Tom Potter, a former National Weather Service regional official and head of weather services

Tom Potter's 1961 dissertation established that ground-based radar could measure atmospheric conditions, an advance that led to the development of the Doppler radar now widely in use in weather forecasting.  After college, he became a vice commander in the U.S. Air Force Air Weather Service, where he was a key figure in revolutionizing forecasting by equipping satellites to monitor the Earth's weather from space.

Potter went on to become the long-time director of the National Weather Service's regional office in Salt Lake City and later the Salt Lake Organizing Committee's director of weather support for the 2002 Winter Olympics.  His final position, prior to his death Oct. 16 from pancreatic cancer, was as a professor emeritus of meteorology at the University of Utah. He was 78.

"Tom was the nicest and most approachable 'big man' I ever knew," said Jim Steenburgh, chairman of the U.'s Department of Meteorology. "He served in many of the highest and most important administrative positions in our field, yet he didn't have an ounce of ego in him."

Steenburgh's perspective is shared by William Alder and Larry Dunn. Both served under Potter as meteorologists in charge of the Weather Service's Salt Lake City forecast office.   "He was a great boss, fair and honest," said Alder, whose professional relationship with Potter lasted for nearly two decades. "He was really keen on the weather and would call the office, interested in the forecast. He was a real meteorologist, not an office administrator type of person."    Added Dunn: "Tom was the best manager I ever worked for when he was the Western region director. Working with him again when he was the director of weather support for SLOC was a high point for me. He made it all work."

Potter was regional director when the Weather Service went through its major modernization push in the 1990s, including the introduction of Doppler radar.

Steenburgh said Potter's even-handed approach to dealing with people enhanced the ability of government, private sector and academic meteorologists to combine in the forecasting for the Olympics.  "Weather affects nearly all aspects of Olympic competition and logistics, and Tom's efforts helped make the 2002 Games a major success," he said. "This effort also led to a lasting legacy - the MesoWest cooperative [forecasting] networks - that underwent dramatic expansion for the Olympics and continue to provide detailed weather observations across Utah today."

Potter was born on Feb. 3, 1929, in Jamestown, N.D. He married Billie Thompson on Aug. 23, 1952, in Seattle. He is survived by six children, Mike, Ann, Tom Jr., Mark (Gwen), Andy (Robyn) and Matt; 12 grandchildren; brothers and sisters, Jack, Jeff, Pat Styer and Nancy Cramer.

An honor guard from Hill Air Force Base will be present for services at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Fort Douglas Chapel in Salt Lake City.