Sverre Petterssen (19 February 1898 – 31 December 1974) was a Norwegian meteorologist, prominent in the field of weather analysis and forecasting.

[1] Born in Norway into a humble family, he paid for his higher education by working at the telegraph office, and a nursery provided by the armed forces that he joined as a recruit.

With the invasion of Norway, Petterssen returned to Europe and offered his services in England to the Met Office, on loan from the Norwegian Air Force.

[2][3] But the Norwegian meteorologist knew his meteorology: His analysis showed a 36-hour gap between two storms on the morning of 6 June – just enough to make the giant attack with more than a hundred thousand soldiers, paratroopers, planes and boats.

International Commission for the History of Meteorology The Weather Network Proceedings of the International Commission on History of Meteorology 1.1 (2004) In retrospect, Americans claimed – including in movies – it was their meteorologist heroes who saved the situation, and only in 1974, shortly before his death, Sverre Pettersen came with his version – documenting a violent quarrel.