Jess Charba Announces Retirement - MDL

Mar 11, 2021

Dr. Jerome P. “Jess” Charba has retired from the Federal service, effective 2/28/2021, capping an MDL career which spanned nearly five decades.  Jess joined MDL (then the Techniques Development Laboratory [TDL] ) in 1972 immediately after receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma.  Since then, Jess has been instrumental in applying and expanding the principles of Model Output Statistics (MOS) to subsynoptic time frames and high-resolution observed data.  Many of his innovative techniques have found their way into applications now used in the Localized Aviation MOS Program (LAMP) and other aspects of MDL’s statistical postprocessing efforts.

Jess’s R&D endeavors included some of the earliest work in automated, short-range forecasting of severe local storms, and later with LAMP quantitative precipitation, thunderstorm, lightning, and convection forecasting. This yielded operational implementation of a number of NWS forecast guidance products, and numerous publications in the scientific literature.  His most recent work includes the currently-operational LAMP convection and lightning guidance over the CONUS, as well as similar products for Alaska that are part of LAMP v2.3.  In 2019, the AMS recognized Jess’s career-long efforts by presenting him with its Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Advance of Applied Meteorology, citing "a lifetime of extraordinary leadership and accomplishment in developing and implementing statistical forecasting methods for severe weather, quantitative precipitation, and lightning."

Jess’s decision to close his career was not an easy one for him, as his passion for meteorological R&D remains strong today.  Ultimately, the overriding factor in his decision became insufficient time to continue his important work at MDL and still enjoy his many hobbies. The latter include home building, land development, ranching, mechanics, missionary outreach, travelling, and spending time with his wife and grandchildren.  Yes, he realizes that even with shedding his professional career, pursuing all of these “extra-meteorological activities” may be an ongoing challenge.  After retirement, Jess hopes to split time between the “Charba Ranch” in southeast Texas and his East Coast base in Silver Spring.

Although Jess’s NWS colleagues, both outside of MDL and within, are scattered about and working remotely at present due to the COVID-19 pandemic, congratulations and well wishes were quick to pour in:  Peter Roohr, of the OSTI R2O Team, noted that Jess has been “a huge part of the success [of] MDL with so much hard work to develop, refine and improve LAMP and many other processes that provide guidance to forecasters in the field and ultimately the safety and preservation of our nation's people and resources.”  He continued, saying: “You have been a mainstay with the Lightning Working Group over the past decade and have really helped lead this group in ensuring that NWS offices and centers, as well as NOAA offices that depend on lightning data, get the optimum data that they need in all convective situations.”  George Vandenberghe (now with the NWS/NCEP/EMC Engineering and Implementation Branch) especially remembered Jess’s efforts to mentor him in his first months as a former MDL (TDL) co-op student, leading to a career working with Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models.  These sentiments were echoed by MDL’s Phil Shafer, a current LAMP team member, in an email note to Jess: “You have also been a great mentor to me and many others in MDL and LAMP, past and present.”

Judy Ghirardelli, MDL Decision Support Division Chief and Jess’s last direct supervisor, said the following as part of the official retirement announcement: “Personally, I have known Jess for my entire career in NWS and MDL.  He is truly a dedicated public servant and will be remembered for his expert knowledge of statistical post-processing techniques, his radar and lightning expertise, his tireless pursuit of the best possible guidance to serve the NWS and our users and stakeholders, and his passion for science and serving the NWS mission.”  

For many of us who also have spent significant portions of our careers in MDL, it will be difficult to imagine worklife without Jess in the mix of day-to-day conversation, meetings, and collaboration.  We wish him all the best and many happy years to enjoy some well-deserved time with his family and in pursuit of his many hobbies and interests outside of the field of meteorology.  Congratulations, Jess!