Herbert Riehl was a German-born American meteorologist who is widely regarded as the father of tropical meteorology. He is well known for his work with Joanne Simpson

Joanne Simpson

Joanne Simpson was the first woman to ever receive a Ph.D. in meteorology. She eventually became NASA's lead weather researcher and authored or co-authored over 190 articles. Simpson contributed to many areas of the atmospheric sciences, particularly in the field of tropical meteorology...

 on the importance of hot tower

Hot tower

A hot tower is a tropical cumulonimbus cloud that penetrates the tropopause, i.e. it reaches out of the lowest layer of the atmosphere, the troposphere, into the stratosphere. In the tropics, the tropopause typically lies at least 15 km above sea level...

s, and their critical role in transport of energy out of the tropics via the Hadley Circulation.

Awards

• American Meteorological Society Meisinger Award (1948)
• American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics Losey Award (1962)
• American Meteorological Society Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal
  Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal
  The Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal is the highest award for atmospheric science of the American Meteorological Society. It is presented to individual scientists, who receive a medal...
  
  (1979)

Dr. Riehl wrote the first textbook on Tropical Meteorology.