Bob Burpee's influence on hurricane forecasting

Over nearly 40 years, Bob Burpee had a dramatic impact on hurricane forecasting, starting with his early work with Professor Fred Sanders on the development of the first barotropic track forecast model (SANBAR), to the inspiration for the synoptic flow (now surveillance) missions, to his leadership of both the Hurricane Research Division and the National Hurricane Center. Along the way Bob also had a profound influence on a number of other research and forecasting efforts, from the development of a real-time work station on the NOAA WP-3D aircraft to the inception of the Hurricane Liaison Team. This paper provides a brief synopsis of Bob's tremendous impact on hurricane forecasting today.