® Weather Research Center

5104 Caroline Houston, Texas 77004 Phone: 713-529-3076 Fax: 713-528-3538 E-mail: wrc@wxresearch.org

HISTORY

In 1966, Dr. John C. Freeman along with Bernard L. Hebinck and Father Patrick O. Braden founded the Institute of Storm Research at the University of St. Thomas. Twenty-one years later, Dr. Freeman, along with his daughter Jill F. Hasling, founded the Institute’s successor organization, Weather Research Center (WRC) to respond to a need to educate the public about weather and weather safety. In 1993, the dream of establishing the nation’s first weather museum became a reality with the development of Weather Camp and outreach programs that envisioned making the community weatherwise. In 1995, WRC purchased a building to house the Weather Museum’s collection and the birth and growth of the nation’s first Weather Museum started.

Since its inception in 1987, WRC and its meteorologists have served over a million people in Texas and throughout the country and the world offering research, forecasting, and educational services.

WRC opened The John C. Freeman Weather Museum in Houston’s Museum District April 22, 2006. The Museum provides hands-on meteorological science education to the Houston community as well as many out-of-town visitors and attendance has exceeded 5,000 visitors in the ten months since its commencement. In the year 2006 alone the Museum has served an audience of approximately 2500 in weather and hurricane preparedness talks and another 300 in corporate and business weather talks, spoke to more than 600 students at southeast Texas career fairs and another 1200 at various Boy and Girl Scout functions, and served approximately 85,000 people at festivals, meetings and conferences. During our first year we served an estimated 93,000 people not including over 2,000,000 hits WRC receives on its two websites, www.wxreserch.org and www.wxreserach.com, every year.

WRC’s activities are focused on: 1) education of newly graduated meteorologists in corporate, global marine and tropical weather forecasting, 2) outreach/community education programs for school children and adults, and 3) weather research.

Funds for the annual budget come from grants and fees for global weather forecasting, research, education programs, membership, admission to WRC’s Weather Museum, and charitable donations.

A. Education of newly graduated meteorologists: Since no university is providing hands-on global, marine and tropical weather forecasting training, graduates from Texas A&M, the University of Oklahoma and elsewhere come to the WRC as interns for on-the-job training. Internships last for 1 to 3 years and interns are compensated for their work at WRC. They benefit from the opportunity to prepare actual forecasts for a variety of corporations, largely oil and drilling companies with operations worldwide. Clients have included: BP, Coflexip, ExxonMobil, Transocean, Rowan, SBC, Total, etc.

B. Outreach/Community Education Programs:u>WRC inspires students through science experiments and presentations of the Weather Museum. Programs which emphasize science and mathematics are available both at the Museum and through site visits to partner organizations. These programs include Weather Camp Weather Labs and Weather Classes, Teacher Weather Workshops, and Student Summer Internships. WRC’s 20-plus partners also include the American Meteorological Society, Cy-Fair ISD, HISD, Community in Schools, Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts, etc.

C. Weather Research: These research projects range from forensic meteorology to detailed hurricane risk analysis for Texas Department of Insurance, detailed wind study and forecast for the installation of high-tech fabric Radome designed to withstand winds of more than 130 mph, forecasting for recovery tasks such as the Titanic, space capsules and other intricate projects. Clients have included Oceaneering, Raytheon, etc.