Sean Potter will give a virtual lecture as part of the CLASP Seminar Series.

This is a zoom virtual event.
https://umich.zoom.us/j/92505573756?pwd=aGhlSGpvaVVidDMzMnM2VzBYMm1jdz09
Meeting ID: 925 0557 3756
Passcode: 935679

In the first installment of our Winter 2021 Series, meteorologist and weather historian Sean Potter will share excerpts and insights from his new book, "Too Near for Dreams: The Story of Cleveland Abbe, America’s First Weather Forecaster."

"Cleveland Abbe’s Michigan Connection"

Abstract:
Abbe was the first person in America to successfully provide regular, practical weather forecasts to the public, based on reports from a network of observers. Before he turned his attention to meteorology, however, Abbe was an astronomer—and he spent time at the University of Michigan, studying astronomy under the famed astronomer Franz Brünnow and teaching physics and civil engineering. These early experiences in his professional life helped set him on a course that would lead to his establishment, in 1869, of a weather forecasting enterprise at the Cincinnati Observatory, where he served as director.

In 1871, he moved to Washington, where he became a civilian assistant to General Albert Myer, chief signal officer of the Army, who had taken charge of the nation’s first weather service the year before. Abbe would lead the forecasting efforts at the nation’s newly established weather service and set the standard for scientific research in a career that would last nearly half a century. Throughout his life, this “man of gentle and generous ways,” guided by his abiding faith, overcame personal and professional hardships in pursuit of science to become the most famous—and celebrated—meteorologist in America, if not the world.

During his talk, Mr. Potter, whose career in weather and communications has included work for ABC News, and the National Weather Service, will share stories from Abbe’s life and career, with a focus on his time in Michigan.

Please join us!