Larry Hopper
RRDD Division Staff
Job Title:Radar Research and Development Division Chief
Affiliation:Federal
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Phone:(405) 325-6500
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Larry has been the Radar Research and Development Division Chief at NSSL since September 2021 after serving as a National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist for over seven years. Larry is leveraging his prior experience at NWS Austin-San Antonio and Phoenix working with meteorologists, emergency managers, private and public partners, and academia to help transition NSSL’s cooperative research to operations to improve the existing NEXRAD network while also developing phased array radar options for the next generation. Prior to his NWS career, Larry taught at the University of Louisiana at Monroe from 2011-14 and ran an NSF-sponsored undergraduate research and education program at Texas A&M University from 2005-10. In his spare time, Larry enjoys spending time with family and friends and playing and watching sports, especially his Sooners play basketball as an alumnus (student manager) of OU’s 2001-02 NCAA Men’s Final Four Basketball Team.
| Degree (Ph.D, M.S, B.A, etc.) | Major Subject | University or College Name | Year (YYYY) (optional) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | Atmospheric Sciences | Texas A&M University | 2011 |
| M.S. | Atmospheric Sciences | Texas A&M University | 2008 |
| B.S. | Meteorology (mathematics minor) | University of Oklahoma | 2005 |
- Radar meteorology (including phased array radar and WSR-88D R2O and R2A)
- Mesoscale and convective processes
- Hydrometeorology (including quantitative precipitation estimates and forecasts)
- Precipitation microphysics (particularly stratiform and convective rain processes)
- Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and outreach
- American Meteorological Society
- National Weather Association
- Editor, NWA Journal of Operational Meteorology, 2015-present
- Chief Editor, NWA Journal of Operational Meteorology, 2019-2022
- AMS STAC Committee on Mesoscale Processes, 2009-2011
| Award Name | Year |
|---|---|
| DOC Silver Medal (Group) Award for Customer Service, National Weather Service (with Austin-San Antonio WFO, Fort-Worth Dallas WFO, Houston-Galveston WFO, Norman WFO, West Gulf RFC, Arkansas-Red Basin RFC, and Southern Region ROC) | 2016 |
| Buck Weirus Spirit Award, Texas A&M University | 2010 |
| Letzeiser Honor List, University of Oklahoma | 2005 |
- Hopper, L. J., Jr., C. Schumacher, K. Humes, and A. Funk, 2020: Drop-size distribution variations associated with different storm types in southeast Texas. Atmosphere, 11(1), 8; https://doi.org /10.3390/atmos11010008.
- Lin, P., L. J. Hopper, Jr., Z.-L. Yang, M. Lenz, and J. W. Zeitler, 2018: Insights into hydrometeorological factors constraining flood prediction skill during the May and October 2015 Texas Hill Country flood events. J. Hydrometeor., 19, 1339-1361, https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-18-0038.1.
- Homeyer, C., C. Schumacher, and L. J. Hopper, Jr., 2014: Assessing the applicability of the tropical convective-stratiform paradigm in the extratropics using radar divergence profiles. J. Climate, 27, 6673-6686, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00561.1.
- Hopper, L. J., Jr., Schumacher, and J. P. Stachnik, 2013: Implementation and assessment of undergraduate experiences in SOAP: An atmospheric science research and education program. J. Geoscience Education, 61(4), 515-527, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1164043.pdf.
- Hopper, L. J., Jr., and C. Schumacher, 2012: Modeled and observed variations in storm divergence and stratiform rain production in southeastern Texas. J. Atmos. Sci., 69, 1159-1181, https://doi.org /10.1175/JAS-D-11-092.1.