MAJOR PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTSIn 1997 Mr. Lemon received The Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Advance of Applied Meteorology "for pioneering work including design and development of the WSR-88D Doppler weather radar system" from the American Meteorological Society (AMS). He was a 1997 councilor for the National Weather Association (NWA) and a Fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies of Oklahoma University from 1997 through the present. Les was the 1999 Vice-President of the NWA, NWA President Elect for 2000, the NWA President for 2001, and NWA Past President for 2002, and was chosen as a Fellow of the AMS in 1999. Les was selected in 2001 to serve on a National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council committee concerning "Weather Radar Technology Beyond NEXRAD". He also received a 1976 Department of Commerce/NOAA Special Achievement Award for the co-discovery of the Doppler weather radar Tornadic Vortex Signature (TVS) and a NOAA Environmental Research Laboratories' Outstanding Authorship Award for the paper titled "Tornado Detection by Pulsed Doppler Radar." He has also published extensively in both domestic and foreign scientific journals, principally in areas involving synthesis of advanced conventional and Doppler weather radar data, severe thunderstorm radar applications development, and in severe thunderstorm structure and life cycle. He is co-author of the chapter titled "Severe Storm Detection by Radar" in the landmark volume Radar in Meteorology edited by D. Atlas. Since 1978, techniques and criteria he developed for radar identification and warning on severe local storms (known as "The Lemon Technique") have been used nationally and internationally by the National Weather Service, the Air Weather Service, and the meteorological weather radar community as a whole. His 1979 Monthly Weather Review paper: "Severe Thunderstorm Evolution and Mesocyclone Structure as Related to Tornadogenesis" presented the revised supercell storm model. Today, 25 years later, it is recognized as the most complete supercell storm model throughout the world. His research and discoveries along with that of others led to the NEXRAD (WSR-88D) program. He is a lecturer and consultant in visual, conventional radar, and Doppler radar interpretation and identification of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Mr. Lemon is also a recognized authority in severe thunderstorm and mesocyclone structure and evolution and speaks extensively on these and related topics. He is listed in American Men and Women of Science, in Who's Who In Science and Engineering, Who's Who in America, Dictionary of International Biography, and Outstanding People of the 20th Century. In 1992 he received a Unisys Corporation Group Level Achievement Award for professional excellence and the Technical Paper Award for the year. (* Most Important) 1. First to discover and document the severe thunderstorm radar echo associated "anticyclonic wake eddy" occurrence and its association with surface severe weather; Publication numbers 1, 4, and 13. 2. First to document the hybrid supercell/multicell storm structure, Publication # 1, 4, 12, 13. 3.* First to discover and document the origin of the severe thunderstorm associated "Wall Cloud"; Publication # 4. 4.* Co-discoverer of the Doppler radar Tornadic Vortex Signature (TVS); Publication # 7, 14, 15, and 29. 5. First to suggest the importance of solenoidal vorticity generation to the mesocyclone and tornado genesis, Publication # 34, 35. 6.* First to document the analogy of the severe thunderstorm associated mesocyclone structure and evolution to the extratropical cyclone; Publication numbers 1, 4, 12, 34, 35. 7.* Co-discoverer of the "dry line" severe thunderstorm, later called the "Low Precipitation (LP)" supercell storm. Publication numbers 10, and 11. 8. First to hypothesize the "Vortex Valve" (and later the gustfront occlusion) cause for tornadic storm weakening during tornado genesis. Publication 9. 9. Member of the first group to complete a dual-Doppler radar tornadic thunderstorm synthesis and analysis. Publication number 8. 10.* First to document the importance of the supercell thunderstorm "Rear Flank Downdraft" to supercell and mesocyclone structure and tornadogenesis. Publication numbers 34, and 35. 11.* Formulated, designed, and developed (what is now known as) the "Lemon Technique" in use nationally by the NWS, AWS, private sector, and internationally (Australia, Canada, China, Romania, South Africa, etc.) for the radar identification of severe thunderstorms. (See, for example, http://weather.cod.edu/sirvatka/lt.html) South Africa has converted it for use in the southern hemisphere. Canada has automated the technique for nationwide severe thunderstorm warnings. The technique was mandatory study for all entering NWS Interns, 1980 through present and remains a primary technique with Doppler weather radar; Publication numbers 25, 26, 27, 31, 32, 36, 43, and 47. 12.* Substantially contributed to the delineation and definition of the supercell mesocyclone characteristics, structure, and evolution, Publication # 1 through 6, 8, 12, 16, 19, 24, 28, 34, 35, 47, 51, 54, 55, 68. 13.* Major contributor to supercell thunderstorm structure and evolution understanding including first substantial model revision since K. Browning. Lemon & Doswell's supercell model as presented in #35 remains the recognized supercell model today, over 25 years after its publication. Publication # 34, and 35. 14. First to transfer newly documented visual severe thunderstorm cloud structures and formations from the research literature to NWS, AWS, and private sector operational services; Publication number 37. 15.* Co-discovered and documented the mid-level origins and extension to great heights for many mesocyclonic tornadoes; Publication numbers 7, 14, 15, 19, 29, 34, 35, 45, 47. 16. Co-designer of the first set of integrated "Doppler radar Tropical Weather Algorithms"; Publication numbers 49, and 50. 17. Co-discovered and documented the "Pulse Severe Thunderstorm". Publication number 38. 18.* Discovered and documented the "Deep Convergence Zone" associated with severe thunderstorms. Publication number 54, and 65. 19. Designed and developed the first complete set of WSR-88D display products. 20. Designed, developed, and taught (lead instructor) the now widely acclaimed Warning Decision Training Branch residence (now distance learning) WSR-88D Operations Training course. 21. Major responsibility and contribution to the WSR-88D system (hardware, software, and man-machine interface) design. 1982 - 1987. 22.* Major responsibility and contribution to the WSR-88D system (hardware, software, and man-machine interface) design. 23. Recognized as an authority in the visual, conventional, and Doppler weather radar data interpretation and identification of the severe thunderstorm. 24. Traveled extensively internationally giving both demonstrations and formal oral presentations on the WSR-88D capabilities and applications. 25. First to develop and introduce operational WSR-88D product uses, interpretation, strengths and weaknesses, and practices. Publication numbers 47, 52, 53, and the WSR-88D Warning Decision Training Branch. 26. First to design, develop, and teach the commercial NEXRAD Information Dissemination Service (NIDS) training course sponsored by Unisys, Lockheed Martin, the NWS, and the AMS. Publication number 62. 27. Invited to speak to all Chinese Provincial Weather Service Directors, Kunming, China, 2/94. 28.* First to derive and document the operational importance and application (as a very large hail signature) of the radar artifact called a "three-body scatter spike" (TBSS). Publication 61 and 66. 29. Managed, directed, and technically assisted in the development of the first suite of tropical cyclone algorithms and products for Doppler weather radars including NEXRAD (Patent and copyright pending). 30. First to explain the origin, interpretation, and application of radar centered "donut" signatures. Publication 59. 31. First (with a Brazilian co-author) to document the importance, and application of clear air radar returns to flash flood forecasts and warnings. Publication 63. 32. Documented and elucidated the relationship of the radar Weak Echo Region, and Weak Echo Region to updraft and visual cloud, and the first to suggest the radar identification of updrafts in mid-levels through the use of reflectivity, mean radial velocity, and velocity spectrum width. Publication 67. 33. First to document the direct analogy of the ETC dry intrusion to the supercelluler "clear slot" and the association with potential vorticity, mesocyclogenesis, and tornadogenesis. Publication 68. 34. First to suggest and document a number of operational applications for Doppler radar Velocity spectrum width products and data. Publication 69. 35. Assisted in design and development of a weather radar algorithm for the detection of water fowl in order to avoid aircraft - bird collisions for the country of Israel in 1998 and 1999. Publication 70. 36. Conducted the first storm damage survey in the history of Romania and documented the first recorded tornado in Romanian history, a country that believed it did not have tornadoes. Publication 76 and 77. 37. Assisted in development of the Chinese weather radar, the WSR-98D, in 2001. 38. Appointed as Chinese Meteorological Administration visiting professor in 2001 teaching annually and biannually, the Advanced Doppler radar data interpretation and applications seminar in Beijing and other cities of China. 39. Revised and updated the Federal Meteorological Handbook, Doppler Radar Meteorological Observations, Volumes B, C, and D, (FMH - 11) in 2003 - 2005. 40. Continues to design, develop, update, and teach (nationally
and internationally) a Doppler Weather Radar Applications and Interpretation
seminar in PowerPoint format with 36 hours of instruction.
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Mr. Les Lemon has an established reputation (mostly for his radar applications and interpretation research and training) within the U.S. research, operational, and broadcast portions of the meteorological community. Moreover, he is known internationally as well, mostly because of "The Lemon Technique", his supercell model, his weather radar and severe storm applications and interpretation training, and for design and development of NEXRAD for which he received an AMS award. See, for example, the following URLs from Australia, the AMS, University and government sites: University of Illinois: ww2010
- The Lemon Technique (LT) AMS: NOAA: AWOC Course Components Severe Storm Interrogation, Lesson 3 NWS: National Academy of Sciences, Weather Radar Technology Beyond NEXRAD, Appointed but declined for business purposes. Served as a formal Reviewer of report. |
