Name Ivan Tannehill | Role Writer | |
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Books All about the Weather, Hurricanes, The Hurricane Hunters | ||
Ivan Ray Tannehill (1890 – May 2, 1959) was a lieutenant at Fort Story, Virginia soon after World War I, and later became a forecaster with the United States Weather Bureau and a prolific writer, focusing on meteorology. His text on hurricanes remained the defining work on the topic from the late 1930s into the early 1950s.
Contents
- Career
- Thoughts on the warming of the 1930s and 1940s
- Connection to 1947 UFO sightings
- Works published
- Personal life
- References
Career
First a newspaper reporter and a teacher, Ivan began work for the United States Weather Bureau as a weather observer in Houston in 1914. He served during World War I as a weather officer in the Signal Corps. After the war, he became the Official in Charge (OIC) at the Galveston, Texas weather office. Moving to Washington, D. C., he became the Assistant Chief of the Forecast Division in 1929. He later served as chiefs of the Marine Division, SR&F Division, and Assistant Chief of Bureau for Operations. He retired in October 1954 and moved to Frederick, Maryland.
Thoughts on the warming of the 1930s and 1940s
Scientists were aware of the warming of sections of the United States by about 3˚F since the 1860s. The American Meteorological Society held a convention in Washington, D.C. where the topic was discussed. Dr. Tannehill came away from the meeting thinking the cause was due to a slow increase in the radiation of the sun.
Connection to 1947 UFO sightings
After a flurry of UFO reports were witnessed across the United States, including one at Roswell, the then-chief of the U. S. Weather Bureau's division of synoptic reports and forecasts was asked about the objects being seen in the sky. His quote was "I’d like to see one first before I make a guess." He did, however, rule out weather balloons, stating they were unlikely to have been mistaken "all over the country and all in one week" for mysterious objects speeding through the sky at supersonic speeds.
Works published
Personal life
At the time of his death, Ivan had two brothers, a sister, a wife, daughter, and three grandchildren.