Meteorology: Why is still so hard to predict weather accurately and precisely?
As you're leaving for your office, you peep outside the window and see that its not raining. You decide not to carry the raincoat as it adds extra carriage.You head to the parking, and kick-start that bike you so adore. A couple of minutes into the journey, the rain begins. You reach the office completely drenched.This was just an example from our everyday lives. I was just trying to explain how weather is a very unpredictable phenomenon.Mathematics and statistics have helped us understand the physics involved in atmospheric phenomena. This has allowed us to predict beforehand for the convenience of the society.What should be understood is that we cannot play god. Nature will always have an upper hand. No matter how much we predict, nature will always have a couple of surprises for us.That being said, the IMD hasn't been that bad lately, actually their current forecasts are really good.Their cyclone warnings have been accurate and precise in the past few years. Had the IMD not given advance warnings, storms like Phailin and Hudhud would have left behind huge loss of lives. It is the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre for the North Indian Ocean cyclone basin, and this honor is bestowed upon by none other than the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).The monsoon long range forecasts end up to be near-perfect, thanks to recent advancement in research and advanced computing capabilities.There is no debate for accuracy. Being a national agency the recorded temperatures/rainfall adhere to international standards. They don't just happen to be a WMO recognised agency.What the problem is:Lack of good weather coverage. India has reached a point where it can have a 24x7 weather reporting television channel, like the United States does.Lack of awareness among the common public. Weather does not matter to us unless we are affected by it.Lack of faith in the agency among the common public. This question wouldn't have been asked otherwise.
Weather Jobs that don't involve a meteorology degree?
The US Air Force has a job as a weatherman and you do not have to have a meteorology degree. All you gotta do is enlist tell them you want to do weather, and you are pretty much guaranteed to get it as its a critically manned career field, oh and don't settle for some other job that comes up even if your recruiter calls you up and says hey I have an opening in this...say no, and just wait til weather comes up, then you go to tech school for nine months and they teach how to forecast and observe weather...you come out with 58 college credits in the Community College of the Air Force and only need like 5 more credits to get an associates. But you can forecast weather, observe weather, eventually get a degree and become a hurricane chaser...Or you can do special forces and be combat weather man, or forecast the weather for the army...If you want more info just message me i'd be glad to help you!
How are meteorologists performance evaluated when they are almost always wrong about the weather?
There are really two flavors of meteorologists:Broadcast meteorologists at your local station typically have a degree that gives them a sufficient understanding of meteorology to interpret model data, understand documents from NOAA and its constituent agencies, and explain the weather effectively to the public.Forecast Meteorologists are more involved in understanding why the weather behaves as it does. They should have an integrated understanding of aerodynamics, thermodynamics, and hydrodynamics. These are the guys who produce the documents that broadcast Mets use to produce more specific, local forecasts.A broadcast meteorologist is going to be evaluated on how well he performs during extreme weather events, his like-ability, and how trustworthy viewers find him.A forecast met is going to be evaluated more on accuracy, collaboration, and knowledge than the broadcast met. They serve two distinct functions and the evaluation criteria should reflect that.
What is it like to be a meteorologist?
As a meteorological observer one works a series of 24/7 shifts. The weather never stops at any time and for any holiday.You must be prepared to work nights weekends and public holidays. Many outstations' are at isolated airfields harbours or ocean weather ships. So the irregular hours and locations are not conducive to a regular social life.It suits people who like working largely quietly and systematicallyalone and prefer this Watch keeping system allowing for time off during odd weekdays.Scientific officers and those posted to the HQ have a more regular life and do not normally have to work nights.However, in the UK the weather is always changeable and interesting, so if you are scientifically minded it can be a fascinating and regular job.
Do all meteorologist have to be on tv? Or what kind of meteorologist are there? I very interesed in weather!!!?
Here's a list of some various jobs you can get with a degree in meteorology: Broadcast Meteorologist (TV meteorologist) Weather Forecaster (i.e. National Weather Service) Air quality meteorologist Wind resource engineer (wind energy) Atmospheric Researcher (i.e. NASA) Energy Market Forecasting Emergency Management Aviation Weather (i.e. air traffic controller) Hydrologist Architectural Design Risk Management Climatologist Legal/Insurance Consulting Forest Ranger Marine Weather/Routing Space Weather (i.e. atmospheres on other planets) Technician (i.e. building/repairing weather monitoring equipment) Software Design (i.e. weather related programs)
What jobs are involved with weather?
Not sure if you're going to really like weather because the only time it's really enjoyable to watch is when there's a natural disaster occurring haha. The two I can think of are meteorologist and weather woman. Meteorologists are scientists who study meteorology. Meteorologists work in government agencies, private consulting and research services, industrial enterprises, utilities, radio and television stations, and in education. In the United States, meteorologists held about 9,400 jobs in 2009. Meteorologists are best-known for forecasting the weather. Many radio and television weather forecasters are professional meteorologists, while others are merely reporters with no formal meteorological training. The American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association issue "Seals of Approval" to weather broadcasters who meet certain requirements. I hope you find what you love to pursue and you might not be so great at science or math, but if you have passion for something and it's your calling you will find a way to become what you want, so I wish you the best. =)
What are the pros and cons of a career in meteorology?
The people I know were in meteorology or a related field but when I meet them were working in a different field. I believe that it was a matter of getting a position which best suited their own needs. It was not that they wanted out of meteorology but the new posiitions needed a scientist and just happend not to be meteorology, Bureau of Labor Statistics provides an overview of many careers including Atmospheric Scientists. Those who forecast the weather are known as operational meteorologists and are the largest group of specialists In addition, General information about meteorology and careers in atmospheric science can also be obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on the Internet at: http://www.noaa.gov Information on obtaining a position as a meteorologist with the Federal Government is available from the Office of Personnel Management through USAJOBS, the Federal Government’s official employment information system. This resource for locating and applying for job opportunities can be accessed through the Internet at http://www.usajobs.opm.gov
Possible Career Change - Meteorologist?
According to the US Dept of Labor, what education/courses do you need? A bachelor’s degree in meteorology or atmospheric science, or in a closely related field with courses in meteorology, usually is the minimum educational requirement for an entry-level position as an atmospheric scientist. OR The preferred educational requirement for entry-level meteorologists in the Federal Government is a bachelor’s degree—not necessarily in meteorology—with at least 24 semester hours of meteorology courses, including 6 hours in the analysis and prediction of weather systems, 6 hours of atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics, 3 hours of physical meteorology, and 2 hours of remote sensing of the atmosphere or instrumentation. Other required courses include 3 semester hours of ordinary differential equations, 6 hours of college physics, and at least 9 hours of courses appropriate for a physical science major—such as statistics, chemistry, physical oceanography, physical climatology, physical hydrology, radiative transfer, aeronomy, advanced thermodynamics, advanced electricity and magnetism, light and optics, and computer science. Sometimes, a combination of education and appropriate experience may be substituted for a degree. Here's the skills and background that would help get you into the field, which you already have some of: Prospective students should make certain that courses required by the National Weather Service and other employers are offered at the college they are considering. Computer science courses, additional meteorology courses, a strong background in mathematics and physics, and good communication skills are important to prospective employers. Here's the link to find out about job duties, specialities, wages, projected outlook: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos051.htm Good luck!
Questions about becoming a meteorologist?
First, I would like to give you a link to one of the best career guide that I had found that you can download that will answer most questions about a career as a meteorologist. Here is the link. http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/earthguide/pd... Also here is a link to find all colleges that offer programs nad degrees in weather and climate. http://www.ametsoc.org/amsucar_curricula... Now to answer your question... California University of Pennsylvania http://www.cup.edu/eberly/earthscience/i... Drexel University http://www.drexel.edu/physics/ Millersville University of Pennsylvania http://www.millersville.edu/esci/meteorology/ Pennsylvania State University http://www.met.psu.edu/ San Francisco State University http://tornado.sfsu.edu/ University of California at Davis http://atm.ucdavis.edu/ San Jose State University http://www.met.sjsu.edu/ University of California at Los Angeles http://www.atmos.ucla.edu/ The degrees in Atmospheric Science or Meteorology are from a Ph. D, Master of Science, and a Bachelors of Science degrees. Most entry level position are not very high in salary for the first two years, but can take off rapidly wants you have some experience under your belt. From this list, the school with the best all-around good program is Penn State. The school with the best Synoptic forecasting program would be San Jose State The best research school for ocean-atmospheric interaction would be UCLA. The best agricultural Weather program would be University of California at Davis San Francisco State has an excellent program in studies of Coastal Pacific weather and the western US weather and climate. Millersville University has an excellent marine Drexel University have a good program in atmospheric physics and research. I hope you have found this information useful.
How does meteorology involve physics?
Have you ever heard of the Navier-Stokes equations?They’re a set of partial differential equations that explain the motion of fluids.Still with me? Don’t worry if you don’t understand what these cryptic terms mean. They’re very difficult to work with without some simplifying assumptions about the geometry of the system you’re working with.But I’m getting ahead of myself.The atmosphere is a fluid and hence its motion and behavior is governed by these equations. Atmospheric models that are used to develop weather forecasts are based on these equations.Now, understand that there is more to it than that. It’s not just these equations that give rise to the prognostic models but they are foundational to developing working models that describe the dynamics of atmospheric motion. What gives rise to our weather is an extremely complex set of interactions involving fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. The atmosphere is so complex in its structure and properties that we have to develop models that, due to their simplicity in ignoring some aspects of the system we’re studying, end up obfuscating some of the finer details. Nonetheless, despite these shortcomings, a simplified, yet incomplete, model often gives us enough physical insight to understand what’s going on.This is just one way that physics plays a role in meteorology. Physics also comes in to play when we use the principles from optics to explain how the atmosphere reflects and refracts light giving us such beautiful phenomenon as rainbows, coronas, glories, etc and we use electrodynamics to try to understand lightning and weird phenomenon associated with it, like red sprites and blue jets.