Recount

The International Conference about Tropical Cyclones "Rodríguez Ramírez in Memoriam" was celebrated in La Havana, Cuba, from the 7th to the 9th of May off 1998.

Participants in the Scientific Conference on Tropical Cyclones " Rodríguez Ramírez in Memoriam" held at the Hotel Habana Libre Trip previous to the 20^th Meeting of the Hurricane Committee from the Regional Association IV of the W. M. O.

The Conference, accomplished as a previous event to the XX Meeting of the Hurricane Committee of Regional Association IV of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), was a propitious occasion to honour the memory of Dr. Mario E. Rodríguez Ramírez (1911-1996), outstanding Cuban meteorologist who, during four decades, worked uninterruptedly at the National Meteorological Service of Cuba and was its director for 12 years, period in which the Meteorological Service enlarged and developed as never before in Cuban history. One fact to point al in this stage was the formation, for the very first time in Cuba, of a meteorological school that would graduate from observers to university personal. Dr. Rodríguez also fulfilled significant contributions to hurricane research and other aspects of the operational forecasting of weather in Cuba.

The meeting was sponsored by the Meteorological Society of Cuba, the Institute of Meteorology and the WMO. It was very gratifying for every participant at the conference the message sent by professor G. O. P. Obasi, General Secretary of the WMO, in the words of Dr. Cyril E. Berridge, First Vice President of the WMO. During the opening ceremony the Sciences Academy of Cuba conferred diplomas of "Auspicious Institution of the Sciences Academy of Cuba" to the Meteorological Society of Cuba and the Institute of Meteorology.

During the three days in which the conference was held specialists from Mexico, United States of America, Panama, Bermudas, Spain and Cuba exchanged experiences and points of view about several aspects concerning tropical cyclones. The delegates and guests debated 24 papers and some other contributions in the space dedicated to lectures. Besides, they listened to a conference dedicated to the life of Dr. Mario E. Rodríguez Ramírez.

Professor Luis E. Ramos Guadalupe, while imparting his conference about the life and work of Dr. Mario Rodríguez Ramírez.

The subjects at the conference treated upon numerical modelling, use of radar and satellite information, state of the sea and interaction ocean-atmosphere, interaction between tropical cyclones and cold fronts, stationary forecasting, the role of tropical cyclones in processes of troposphere-stratosphere exchange, operational aspects of intensity and course forecasting and the activities fulfilled by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) of the United States of America.

Researchers and forecasters fron the U. S. And Cuba share a break during one of the work seasons.

Simultaneously it was prepared a mini exposition about the life and the scientific work of Dr. Mario E. Rodríguez Ramírez. It was presented the proceedings of the conference with all the contributions submitted at the meeting and the 4th issue of the bulletin of the Meteorological Society of Cuba, a virtual publication.

At the closing session it was given, for the third time, the "Benito Víñez S. J." Award instituted by the Meteorological Society of Cuba to stimulate the researching work of the members of the fellowship. The award went to Dr. Omar García Concepción and Dr. Rafael Pérez Parrado for their research paper titled "Dynamic and numerical model for forecasting strong surge in Cuban coasts".

Rafael Pérez Parrado (first to the right) and Omar García Concepción receive the "Benito Viñez S. J." award, instituted by the Meteorological Society to encourage research work among it’s members.

Presentation of the paper " Numerical model for the forecasting of surges provoked by hurricanes at the coasts of Cuba" , by Lic Omar García Concepción, selected as the most outstanding work in the period 1996 – 1997 in the field of Tropical Cyclonology.

Meteorologist Rolando Martínez Cantero (to the left) receives an award by his 50 years of work at the Meteorological Service from the hands of Dr. César J. Menéndez García, president of the Meteorological Society.

Dr. Cyril E. Berridge, First Vice President of the WMO, pronounced the closing words.

At the end of the meeting, the organizers offered the participants a lunch in the open air at areas of the National Zoo.

Participants in the Scientific Conference on Tropical Cyclones " Rodríguez Ramírez in Memoriam" hold a farewell party at the National Zoo, in the outskirts of Havana City.