March 30, 2025 at 10:45am live-streamed from the Great Hall

Click: Bart Adrian: How Weather and Meteorologists changed the Course of History

Sunday, March 30, 2025:

Bart Adrian- How Weather and Meteorologists Changed the Course of History:

You will hear three short narratives, each illustrating the impact of weather forecasts and forecasters on the course of human history. In particular, you will learn details about: the 1941 German forecast for the Russian winter of 1941-42; the 1944 forecast for the Allied D-Day invasion of France; and the evolution of modern weather forecasting from the early 20th century to the dawn of the computer age. Each narrative will also demonstrate the inter-connectedness of the global community of meteorologists, including some interesting connections to Wisconsin.

Bio: Bart Adrian has been fascinated with the weather since his boyhood in the Chicago area. He majored in engineering science (applied mathematics) at Northwestern University, and then came to Wisconsin where he completed his M.S. (1981) in meteorology at UW-Madison. In Madison, Bart became very interested in teaching and in youth ministry. After a one-year stint as a forecaster and occasional on-air meteorologist at WKOW-TV in Madison, he came to Milwaukee in 1982, joining the weather team at WITI-TV (FOX 6). During his 28-year Milwaukee TV career, Bart also taught meteorology to UWM undergraduates. He also worked on certification as a high school earth science and math teacher, and gave literally hundreds of talks to elementary, middle school and high school students. Currently Bart teaches meteorology and mathematics at UWM. He also works part-time as a contract weather observer for the FAA at the airport, and serves as President of the Greater Milwaukee Chapter of the American Meteorological Society. He remains involved in outreach programs for teenagers, and loves to encourage the study of history, science and mathematics.

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