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Houston Endowment has made a grant of $25,000 to the Weather Research Center to be used to develop a fund-raising program for The Weather Museum. The plan will help the Center with its goal of raising $2 million dollars to complete the museum.

The Weather Research Center is pleased to announce a new project to promote The Weather Museum. This project, funded by the Houston Endowment, will build a funding plan and recruit an advisory board of 8-16 advisors. It will be led by The Hall Group, Inc., business development advisors. The group will identify the ideal advisory board members and establish the board with members who will coordinate our strategies for reaching out to those who will want to make The Weather Museum a reality. If you want to recommend a candidate to be considered to serve on the advisory board or have suggestions, please send an email or call us. Updates will be issued regularly as we work toward the goal of having The Weather Museum completed.

In honor of Lew Fincher’s volunteer service, E.I. Dupont donated $1,000 to The Weather Museum. Mr. Fincher chose The Weather Museum at Weather Research Center as his charity of choice. Mr. Fincher has been a great help by volunteering at the Weatherman's Classic and the Offshore Technology Conference. Mr. Fincher is always thinking of ways to help the museum and recently facilitated the donation of a computer that can be used for Weather Camp™.

Enclosed is an entry form for this year’s Charity golf tournament. It’s time to return your entries. If you plan to sponsor a hole or cart, please return this form immediately. We are planning excellent weather and a great time, so please come and join us.

The Shell Houston Open Birdies for Charity Program, sponsored by the PGA Tour event on April 16-22, 2001, has selected The Weather Museum at Weather Research Center to participate in this year’s charity event. Enclosed is the official Birdie form where you can pledge a penny per birdie made by the pros during the Shell Open or you can make a minimum donation of $20.00. If you guess the exact number of birdies made by the pros during the Shell Open you will have a chance to win a 2001 Buick Rendezvous. Fill out the attached form and return the perforated smaller portion to the Center immediately.

Mel Davis of TeS Multimedia Inc. and his staff have created a wonderful three-dimensional CD-ROM of The Weather Museum. A slide show of some of the exhibits is available for viewing at http://www.theweathermuseum.org. If you wish to have a copy of the CD-ROM show, please contact the Center by email or phone.

Dave and Jill Hasling donated $5,000 this past December, which will be matched by the Southwestern Bell Corporation. These funds will be used to purchase display cases for the historical weather equipment, which will be displayed in the museum. This is a great way to double your donation if your company has a matching gifts program. For more information call or e-mail the Center.

Meteorologists from Weather Research Center recently attended the annual American Meteorological Society’s meeting in Albuquerque, NM. The Center had a display in the conference’s Book Exhibit. Dr. John C. Freeman, Jill F. Hasling and Mike Arellano presented papers in two different conferences, the 10^th Symposium on Education and the 12^th Symposium on Global Change and Climate Variations. Jill Hasling was a panelist in a Town Hall Meeting sponsored by the National Council of Industrial Meteorologists and the Private Sector Board.

Dan Corbett, one of the newest members to the Houston chapter, was the speaker in December. The early meeting gave local weather enthusiasts a chance to gather before the holidays and learn about Dan’s experiences in meteorology both in the United States and the United Kingdom. In January the speaker was Susan Gillespie from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. She gave an insightful presentation about how weather affected the cattle drives. By Baldridge, a world-class sailor and navigator, spoke to the chapter in February.

Dr. John C. Freeman has stepped down in his position as President and Chairman of the Board of Weather Research Center. He will remain Director of Research and will continue to serve as a board member. The Center remains indebted to him for his years of service. The Board replaced Dr. Freeman with Jill F. Hasling as the new President and Chairman.

Bill Read, meteorologist-in-charge at the Houston/Galveston National Weather Service forecast office has donated the retired AFOS (Automated Field Operations System) equipment to The Weather Museum. This is a great addition to the museum's history of weather exhibits.

KHOU-TV’s Weather Almanac 2001 is now available at area State Farm Insurance locations. The Almanac is full of all sorts of weather information and facts on Houston. The Center provided much of the weather information and a few articles to the Almanac.

BP Corporation has graciously donated Weather Research Center $10,000. These funds are for sponsoring several pages on the Center’s website, as well for the Weatherman’s Classic golf tournament.

RM Young, a company that assembles weather instruments, has donated a wind monitor and tracker to the Center. We express our sincere thanks for this kind gift.

Weather Research Center is again exhibiting at the Offshore Technology Conference this year. We’ll be at Booth #7390 along side our big red popcorn machine. Come on by and say hello and have a bag of popcorn on us!

The Weatherman's Classic Auction for The Weather Museum will be held on EBAY beginning April 5 and lasting through the end of the month. We have many new items that have been donated exclusively for the golf tournament. Keep looking for new items, as this is a great way to support The Weather Museum! Click on http://www.wxresearch.com. The click onto the EBAY logo and then click on The Weather Museum.

It is not too late to become a founding member of The Weather Museum. If you or a loved one have an interest in weather, you must be a member. The Museum will be a wonderful place for people to come to learn and talk about the weather. Museum memberships make a great gift. You can also participate by purchasing a glass brick or paving stone which can be engraved with the message of your choice. Contact the center for more information.

Over the past few months, the staff members have been kept busy at schools, presenting career talks and conversing with other civic groups about the weather. Here are some of the highlights: High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Houston TX; Woodlake Chapter of the AARP; Lee High School, Houston, TX; The LaBranch School, Houston TX and the Brazoria Home School.

If school isn’t out soon enough for you, let’s think about the summer and Weather Camp. WRC staff is already preparing for an exciting summer. Sessions are available for children of 5 to 17 and all adults. Take a look at the schedule below and see what interests you. There are also opportunities to volunteer and help the meteorologists.

June 22 (1pm – 4pm) July 13 (1pm – 4pm)

Monday 16 April 2001 – Hearthstone Country Club

Hole Sponsor: Sign with company name placed at hole.

Putting Green Sponsor: Name place on board at the putting green.

Cart Sponsor: Sign with company name placed on a cart

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There are already some signs that winter may be coming to an end. Last month we asked if you knew how many types or basic shapes of snowflakes there are? There are five! They are thin plates (formed with temperatures between 32º and 25º), needles (25º to 21º), hollow columns (21º to 14º), sector plates (14º to 10º) and dendrites (10º to 3º). All snowflakes have a hexagon shape within them. Thinking ahead to those warm spring days? Spring often brings major flooding in the US. When and where was the last major flood in the US?

The Weather Report is the official newsletter of the Weather Research Center and is published monthly. To receive the newsletter promptly, please send all address corrections to the Center. We are located at 3227 Audley St., Houston, Texas 77098. For information about the Center and its services, please call (713) 529-3076 or toll-free (800) 44-STORM. Our fax number is (713) 528-3538. The e-mail address is wrc@wxresearch.com. Our Internet addresses are www.weatherresearchcenter.com or www.weatherresearchcenter.org

Dr. Neil Frank, KHOU-TV; Frank Billingsley, KPRC-TV; Doug Brown, KTRK-TV;