Lixion Avila
Encyclopedia
Dr. Lixion Avila is a weather forecaster with the National Hurricane Center
(NHC). He has been a senior hurricane
specialist there since 1987 and is the longest-tenured senior specialist.
He is the only Cuban American
specialist on the staff and is bilingual in English
and Spanish
.
Avila generally forecasts with a quirky personal touch. Similar to his NHC counterpart Dr. James Franklin
, Avila occasionally expresses his opinion or sense of humor, often in the discussion areas of advisories. For example:
National Hurricane Center
The National Hurricane Center , located at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, is the division of the National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting weather systems within the tropics between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 30th...
(NHC). He has been a senior hurricane
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
specialist there since 1987 and is the longest-tenured senior specialist.
He is the only Cuban American
Cuban American
A Cuban American is a United States citizen who traces his or her "national origin" to Cuba. Cuban Americans are also considered native born Americans with Cuban parents or Cuban-born persons who were raised and educated in US...
specialist on the staff and is bilingual in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
Avila generally forecasts with a quirky personal touch. Similar to his NHC counterpart Dr. James Franklin
James Franklin (meteorologist)
James L. Franklin is a weather forecaster with the National Hurricane Center and its current branch chief. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and of Ransom Everglades School in 1976 in Miami, where he was a co-valedictorian....
, Avila occasionally expresses his opinion or sense of humor, often in the discussion areas of advisories. For example:
- When forecasting Tropical Storm Dolly in 2002, Avila said, "The bell just rang in the Tropical Atlantic, Hello Dolly."
- For the last advisory of the long-lived Hurricane KyleHurricane Kyle (2002)Hurricane Kyle was the fourth longest-lived Atlantic tropical or subtropical cyclone on record. The eleventh named storm and third hurricane of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season, Kyle developed as a subtropical cyclone on September 20 to the east-southeast of Bermuda. Looping westward, it...
of 2002, he expressed that "I hope there will be no more surprises." - During 2005's record-breaking Hurricane EpsilonHurricane EpsilonHurricane Epsilon was a long-lasting hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season in late November and early December. It was the 27th of 28 tropical or subtropical cyclones, as well as the last of 15 hurricanes of the record-breaking year. Originating from a cold front beneath an upper-level...
, he expressed his frustration at the hurricane's refusal to weaken despite repeated predictions that it would do so: "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." - During Tropical Storm Odile in 2008Tropical Storm Odile (2008)Tropical Storm Odile was a late season tropical storm that formed during the 2008 Pacific hurricane season and affected parts of southern Mexico. A tropical depression formed on October 8, and became Tropical Storm Odile 18 hours later. The storm paralleled the south coast of Mexico, with the...
, he said "Odile...The tropical cyclone...has really fooled me as Odile...the evil character in the ballet Swan LakeSwan LakeSwan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
...fooled the prince."