Posted: 08 March 2008. This is stimulated by a tribute for Al, initiated by Martin Lisius, at the TESSA Severe Storms Conference - which I was unable to attend owing to a prior commitment.
The occasion for this is Alan's retirement from spotter training. If and when Alan R. Moller actually retires from the National Weather Service, it will represent the passing of a giant in his chosen field of weather forecasting. Not only has Al distinguished himself in the technical skills of weather forecasting, he also has set an incredibly high standard for contributions to society with those skills. Clearly, the residents of North Texas have benefitted the most, but this by no means represents the limit of his impact (and recognition), which extends nationally and even internationally. He's the living embodiment of what it means to be a Science Operations Officer, a Lead Forecaster, and especially a Warning Coordination Meteorologist (all rolled into one) - the prototype by which others might justifiably be measured, but against whom virtually no one could measure up.
Al has been a friend of mine since we first met at OU as meteorology graduate students in the early 1970s. Clearly, we shared a passion for the weather, fast cars, and shady women, among other things. For two decades, we were regular storm chase partners, and I was the beneficiary of many hours of animated conversation with him on a huge variety of topics and it's safe to say that two weeks storm chasing with Al was a lot of fun. Many of our chase vacations included at least one shouting match between us - but never with any lingering recriminations - sometimes these were public and others would fear for our friendship, but this is only a reflection of our shared passion for what we were doing. He taught me a lot about operational meteorology that I hadn't experienced for myself. For example, he's responsible for awakening in me an awareness of the need to help the users of all the forecast and warning products issued by an operational forecasting agency. He knew about such things because he'd observed them at first hand and correctly understood what he saw: if our forecasts are perfect but the users don't receive the message, don't understand the message, don't know what to do with the message, and don't act on the contents of the message, then our time and effort has been wasted. Al acted on that knowledge in many ways and so has worked tirelessly on all those critical components of the forecasting process, to say nothing of his efforts as a forecaster. He was a man before his time in this regard, and still is. Perhaps some day the bureaucrats will finally realize by his absence how much Al has done for the National Weather Service, but many, many people have been the beneficiaries of his insights. We all admire his enthusiasm, which he excels at conveying in his outstanding presentations. His talks are justifiably legendary for all who are lucky enough to attend one or more - professionals and laypersons alike. He has a gift for gab that grabs your attention and holds it fast.
He also has served as inspiration and mentor to everyone around him, including me. Al is one of my heroes and I know, having heard it from numerous people who have served with him in the trenches, that he's the same for them. He will share anything he knows without any concern for recognition or reciprocal compensation for his time and effort. The only "problem" any of us have had with his vigorous efforts to enlighten us is not having enough time to benefit from all he has to offer.
During our storm chase times together, Al taught me a great deal about photography, and I know his images have been as much of an inspiration to budding photographers as his meteorology has been an inspiration to budding weather forecasters. His photographs are prototypically excellent, second to no one doing photography on the plains. Clearly, art and science are entangled in his head - apparently to the extent that his hair has been forced (reluctantly) to give way, to make room! Hopefully, his eventual retirement will give him the time to compile and share some collections of his images, as well as going out to add more gorgeous shots to his voluminous collection. One aspect of his talks that everyone enjoys is his usual finale, which includes a selection of his photographs that never fail to elicit "wows" and "aaaahhs" from the audience and always leave us wanting to see more.
Al has never compromised his principles and it's hard to imagine anyone more committed to ethical and responsible behavior in all facets of his life. Anyone wishing a role model for almost anything humans do would do well to emulate him. I've shamelessly stolen many of his ideas - which is another way of saying (without words), how much I admire him and what he does. He's made a big difference in many people's lives and the world is vastly better, thanks to his efforts, than it would have been without him. He's not a seeker of recognition, but those of us who know him have seen and appreciate what he stands for and how he has served. It's been my honor and privilege to know him as a friend and to come to appreciate the value of what he's done in so many ways. I hope his retirement means I'll see more of him, because he's been a positive light in my life for a long time.