Employee Spotlight: Don Burgess

In his yearly pilgrimage to a lonely stretch of mountain water in southern Colorado with a fly rod in his hand, Don Burgess finds his soul restored. "I am haunted by waters," broods Norman MacLean in one of Don's favorite books/ movies A River Runs Through It. "Fish, sleep, eat," says Don, "Now that's a great day." Fly fishermen understand each other.

Don is as passionate about fly fishing as he is about his family and the weather. Born “a weather freak” in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, he watched storms in fear during early childhood but curiosity took over as he got older. It became a question not about WHAT he was going to do when he grew up, but HOW he was going to do it. Don attended OU for his undergraduate work, and came on board at NSSL after doing odd jobs for them and asking to be hired “15 times.” “I wore them out,” he grins. He was assigned to the newly-formed Doppler Radar Group tasked with learning about warning/forecast applications of Doppler radar. After earning his B.S. in 1971, he became a full-time NSSL employee while doing graduate work (earning his M.S. in 1974). During the early and mid-70’s, the NSSL team of which he was a member collected the first Doppler radar data on tornadic storms. From that data, and most significantly the Union City, OK tornado of 1973, the team discovered that the NSSL research Doppler radar could see mesocyclone and tornado signatures, sometimes 20-30 minutes before the tornadoes formed. “We were at the right place at the right time.” From then on, Don just enjoyed the ride—having so much fun he never worried about the path.

As he and others realized the potential value of Doppler radar, other government agencies began to take notice. Don was appointed the Chief Meteorologist in the Joint Doppler Operational Project (JDOP), a project testing and ultimately proving that Doppler radar had great potential towards improving warnings. These results launched the government’s NEXRAD program, and during this time Don worked with others to develop computer algorithms to detect and display output from Doppler radar. Their work was folded into the NEXRAD program, and in the late 80’s Don became Chief of the NSSL Forecast Application Research Group where they developed Doppler techniques and applications for the NWS, the FAA, and the DoD. “Better radar was part of that,” he says.

As the first operational NEXRAD radars were about to be installed, Don was offered the unique and satisfying chance to follow his research through to actual forecast operations, “Like having a dream and seeing it through to reality,” he says. He moved to the NEXRAD Radar Operations Center as Chief of the Operations Branch, and eventually as Chief of the Training Branch. While the change to operations was good, Don found his heart rooted in research – “I am an observationalist.” He had the opportunity to return to NSSL as the Chief of the Warning Research & Development Division, where he stayed until retiring in the fall of 2003 after 32 years of Federal service. The transition is slow, as he continues to work half-time through CIMMS, managing the ROC MOU, working on NEXRAD network enhancements and improvements, and helping when asked. He also feels compelled to create an environment that allows others to be successful. “People ran interference for us,” he reflects. “I want to do that for others.” During this time in his life he is enjoying taking things easier, traveling more, and doing work that interests him. He and his wife of 34 years, Fran, have two grown children and two grandchildren. He very much enjoys having time to play with the grandkids (photo at right shows Don with grandson Carson showing off his first trout).