As a boy growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, Auer was reportedly fascinated by weather. After a freak winter storm caused havoc in his home town, he decided to become a meteorologist. He studied meteorology at Colorado State University before getting a job at the University of Wyoming.[2]
Auer was a Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Wyoming for 22 years.[3] A land use typing method to classify land as urban or rural, based on work he published in 1978, is used by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and by the Jamaican National Environment and Planning Agency.[4]
His most frequently cited research paper involves ice crystals in clouds.[5]
In 1990, Auer emigrated to New Zealand, becoming Chief Meteorologist for the Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited from 1990 to 1998.[3] He also presented the weather forecast on TV3 News for several years, often preferring to use colloquialisms instead of technical jargon.
Auer was frequently quoted in the New Zealand press regarding weather and climate issues,[6] and was regarded in New Zealand as a "well-known and colourful meteorologist".[7]
In 2006, he helped found the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition to argue against claims for man-made global warming,[8][9] leading the MetService to publicly disavow the views of their former Chief Meteorologist.[10]
Following the transfer of "climate science" issues from the then New Zealand Meteorological Service into the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in 1992, Augie become critical of its statements, including those of former associate Jim Salinger.[11]
In a 19 May 2007 interview with The Timaru Herald newspaper, Auer said a combination of misinterpreted and misguided science, media hype, and political spin had created the current hysteria and it was time to put a stop to it, adding "It is time to attack the myth of global warming." According to Auer:
Water vapour was responsible for 95 per cent of the greenhouse effect, an effect which was vital to keep the world warm. …If we didn't have the greenhouse effect the planet would be at minus 18 °C but because we do have the greenhouse effect it is plus 15 °C, all the time. The other greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen dioxide, and various others including CFCs, contributed only five per cent of the effect, carbon dioxide being by far the greatest contributor at 3.6 per cent. It would be like trying to increase the temperature of bath tub full of water using one drop from an eye dropper.[12]
On 10 June 2007, Auer died suddenly while dining with family in Melbourne, while celebrating his 35th wedding anniversary and his 67th birthday.[13]
