About Diurnal Sky

Bruce was born and grew up in Miles City, Montana, in the company of big skies, sagebrush, and the meandering Yellowstone River[1].  He is the third of four siblings, two sisters and a brother.  Both parents worked in education at the local high school.  His father was an English teacher, his mother, a guidance counselor. This given, one might think he should have turned out better.

He attended college at Montana State University, in Bozeman, graduating in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth Science, with the Meteorology Option. 

That was followed by graduate school at the University of Wyoming, in Laramie.  Graduating with a Master of Science Degree in Atmospheric Science in 1981, his career path deviated slightly, as he began working in operational cloud seeding for the State of North Dakota.
 
He worked on the North Dakota Cloud Modification Project (NDCMP) for three seasons, before being hired as a research scientist by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1984 and assigned to wintertime cloud seeding research on the Grand Mesa of Colorado.

He rejoined the NDCMP in the spring of 1988 as its director, where he remained until joining Weather Modification International (WMI) in 2001.
 
Bruce retired from full-time work with WMI after 2024, leaving the company as its Vice President of Meteorology.  He presently does meteorological consulting and training, photography, writing, and engages in a variety of hobbies as shown on DiurnalSky.com.  Additional noteworthy details are provided below.

Awards and Certifications

  • 1975 – Rawinsonde Technician
  • 1975 – Radar Operator
  • 1979 – Certified Aviation Weather Observer
  • 1979 – 3rd Place, National Forecasting Contest, Graduate Student Division
  • 1983 – Technical Drafting
  • 1988 – Exceptional Service Award, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
  • 1990 – Best Poster, 16th AMS Conference on Severe Local Storms
  • 1990 – Present – Weather Modification Association Certified Weather Modification Manager #12
  • 1997 – Black Crow Award, Weather Modification Association
  • 1998 – Thunderbird Award, Weather Modification Association
  • 2024 – Vincent J. Schaefer Award, Weather Modification Association

Memberships

  • American Meteorological Society (1974 – present)
  • Weather Modification Association (1986 – present)
  • Lord of Life Lutheran Church (1990 – present)
  • Cloud Appreciation Society (2005 – present)
  • Northern Pacific Railroad Historical Association (2010 – present)
  • North Dakota Gateway to Science (2022 – present)
  • National Model Railroad Association (2022 – present)
  • American Geophysical Union (2023 – present)
  • American Society of Civil Engineers (1992 – 2024)
  • American Water Resources Association (2020 – 2024)


[1] He’s writing about that now; stay tuned to DiurnalSky.com if you are curious.