Embedded Files
Southwest Michigan AMS/NWA
2 June 2022
West Michigan Aviation Academy
5363 44th St
Grand Rapids, MI 49512
President Warren Wheeler called the meeting to order at about 6:30PM. There were 12 people in attendance including all of the current board members.
Our speaker for the evening, Dr. Kazuya (Kaz) Fujita, went first with the business meeting after his talk. Kaz Fujita is the son of Dr. Tetsuya (Ted) Fujita known globally for his work with tornado and microburst wind damage. This talk conveyed some very personal recollections about his father’s life and research.
Ted Fujita was born in 1920 in a town about halfway between Nagasaki and Hiroshima. His original interest was mainly in geology where he learned to draw contours and images in perspective. Having survived World War II, he took part in damage surveys after the bomb in Nagasaki. His observations led to his hypothesis about downburst winds.
He began studying thunderstorm downbursts in 1947, did his first tornado survey in Japan on foot in 1948 and studied storm crop damage in 1949. He started communicating with the University of Chicago in 1950 and eventually came to Chicago in 1953 with just $22 in his pocket.
His work with the university led him to the first major tornado study in Fargo, North Dakota in 1957. He did the first aerial survey on the Palm Sunday outbreak in 1965 and developed what became known as the Fujita, or F scale, in 1970. His work led him to the discovery of what have become known as suction vortices within tornadoes. To his dismay, he never saw a real live tornado until 1982.
The Eastern Airlines plane crash at JFK airport in 1975 led him back into the study of thunderstorm downbursts, which has ultimately led to the saving of many lives. From there, he switched to studying hurricanes and discovered that the peak wind gusts were more important in producing damage than sustained winds. He also studied the relationship between hurricanes and El Nino. His last works actually dealt with El Nino prediction.
Dr, Fujita was known for his careful observations and meticulous attention to detail. He became quite consumed with his work which, sadly, caused considerable strain on his marriage and family. He passed away in 1998.
Treasurer Bill Marino began the business portion of the meeting with the treasurer’s report. As of June 1 we had $111.88 in checking and $581.29 in savings for a total cash balance of $693.17. A motion was made and passed that any dues paid for this year will apply to all of 2022 and all of 2023.
Cort Scholten presented the names of new board members to be voted into office. It
was unanimously passed that the following are now the new board members effective
June 2:
Cort Scholten: President
Kim Scholten: Vice President
Alana Dachtler: Secretary
Andrew Schut: Treasurer
Linda Paige: Member at Large
A motion was made and passed that from now on due to a change in policy at Meijer Stores, we would no longer be presenting the forecast contest winners with Meijer gift cards but will credit each winner with $10 towards their membership dues.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30PM.
Respectfully submitted
Craig James Woods
Secretary
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