Historical Overview of Severe Convective Storms Research

Abstract

An overview of the history of research related to severe convective storms is presented, with a particular emphasis on the connection between this research and forecasting. Forecasting and basic research in severe convective storms have been intertwined since the very beginnings modern severe convective storms research – that is, since the end of World War II. There are good reasons for this interaction, clearly tied to the large societal impact such storms can have. Several major milestones in severe convective storms research and key field observation campaigns are reviewed and described in terms of the interaction between observations, tools, and models that was first suggested by Tor Bergeron. This interaction continues to the present, and continues to be a useful way to understand how progress in scientific understanding about severe convective storms is developed.