He was professor of meteorology in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Saint Louis University (SLU), where he was a member of the faculty from 1962 to 2011.
He also gained firsthand experience of the consequences of weather working on his uncle's tobacco farm in the summers.
[4] His primary research areas were severe local storms, climate change, tropical cyclones, and weather forecasting, while his primary teaching areas were climate and humankind in history, and mesoscale analysis and severe storms.
After repeated requests from the fledgling broadcaster, and to better ensure correct and appropriate morning forecasts, Abell acquiesced and accepted the unpaid position as the station's meteorologist.
[3] St. Louis city Mayor Clarence Harmon proclaimed February 2, 2000, as Ben Abell Day.