing spotter training and bridging operational meteorology (particularly severe storms forecast ...

. The award-winning documentary film about storm chasing, produced and directed by storm chaser and filmmaker

Martin Lisius Martin Lisius is an American filmmaker and storm chaser. He founded Stormstock, StormStock, a weather and climate stock footage collection, in 1993, and Tempest Tours, a storm chasing expedition company, in 2000. In 2018, he produced and directed ...

, follows Doswell and Moller as they intercept a powerful tornado in the small town of

Pampa, Texas Pampa (from the Quechua: ''pampa'', meaning "plain") is a city in Gray County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,867 as of the 2020 census. Pampa is the county seat of Gray County and is the principal city of the Pampa micropolita ...

, on June 8, 1995. Doswell captured significant, up-close footage of the tornado which appeared in the film. His video of this tornado as well as other storm photos and videos appeared in several television shows and documentaries. He also contributed to storm spotter training materials and studied spotter history and instruction techniques. He hosted the blues program ''Juke Joint'' and co-hosted, with Gene Rhoden and RJ Evans, a talk show program about severe storms, ''High Instability'', both on the ShockNet internet radio station.

Death

Dowswell died on January 18, 2025, at age 79, in

. A memorial service was held at the

National Weather Center The National Weather Center (NWC), on the campus of the University of Oklahoma, is a confederation of federal, state, and academic organizations that work together to better understand events that take place in Earth's atmosphere over a wide rang ...

(NWC).

References

External links

CIMMS website (Archive)

Official website
an
blog

C. Doswell Enterprises (Archive)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doswell III, Chuck A. 1945 births 2025 deaths People from Elmhurst, Illinois University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Oklahoma alumni American meteorologists Storm chasers National Weather Service people