One of the bright minds in our field of meteorology has passed away. Earl Finckle died Friday at the age of 81.

I had never met Mr. Finckle, but certainly do remember and appreciate the work he did in the meteorological community.

I found out about Earl Finckle's passing though my colleage Tom Skilling at WGN-TV in Chicago, who shares his thoughts and memories of him in his blog, the link to which you can find below.

I've also linked his obituary from the Chicago Tribune. Take a moment to read it, and I think you'll all come away with an appreciation with just how much he meant to our profession.

Our profession lost an icon in Earl Finckle. He leaves big shoes to fill.