Max Mayfield | |
---|---|
Born | Britt Max Mayfield September 19, 1948 |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Florida State University University of Oklahoma |
Occupation | Former director of the National Hurricane Center |
Britt Max Mayfield (born September 19, 1948) is an American meteorologist who served as the director of the National Hurricane Center from 2000 to 2007. As director, Mayfield became a trusted voice in preparing for weather-related disasters, particularly those involving tropical storms and hurricanes.
Mayfield began his forecasting career with the United States Air Force in 1970, after graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor's degree in mathematics, serving as a first lieutenant until 1972. In 1972, Mayfield joined the National Weather Service as a satellite meteorologist. Mayfield earned his master's degree in meteorology at Florida State University in 1987, becoming a hurricane specialist. Max became the director of the National Hurricane Center in January 2000 after the retirement of Jerry Jarrell. [1]
Mayfield is the current chairman of the World Meteorological Organization's Regional Association-IV, which supports 26 members from Atlantic and eastern Pacific countries. He is one subject of a 2008 documentary titled New Orleans Story concerning Hurricane Katrina, which is currently in post-production. [2]
Mayfield stepped down from his position as Director of the National Hurricane Center in January 2007 and was succeeded by Bill Proenza. On April 1, 2007 he joined Miami-based local television station WPLG as hurricane specialist. [3] He retired from WPLG on November 22, 2019. [4] [5]
Max Mayfield is married to Linda Mayfield. They have three children: Lee, Lindsay, and Lauren.
Mayfield received Gold medals for his work during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and Hurricane Isabel in 2003. He received a silver medal for work done during Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. In 1996, the American Meteorological Society presented Mayfield the Francis W. Reichelderfer Award for his service in coordinating the National Hurricane Center's hurricane preparedness training for emergency preparedness officials and the general public. Mayfield also received an Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2000 National Hurricane Conference for developing and expanding training opportunities for state and local officials. At the 2004 Interdepartmental Hurricane Conference, he received the Richard Hagemeyer Award for his contributions to the United States' hurricane warning program. Also in 2004, he received an Emmy Award for extraordinary contributions to television by someone not normally eligible for Emmy awards. In 2005, Mayfield became ABC's person of the week after Hurricane Katrina. He also received a Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service in 2005. [1] The Saturday before Katrina hit, Mayfield personally called the mayor of New Orleans to emphasize how serious the threat was to the city. He told TIME magazine, "This was only the second time I called a politician in my life. I wanted to be able to go to sleep knowing I had done everything I could do." The next morning, Mayor Nagin finally called for a mandatory evacuation. [6]
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 30th parallel north in the northeast Pacific Ocean and the 31st parallel north in the northern Atlantic Ocean. The agency, which is co-located with the Miami branch of the National Weather Service, is situated on the campus of Florida International University in University Park, Miami, Florida.
This is a list of meteorology topics. The terms relate to meteorology, the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting.
This article contains a historical timeline of the events of Hurricane Katrina on August 23–30, 2005 and its aftermath.
Bryan S. Norcross is a television meteorologist and hurricane specialist. He currently works for Fox Weather, the free, ad-supported streaming weather service and television network. Norcross previously served as a hurricane specialist for The Weather Channel based in Atlanta.
James Louis Franklin is a former weather forecaster encompassing a 35-year career with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He served as the first branch chief of the newly formed Hurricane Specialist Unit (HSU) before his retirement in 2017.
Christopher William "Chris" Landsea is an American meteorologist, formerly a research meteorologist with the Hurricane Research Division of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory at NOAA, and now the Science and Operations Officer at the National Hurricane Center. He is a member of the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society.
The National Weather Service bulletin for the New Orleans region of 10:11 a.m., August 28, 2005, was a particularly dire warning issued by the local Weather Forecast Office in Slidell, Louisiana, warning of the devastation that Hurricane Katrina could wreak upon the Gulf Coast of the United States, and the human suffering that would follow once the storm left the area.
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts is a 2006 documentary film directed by Spike Lee about the devastation of New Orleans, Louisiana following the failure of the levees during Hurricane Katrina. It was filmed in late August and early September 2005, and premiered at the New Orleans Arena on August 16, 2006 and was first aired on HBO the following week. The television premiere aired in two parts on August 21 and 22, 2006 on HBO. It has been described by Sheila Nevins, chief of HBO's documentary unit, as "one of the most important films HBO has ever made." The title is a reference to the blues tune "When the Levee Breaks" by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie about the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.
Robert H. Simpson was an American meteorologist, hurricane specialist, first director of the National Hurricane Research Project (NHRP) from 1955 to 1959, and a former director (1967–1974) of the National Hurricane Center (NHC). He was the co-developer of the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale with Herbert Saffir. His wife was Joanne Simpson.
Xavier William Proenza was the Southern Region Director of the United States National Weather Service from 1999–2007 and 2007–2013. He was also previously the director of the National Hurricane Center (NHC) from January 4, 2007 to July 9, 2007.
Lonnie William Quinn is the lead weather anchor on WCBS-TV in New York City. Quinn used to serve as weather anchor for CBS This Morning Saturday and currently appears on the CBS Evening News. He appears frequently on sister radio station WCBS-AM 880 for their weather reports.
Neil Laverne Frank is an American meteorologist and former director of the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Florida. He was instrumental in advancing both the scientific and informational aspects of hurricane forecasting. He retired in 2008 as Chief Meteorologist at KHOU-TV in Houston. He is the grandfather of Christian singer Forrest Frank.
William L. Read is an American meteorologist who served in the United States Navy, the National Weather Service (NWS), and as consultant for television stations such as KPRC-TV during his career. He has worked at NWS offices in Sterling, Virginia, Fort Worth, Texas, San Antonio, Texas, Silver Spring, Maryland, Houston, Texas, and Miami, Florida over the years, reaching the post of director of the National Hurricane Center from January 25, 2008 until June 2012.
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Hurricane Andrew was a compact, but very powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures damaged or destroyed, and remained the costliest in financial terms until Hurricane Irma surpassed it 25 years later. Andrew was also the strongest landfalling hurricane in the United States in decades and the costliest hurricane to strike anywhere in the country, until it was surpassed by Katrina in 2005.
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