‘Another very sad loss’ impacts the US weather community. 'He was a genius'

Bill Lapenta poses at the Weather Prediction Center, in College Park, Md. Lapenta, a federal scientist who oversaw weather prediction centers that track ocean, hurricane and even space conditions died Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, after lifeguards pulled him from the surf in rough seas on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. (NOAA)

Bill Lapenta was a towering figure within the weather industry, in part because of his role as director of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association’s (NOAA) National Center for Environment Prediction (NCEP). He was also leading NOAA’s effort to develop EPIC, a new U.S. modeling framework “to accelerate improvements in the nation’s weather and climate models,” National Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini said in a statement. 

That role was only a part of who Lapenta was, though. His impact is monumental as a scientist who was both dedicated to his work as an industry leader and also to his vital roles as mentor and collaborator so others shared in successes as a team. 

“The tragic loss of Bill Lapenta has left the weather community, myself included, in a state of shock,” Dr. Neil Jacobs, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction, said in a statement. “Bill was not only a dedicated coworker, but he was a great friend and fearless leader. He was incredibly passionate about his work, and was never shy about voicing his opinion on issues ranging from dysfunctional processes to an undervalued workforce.” 

Lapenta, 58, died Monday while swimming on a family vacation to North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Lifeguards pulled him from the surf in Duck, N.C. The National Weather Service (NWS) had issued a warning earlier Monday about the area’s high risk of rip currents. NWS has recorded seven previous deaths in rip currents in North Carolina this year, among 41 nationwide. 

“This is a tragic loss to all of us in the NOAA family and to Bill’s atmospheric science colleagues throughout the world,” Uccellini said in a statement. 

AccuWeather colleagues are among those devastated by Lapenta’s death. "Not only is this a terrible tragedy for his family and friends and colleagues but perhaps for progress for American weather forecasting modeling," said AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers. "He was a genius." 

“He was known as a great scientist, a great leader and a great friend to many people,” said Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather Vice President of Business Services and General Manager of Enterprise Solutions. 

“Bill was always looking for ways to connect better into the broad community of people who use the foundational data from the government,” Porter added. “He reached out to me and others within the weather industry many times over his career to get feedback and to get us engaged with different programs he was running at NCEP in an effort to make them better and more helpful to advancing predictions. We’re going to greatly miss that spirit of partnership toward our community’s shared public mission. The news of his passing hit me very hard when I found out.”

The Lapenta family, including his wife Cathy and two adult children, released a statement saying they are "overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from Bill’s colleagues and friends, near and far. He was incredibly enriched by the many people who touched his life. We are devastated by the loss of our father, son, brother, uncle and husband, and we only hope that his personal and professional legacy continues to inspire the lives of his friends, students, employees and colleagues.” 

Lapenta’s death brought to mind for many the recent death of Fuqing Zhang, a Penn State University professor and one of the world’s leaders on innovative methods of integrating environmental observations into numerical forecast models. 

“The very first conversation about what would ultimately become EPIC was sketched out at an American Meteorological Society summer meeting between Bill, Fuqing and myself,” Dr. Jacobs said in a statement. “This was before I was at NOAA but gives you an idea about Bill’s reach into the [national weather predicting] community seeking alternative paths for model development.”

“It’s another very sad loss within the Weather Enterprise, with Dr. Fuqing Zhang and others,” said AccuWeather’s Porter. “We’ve lost some real leaders and some great mentors and great friends; it’s been a sad year in that regard.”