John Raymond Hope, one of the country's leading hurricane forecasters, died today of complications related to heart surgery. He was 83 years old. Posted on 06/13/2002 8:48:36 AM PDT by Pokey78
John Raymond Hope, one of the country's leading hurricane forecasters, died today of complications related to heart surgery. He was 83 years old.
For nearly 20 years, The Weather Channel viewers turned to Hope for information and guidance when tropical weather threatened their homes. He joined The Weather Channel in 1982 as the Tropical Coordinator and an On-Camera Meteorologist, becoming a key source of information for U.S. coastal residents during hurricane seasons.
He was cited as the "voice of reason" when broadcasting on The Weather Channel, and weather experts often acknowledged Hope as "the man America watches" when hurricanes approached the United States.
Hope's expertise in tropical weather reaches back to 1968, when he joined the National Hurricane Center and quickly rose to the position of Senior Hurricane Specialist.
But, Hope's devotion to meteorology began long before he shared his skills with hurricane experts in Miami and colleagues at The Weather Channel.
Hope was born on May 14, 1919. He was the second of five children raised on a dairy farm in Stowell, Pa. He attended grammar school in a one-room classroom that was often reached by a long walk through the woods in the snow.
Hope was a struggling high school student in Wyalusing and Meshoppen, Pa., following his mother's death in 1934. He worked at a local A&P grocery store following high school graduation in 1936.
Hope joined the Army Air Corps in 1941, and served for four years. His weather career began while he was in the service, working as a flight navigator. Like many in his generation, Mr. Hope returned to the United States following the war with a new sense of purpose.
He attended the University of Illinois, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and majored in mathematics. He then earned a master's degree in meteorology from the University of Illinois.
While attending the University of Illinois, Hope met Bernice La Pira, to whom he was married for 55 years.
Hope began his career in the United States Weather Bureau in 1949 as a district forecaster in Memphis, Tenn., where he worked for nearly 13 years. He was deemed to have the right stuff by the Spaceflight Meteorology Group in 1962, joining the organization in Miami for the John Glenn launch.
In 1968, Hope moved to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Over just three decades, Hope went from releasing and tracking weather balloons outside the old Memphis Airport Terminal, to working on manned space flights to the moon and programming some of the then largest computers in the world.
Along with National Hurricane Center colleague, Charlie Neumann, Hope wrote a program that allowed Third World countries that lacked mass media infrastructure to alert coastal populations in advance of the possibility of a typhoon or hurricane making landfall.
Hope earned international recognition for this technical work. He learned from visiting Chinese scientists that he and Neumann were very well known and appreciated in scientific circles in China.
Hope's enthusiasm for weather extended to young people in 2000, when a college scholarship was established in his name by The Weather Channel. The scholarship is perpetually endowed by The Weather Channel and administered by the American Meteorological Society.
Hope's many honors included the U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal, the National Hurricane Conference Media Award and The Neil Frank Award from the National Hurricane Conference. He was a fellow of the American Meteorological Society. Hope wrote about weather for a variety of publications and journals and lectured around the world.
Hope semi-retired from The Weather Channel in 1997, when heart problems sidelined him. After successful surgeries, his health improved to the extent that he was able to participate in hurricane seasons from 1998 through 2001.
When asked about retirement, Hope would smile and acknowledge "You might wonder... but I can only say I love my work."
He said there was "a certain satisfaction at my age, of being able to produce and be wanted by my employer."
In a 1997 interview published by his hometown paper, The Rocket Courier of Wyalusing, Pa., Hope said, "If my legacy can be that I have made a contribution to this nation being better prepared to cope with the devastation wrought by hurricanes, and to have helped in the success of my company, I am content."
Hope is survived by his wife, Bernice; his daughter Camille L. Hope of Macon, Georgia; sons James C. Hope of Lilburn, Georgia; Dr. Thomas D. Hope of Macon, Georgia; and Joseph R. Hope of Atlanta, Georgia; his brother, Leonard Hope of Dalton, Georgia; and six grandchildren.
I am a Weather Channel addict, BTW!! My family thinks I'm nuts but when they want to know the forecast, they ask me. :)
Thank you Registered!
He was a good 'un indeed
His wife Bernice has had some medical problems last year.
I plan on attending the funeral, as it is located at my church, and he was member of a group at the church I belong to.
He will be missed, but at least I will have a chance to see Bernice, who I have not seen for a while because she has been ill.
The senior military officer that was captured by the Iranians when the US Embassy was overrun in 1979 was giving a talk at our church (I believe this is retired Colonel Charles Scott who wrote Pieces of the Game. After Colonel Scott's talk, there was a question and answer session.
John Hope got up when he asked his question (this was asked of each of the questioners). After answering the question, the retired Colonel said: "you look familiar!?!!" To which John Hope responded that was a weatherman on the Weather Chanel. There was a hearty life by the crowd.
It was also entertaining to be around John and Bernice...
BTW, John Hope also helped save the Weather Channel, in his own way. After John Coleman (remember him?)was forced out as Chief Operating Officer, the channel drifted, losing money. Programming was inconsistent; some of the On-Camera Meterologists were more interested in cracking jokes than delivering an accurate forecast. But through it all, Hope maintained his quiet dignity and composure. Eventually, his more serious approach won out; The Weather Channel finally came into its own in 1989 with coverage of Hurrican Hugo, and Hope's analysis and expertise gave the broadcast authority and context.
John Hope is impossible to replace, but I wonder if TWC would consider hiring another hurricane forecasting "legend," Nash Roberts of WWL-TV in New Orleans. Nash (whom I assume hasn't moved to that big forecast center in the sky) has been following hurricanes for more than 50 years and he's a legend in the Gulf South. The last I heard, WWL still had him on the payroll as a "hurricane analyst." When he appears on Channel 4, their ratings go through the roof, despite that Nash's graphics consist entirely of hand drawings on butcher paper. The Weather Channel's ratings have been flat of late...I'd give Nash a shot.
From his demeanor on TWC John seemed to be such a gentleman in every sense of the word. I respected and admired him greatly. He will be missed.
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