We all have to understand what the weather will be like in order to determine how to plan for the present and future. Knowing what the weather will be in Santa Maria or Buffalo allows us to determine how to dress, how much time we might need to get from one place to another, and if we need to bring an umbrella, a hat, or sunblock. Knowing the weather helps farmers to determine what crops to plant and where to plant them, it helps airlines to determine flight paths were there airplanes, and which products to sell to consumers during a specific time of the year. The government uses understanding of the weather to determine where needs to place its Emergency Services, and how and where to delegate specific resources. These are just a sample of the important reasons why we all need to understand the weather. And why the job of meteorologist is so critical to society.
Meteorology is the study of the atmosphere and everything contained in it. Professionals who study the atmosphere are called meteorologists. These weather professionals use science and math to gain an understanding of the weather and then to predict future weather and climate.
Meteorologists also study how the atmospheric and weather conditions affect the planet.
Meteorologists work in a broad range of industries and fields and have many weather related responsibilities that may include: conducting atmospheric research, teaching about the atmosphere and weather patterns, daily weather forecasting on a television or radio show or on the Internet, or for the government or private industry advising on weather conditions. Specific careers for meteorologist include:
Climatologist
This discipline of meteorology seeks to understand and predict long term weather patterns by studying ones that have occurred in the past. The majority of climatologists study large global weather patterns. Today’s hottest topic for this group is global warming which attempts to look at historical weather patterns to determine if there is a shift in these causing by a change in the atmosphere. Many believe that the behavior of man is partially responsible for an increase in both the average temperature of the planet as well as more unpredictable weather conditions.
Weather Forecaster
The top job today for meteorologists is working in the weather forecasting industry. These meteorologists utilize complicated computer modeling and lots of intricate data collected from around the world to understand and predict the weather in their local areas. A few of this group will actually end up on television like Jim Byrne KCOY weatherman, but many more will work behind the scenes. Also the government hires this group by the thousands. A newly emerged industry is one where a private company sets up a weather forecasting business and employs weather forecasters to predict the weather. For those who can prove their accuracy, this data can be sold to other companies and even governments.
Atmospheric Researcher
The meteorologists who study how the atmosphere interacts with the planet’s other systems are called atmospheric researchers. Their intent is to better understand how everything works together to create our ideal living conditions on the planet and to recognize when things are out of balance and potentially detrimental to life on the planet. They will often work closely with physicists, oceanographers, environmental scientists, who will collectively gather and review data. In the end they hope to understand and even predict what the long term atmosphere and weather conditions will look like on the planet.
The meteorologist career is one that requires lots of additional schooling because conditions and how to interpret them are constantly changing.
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