Y R A R B I L S L L I K S Y R U T N E C T S 1 2 COOL SCIENCE CAREERS METEOROLOGIST CHAPTER ONE UNDERSTANDING WEATHER Paul was 4 years old when he awoke to see branches littering the backyard It was October 13 1962 The previous Meteorologists help warn people when bad weather is on the way
day a huge storm had passed over his home in western Wash ington State The winds had hit the trees high above the ground Paul saw trees at the edge of his yard that were twisted 20 feet 6 meters above their roots Street signs were down This had been the most powerful storm in Washington since 1880 according to some experts They called it the Columbus Day Storm and it wrecked areas of the Pacific Northwest It was probably the strongest West Coast storm of the 20th century Gary was 5 years old when his father was caught in a snowstorm in the Chicago area Gary’s dad was in a car with friends from work when the huge storm hit It was 2 days before his father was able to make it home Weather has fascinated Paul and Gary ever since those storms in their youth Now they are meteorologists They study the atmosphere and forecast or predict the weather coming to an area The atmosphere surrounds Earth in five layers Some scientists believe the outermost layer of the atmosphere ends halfway to the moon about 60,000 miles 96,561 km from Earth In the atmosphere heat from the sun gases in the air tiny particles and water vapor mix together in various ways These combinations create wind clouds rain snow and storms such as hurricanes and tornadoes
Y R A R B I L S L L I K S Y R U T N E C T S 1 2 COOL SCIENCE CAREERS METEOROLOGIST The atmosphere is complicated Meteorologists study the atmosphere Different kinds of meteorologists specialize in different kinds of work Research meteorologists study the atmosphere and weather They use satellites radio radar and various other tools Research meteorologists usually work as scientists at universities Forecast meteorologists work for government agencies or private companies These scientists focus on predicting A meteorologist gathers weather data from instruments on a tower that overlooks the Amazon rainforest
weather Their predictions sometimes go to the public such as the work of the National Weather Service Forecast meteo rologists who work for companies do things like predict how the wind will carry pollution from a factory Forensic meteorologists study what the weather conditions were like at a specific time in the past They are often asked to present this information in legal cases For example a driver may explain that he hit a person on the road because glare from the sun temporarily blinded him A forensic meteorolo gist will study weather data for that time and place and will let the police know if the driver’s story is likely to be true Broadcast meteorologists work for radio or television sta tions They share their predictions of weather with the public on Web sites radio and television news broadcasts Most on-air weather people are meteorologists trained in atmo spheric science Some however are not They are reporters whose job is to share information including information about the weather Most meteorologists enjoy their work because every day is different No one storm is like another The weather can’t be easily predicted How many times have you heard a fore cast and made plans but then you were disappointed when the weather turned out differently It doesn’t happen most of the time meteorologists are very good at what they do But sometimes the weather fools even these smart well-trained scientists
