William M Gray

A mile above sea level, surrounded by gunmetal-gray filing cabinets and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves bursting with papers and weather maps, sits the man many consider the dean of hurricane forecasting in the United States. From his office at Colorado State University at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and 65 miles north of Denver, William M. Gray pioneered the concept of "seasonal" hurricane forecasting -- predicting months in advance the severity of the coming hurricane season.