Meteorologist

The ‘climate statistics’ for your holiday location will tell you what the average weather conditions are, and also how variable the weather is. In 2005 the World Meteorological Organization launched a World Weather Information Service. It provides climate statistics from the national meteorological and hydrological services of participating countries, including the UK

The sun heats the tropical areas more than the polar regions. If there were no wind, then the tropics would keep getting hotter and hotter, and the poles would get colder and colder. The atmosphere's basic function is to redistribute heat from the equator to the poles, and tropical cyclones are one mechanism by which this occurs. However it is still quite remarkable that such a thing as a tropical cyclone should arise. It has been said that if we had not actually observed tropical cyclones then, despite all we know about the physics of the atmosphere, we would never have guessed at their existence.

My normal work day at the station is 2-11pm. If the weather warrants I get in earlier and stay later of course, but I also visit schools or civic groups for weather presentations before going in to the station and occasionally have to shoot promotional pieces as well.

I think just the lightning and thunderstorms, the noise and power. One minute it's there and the next minute it's gone. It's just the sheer force behind those things.

The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is a part of the National Weather Service (NWS) and is one of nine National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

Cyclones off northern Australia typically develop between 5 and 15°S and reach maximum intensity between 10 and 20°S. As they move further south they will weaken over land or, for those remaining over water, weaken as they encounter an unfavourable environment (strengthening wind shear) and move over cooler water. They usually increase in speed as the steering winds in the mid-levels of the atmosphere increase and move to the south or southeast.

I make and present the forecast for our website, mobile apps, news radio station and 5, 6 and 10pm newscasts M-F. Additionally I supervise the other members of Stormtracker13 to develop our presentation as a cohesive unit and I oversee the maintenance of our 20+ weather computers.

Warnings of severe weather for the UK are issued by our National Meteorological sService, the Met Office. We also post a warning on the front page of our site. Follow this link to find out what severe weather warnings are in place today.

I like event-driven weather. I don't necessarily like to see tornadoes, but I like a good thunderstorm. To me, if we get an active weather pattern, that gives me something to talk about and the ability to keep it fresh.

Storm surge is a large mound of water that accompanies a tropical cyclone as it comes ashore. The intense winds of the cyclone pile up the ocean into a dome of water that is pushed onshore as the cyclone strikes the coast. The low pressure of the cyclone adds to the height of the mound of water, though this is a secondary effect. When the height of a storm surge is discussed it does not take into account the height of the large waves on top of the mound of water.

Salaries for television meteorologists vary wildly and depend on a number of factors. These can include market size (the bigger cities have more eyeballs watching tv and thus more people seeing ads. A 30 second commercial spot in Denver, Colorado costs an advertiser a lot more money than a 30 second commercial in Grand Junction, Colorado), length of time at the station, popularity in the market and a number of other factors. Entry level jobs can pay around $20,000 per year while some big market salaries can be several hundreds of thousands (or even more!).

I’m wrestling with that right now actually. Call it a mid-life crisis if you want to, but I’ve been in the industry long enough that I know its strengths and weaknesses. I’m trying to be the best husband and father that I can and I’m trying to determine if being a television meteorologist allows that to happen. Many people in television news move around the country and find themselves in a new community every three to five years (remember that bigger cities tend to come with bigger paychecks). I’ve been blessed to be in Colorado Springs for an extended period of time and the thought of uprooting my family weighs on me.

Tropical cyclones are classified as severe when they are producing 'very destructive winds' having sustained surface winds of at least 118 km/h near the centre and gusts of at least 165 km/h. This corresponds to cyclone categories 3, 4 and 5.

The combination of storm surge and astronomical tide is known as 'storm tide'. The worst impacts occur when the storm surge arrives on top of a high tide. When this happens, the storm tide can reach areas that might otherwise have been safe.

It's leaps and bounds. Back then we had dot matrix printers and dial-up modems. Now I can sit at home and tap into the computer here and work on it from home or I can tap into it with my phone.

Yeah. I think back to Mapleton (tornado two years ago). We were on the air for four and a half hours straight without a break, without a commercial. We had warnings popping up and reports coming in. There's no more of an adrenalin rush than spring storms.

The comment that you hear all the time, and it's in jest most of the time, is 'Hey, you've got the best job because you only have to be right 50 percent of the time' or they'll ask me when's the rain coming.

Like most television news/weathercasters I have a contract for an agreed upon length of time for an agreed upon salary. In my opinion television news contracts exist to protect the employers more than anything else. For example, if I chose to work at a competing station at the end of my contract, I’m unable to do so for a certain length of time.

Not so much the right or wrong. The complaints we get are 'Why are you cutting into "Survivor" when there's a thunderstorm warning in Spencer when I live in Norfolk?'