Pursuing a Career as a Weather Forecaster

Everyday there are millions of people who watch the weather on television or listen to it on the radio. People want to know if it is going to be a rainy day, a snowy day, etc. This helps people to decide what they are going to wear for the day. But exactly how do they do this? Well if you are considering pursing a career as a weather forecaster, this is a question you need to find the answer to. There are a lot of graphic devices that have been developed so that weather maps can convey additional information. Take for example Isobars, which are lines drawn to link points that have the same barometric pressure. Isotherms connect locations that have the same temperature. Weather maps also use symbols that show wind direction and force, along with lines that depict the meeting of warm and cold air masses. Hundreds of weather stations around the world release balloons that carry radiosones. These are instruments that measure atmospheric conditions and then radio the information back. The radar is also used by bouncing radio waves off raindrops and ice particles in clouds. This allows meteorologist to track the movement of storms. All of the methods that are mentioned above are considered the old ways of predicting the weather, but you still have to learn them and become familiar with them if you want to make weather forecasting a career. Now there is more advance technology being used.

The TIROS I, is the world’s first weather satellite, that was equipped with a TV camera. Now there are dozens of weather satellites that orbit around the earth from one pole to the next. Geostationary satellites however maintain a fixed position above the earth’s surface and continuously monitor the part of the earth within their field of view. Both of these devices send down pictures of the weather via a beam. It is however still somewhat difficult for many weather forecasters to predict what they weather will be a day or week later. Many use computers to calculate a series of mathematical equations that encompass all of the known physical laws that govern the weather. What many meteorologist divide the earth’s surface into a grid. In order to get greater detail in accuracy when forecasting the weather. many meteorologist use grid points spaced at various intervals about thirty miles. But being a weather forecaster is not all just about science. As “The World Book Encyclopedia puts it, “the formulas used by the computers are only approximate descriptions of the behavior of the atmosphere.” You must learn to use your experience and judgment in order to determine what value to place on the data that you receive. A weather forecaster still needs to know how to predict the weather without the use of a computer. So if you are thinking about pursing a career as a weather forecaster, there are a lot of things that you must take into consideration. The most important thing is to try and not become very dependent on the computer learn to use your own personal knowledge.