Weather Research Center recently lost a great friend when Clayton B. Crooker passed away on Sunday, September 7, at the age of 89. Mr. Crooker was on the Board of Directors of Weather Research Center and is a lifetime member of The Weather Museum.

He was born on July 21, 1908 in Detroit, Michigan. Mr. Crooker originally pursued a career in medicine and was in medical school at Kansas University when his father died at the age of 49. As a result of his father's death, he was unable to complete his medical studies. With all of his science courses for medical school finished, he finished with a BS degree. Shortly afterward, he read an ad in the Wichita, Kansas paper for an exam to work for the U.S. Weather Bureau. Passing the exam, he worked for the Weather Bureau for the next 42 years as a meteorologist, hydrologist and climatologist. His work took him through cities including Wichita, Kansas, Omaha, Nebraska, Ely, Nevada, Redding, California, Fort Worth, Texas and Houston.

On a visit to Texas A&M University in 1953, he was introduced to Dr. John Freeman. In 1971 he retired from the National Weather Service, joined Dr. Freeman and became a research meteorologist at the Institute for Storm Research. Mr. Crooker worked in the weather field from 1929 until 1985 when he semi-retired to care for his wife Lucille. His career spanned over 57 years. His love for the weather and devotion to the field continued until his death. His most recent weather association was serving on the Board of Directors for Weather Research Center. Mr. Crooker began as a weather observer in 1929 at the U.S. Weather Bureau in Wichita, Kansas. He established the weather station at Ely, Nevada in 1938 and was assigned to the station at Redding, California during the construction of the Shasta Dam. He became the Hydrologic Supervisor for the Lower Mississippi-West Gulf of Mexico District in 1940.

In 1947, Mr. Crooker moved to the Houston office of the U.S. Weather Bureau and remained there until he retired in 1971. He then joined the staff of the Institute for Storm Research where his work included rainfall-runoff relations. He used tidal effects and succeeded in separating upstream runoff from the effects of hurricane tides in local bays and bayous. Mr. Crooker was instrumental in the development of hydrological warning systems. At the Institute, he continued his research into hydrological phenomenon as well as guiding the young meteorologists at the Center. A section of the new Weather Museum under development at Weather Research Center will be dedicated to his memory. Much of the priceless data currently at the Center is from Mr. Crooker's own personal files.

Attention golf addicts: the1998 golf tournament will be held on Monday, April 20, 1998 at Hearthstone Country Club in Houston. Plans are underway now for teams and sponsorships. Please contact the Center at (713) 529-3076, or email at wrc@wxresearch.com if you or your company would like to be a tournament underwriter, team sponsor or hole sponsor. All proceeds from the tournament benefit The Weather Museum.

Fundraising for the Weather Museum continues at a rapid pace. Meteorologists at the Center hope to have the Museum fully operational by June 1998. The current project is to raise the $12,500 needed for the new air conditioning/heating system. After that, electrical re-wiring and remodeling is scheduled. The Center tours will also now include

walk through of the under-construction Weather Museum. Visitors will be able to view

old equipment and mock-ups of Museum displays beginning in September. If you have not toured the facilities, call for an appointment or plan to attend the Museum's first party.

Put on your hard hats and come help us celebrate the end of Phase 1 of The Weather Museum. The Under Construction Party will be held on October 15 from 5-7pm. If you are interested in seeing what the museum is all about, come on out and enjoy the

excitement. Call Denise at (713) 529-3076 for more details.

Since 1900 there have only been 14 years when there were no August tropical storms or hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, which includes the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, according to Houston research meteorologists Jill F. Hasling and Dr. John C. Freeman. The last year with no August storms was back in 1961. In 1961, the first storm formed on July 20th and the next storm did not form until September 2nd. For that year, there were a total of 11 named storms. So far for the 1997 season, there has been Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, and Erika. Tropical Depression Five also formed, but never evolved into a tropical storm. Hurricane Erika formed as a tropical depression on September 3rd.

The years with no August storm activity include: 1902, 1904, 1905, 1907, 1912, 1914, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1925, 1929, 1941, and 1961. In five of these years, the first storm did not form until after September 5th. And of those 14 no-August storm years, nine were El Nino years. If you consider the nine years when there were only a few storms during June or July and then consider the storms in September, we should have on average four more storms this year, which would give a total of eight storms for 1997. However, if you were to assume that 1997 could be like 1961, there is a chance of 10 more storms - giving a possible total of fourteen storms.

Weather Research Center's 1997 outlook called for seven named storms in the Atlantic, with four reaching hurricane intensity. There is a 30 percent chance of having over ten storms again this year. There is a 50 percent chance of having a Category 3 or greater hurricane somewhere in the Atlantic. A major hurricane is a storm with maximum winds greater than 114 mph.

The Center's prediction for the section of the US coast with the highest risk of experiencing a storm this year was already verified with the landfall of Danny in July along the Louisiana to Alabama coastline. There was a 70 percent probability that a tropical storm or hurricane would strike that section of the coast this year. Every section of the United States has a chance of experiencing a tropical storm or hurricane each year. This outlook does not state that you will not experience a storm, but rather indicates which section of the coastline will most likely experience a storm. The Center has been making these predictions since 1985.

A very strong El Nino pattern has emerged this year and the masses are calling for the continuation of wild weather events. In addition, El Nino could have contributed to the lack of tropical activity in the Atlantic this summer. Usually during these warm episodes, known as El Nino's, the Gulf Coast can expect cooler and wetter than normal conditions during the winter months. The last strong El Nino event was in 1982 and 1983.

Navigate the weather on the World Wide Web. The Internet not only has many places to search for weather information, but you can now get site-specific forecasts from Weather Research Center for your Gulf of Mexico operations. There are also services designed for planning purposes which include 7-day forecasts of temperature, precipitation and heating/cooling degree days as well. Check it out - http://www.wxresearch.com.

If your operations are sensitive to temperatures, you can request a long range outlook for the winter months from the Center. These outlooks have proven to be reliable. For information about contents and fees, please call the Center.