Lixion Avila facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lixion Avila
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Avila in 2017
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| Born | 25 November 1950  Cuba |
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Lixion A. Avila, born on November 25, 1950, is a retired weather forecaster. He used to work at the National Hurricane Center (NHC), where he was a top expert on hurricanes from 1987 until he retired in 2020.
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Lixion Avila's Career in Meteorology
Lixion Avila grew up in Cuba. He studied meteorology, which is the science of weather, at the University of Havana. He earned his degree in 1973 and then worked for Cuba's weather service for seven years.
He wanted to continue his studies but couldn't in Cuba. With help from his mother's family, he moved to the United States.
Joining the National Hurricane Center
In 1983, Avila started working as a consultant for the National Hurricane Center. He helped by giving important weather warnings in Spanish for radio and TV. He earned his master's degree from the University of Miami in 1987.
After that, he became a full-time forecaster at the NHC. By 1989, he was promoted to a hurricane specialist. He continued his education and earned his PhD in 1993.
Avila also represented the National Hurricane Center at the World Meteorological Organization. He helped coordinate and train weather experts in the Caribbean and Central American regions.
He retired from the NHC on April 30, 2020. He had worked there for 33 years, helping people stay safe from hurricanes.
Awards and Recognition
Lixion Avila has received several important awards for his work. He is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. This means he is recognized as a leading expert in his field.
In 2000, he received a special award called the NOAA Administrator's Award. Then, in 2005, the National Weather Service gave him the Isaac M. Cline National Award for Outreach. This award recognized his efforts to share weather information with the public.
Avila's Unique Forecasting Style
Lixion Avila was known for his unique and sometimes funny way of writing weather forecasts. He often added his own thoughts or a bit of humor to the official advisories. This made his forecasts stand out.
For example, during Hurricane Epsilon in 2005, the storm kept getting stronger even though experts predicted it would weaken. Avila wrote, "There are no clear reasons...and I am not going to make one up...to explain the recent strengthening of Epsilon and I am just describing the facts." He even ended that forecast with, "...Epsilon will likely become a remnant low. I heard that before about Epsilon... Haven't you?"
Another time, while describing Hurricane Leslie in 2018, he joked, "It is difficult to add more to the discussion about a cyclone that has moved very little during the past few days and has not changed significantly in structure either." His personal touch made his forecasts memorable.
