Presented by: Jonathan Rizzo, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, National Weather Service Florida Keys Office

ISLAMORADA – Keys History & Discovery Center Presents…lecture series continues Wednesday, Feb. 23, with A History of Weather Forecasting in the Florida Keys by Jonathan Rizzo, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, National Weather Service Florida Keys Office. Advanced registration is required.

The history of formal weather observing and forecasting in the Florida Keys began with the U.S. Lighthouse Board and the later establishment of Key West as the site one of the original 24 U.S. Signal Corps weather offices.  This presentation will cover critical milestones in our Nation’s operational weather services from its early days as the U.S. Signal Corps to today as the National Weather Service as they applied to the Florida Keys.  A survey of early weather forecaster experiences and early methods for observing weather will be shared in the form of historical photographs and anecdotes from early U.S. Weather Bureau officials.

Mr. Rizzo has served as the Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service Forecast Office for the Florida Keys for nearly 20 years. Jon leads the National Weather Service’s weather decision support and preparedness programs in the Florida Keys.

In recent years, he served as the Technical Specialist in Meteorology at the Monroe County Emergency Operations Center for a continuous 9-day deployment during Hurricane Irma in 2017, as well as for the Monroe County COVID19 Response for 43 consecutive operational periods.  

Jon hails from Lower, Southern Maryland, and earned his Bachelors of Science Degree in Meteorology from Florida State University in 1995. After working at the FSU Department of Meteorology and completing additional graduate level coursework, Jon began his National Weather Service career as a meteorologist intern at the Florida Keys Weather Forecast Office in 1999.