Carl-Gustaf Arvid Rossby was one of the greatest organizers and theoreticians in the field of meteorology. He had a keen understanding of the interactive forces in the atmosphere that influence the weather.

Rossby was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1898. He studied mathematical physics at the University of Stockholm. His career in meteorology began at the West Norway Weather Office in Bergen in 1918 under the guidance of Norwegian meteorologist Vilhelm Bjerknes. The Bergen Office became the birthplace of modern weather forecasting. It was there that the concept of air masses and frontal systems was first developed.

New data being received from soundings in the upper atmosphere lured Rossby into a desire to resolve the problems and unknown characteristics of this region. During the 1920s, he began taking field trips to such distant places as Greenland and Madeira, making weather observations as he traveled. After obtaining a degree in 1925 from...