In-House Meteorology Team Recognized For Advances In The Aviation Industry

The Council of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) has named Rick Curtis, Southwest Airline’s Chief Meteorologist, as the recipient of the 2010 Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Advance of Applied Meteorology, along with recognizing the airlines’ entire in-house Meteorology Team. The award will be presented to recognize Southwest Airlines’ outstanding contributions in advancing the use of meteorology within the airline industry to further enhance safety and efficiency of operations.

“As a weather-dependent operation, the Meteorological Team is the eyes and ears of Southwest. We depend on them to provide Operational Leaders a precise forecast every day to secure the safety of our Customers, our Crews, and our aircraft,” said Greg Crum, Southwest Airlines Director of Operations. “We are proud of the great work the Meteorology Team does every day, and we congratulate them on this great achievement.”

Rick will be honored during the awards banquet at the AMS Annual Meeting being held on January 26, 2011, at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. The AMS Annual Meeting gathers the nation’s top contributors in the fields of atmospheric, aviation, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences to focus on the advancement of meteorology within a variety of industries.

Rick has been at Southwest Airlines for 13 years and serves as Chief Meteorologist for the Southwest Airlines Operations Coordination Center. He graduated with a Bachelor in Science in Meteorology from Lyndon State College, and was a 2005 Southwest President’s Award winner. He concentrates on strategic weather forecasting, weather research, weather instruction, and is Southwest’s primary representative to the aviation meteorology community.

FMI: www.ametsoc.org