Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 28, 1994 TAG: 9403010048
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WENDI GIBSON RICHERT STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Week after week, the WDBJ-TV (Channel 7) meteorologist appears on our TV screens, telling viewers when it's going to rain, snow or sleet or when the sun will shine.
Often he's right. Every now and then he's wrong. But that's the way the weather works - sometimes it's predictable, sometimes wacky, always fun.
"I think my job is fascinating," Reed says. "Because today is different from yesterday. I get to look at something different every single day. It only gets dull if you let it."
Reed is a meteorologist - someone with a college degree in meteorology, the study of weather. The word "meteorology" comes from the Greek work "meteoron," which means "things in the air." The first book on weather was written around 340 B.C. by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. The book was called "Meteorologica."
Reed's job of predicting the weather is a bit easier today than in 340 B.C. Reed arrives at his WDBJ studio office around 1 p.m. to begin examining weather reports and turning them into forecasts for the Roanoke region. He has lots of computers that help him. The Greeks had only the sun and clouds to guide them in predicting the weather.
The computers Reed and other meteorologists use not only simplify their jobs, but also make today's forecasts right about 90 percent of the time, Reed says.
The computer information meteorologists use often comes from a weather network. A network is a collection of weather stations where weather is observed and shared with other weather stations. One network is called the cooperative observing network. It is made up of volunteers who record weather conditions in their communities. Other information comes from the National Weather Service. This network of about 240 U.S. offices reports the weather conditions every hour. It also receives satellite and radar data which is sent to other meteorologists.
While computers help, they don't do a meteorologist's job of forecasting the weather. Instead, a meteorologist combines the information the computers spit out - satellite pictures of clouds and computer data on air pressure and wind - with information about local weather conditions.
Reed uses this example to explain: Pretend the computer told him it was going to warm up from 30 degrees to 60 degrees in Roanoke. If there are 2 feet of snow on the ground here, it's not likely that the sun will warm up the air around the snow to 60 degrees. But the computer doesn't know the snow's even there. All it knows is that it is supposed to be 60 degrees tomorrow if there isn't any snow.
That's where Reed must combine the local weather conditions with the weather the computer is predicting. Then he can safely say that the temperature might rise to the 40s and the snow will begin to melt. But he knows from experience that the temperature will not climb to the 60s with all that snow on the ground.
The computers also help Reed prepare the weather maps he uses in his weathercast on TV. He draws these maps on the computer with a mouse shaped like a pen.
Once the forecast is made, Reed prepares to give it on the TV news. Then, the next day, he starts all over again, altering his forecast with new data and preparing a new one for another day.
Some of you may have met Reed in person before. He visits schools through Channel 7's Weatherschool program which many teachers use to teach weather in their classrooms.
When Reed visits schools, the question he's most often asked is "How much money do you make?" His answer: not a million dollars, like many superstars on TV. He might be well-known because he's on television, but he's not a movie star, he says.
You may wonder if Reed has a favorite weather or season. No, he says. "I'm a fan of the four seasons . . . of weather that changes regularly so that you have something to look forward to." Reed's father was in the military so he moved around as a child, living in places where there were only one or two seasons, such as Africa and Australia.
And, you may also want to know why the weather has been so wacky this year. Well, Reed says, it hasn't, really. For the last few years, winter has been pretty calm. But this year we've had ice storms and snow often.
"When that occurs we think it's unusual," he explains. But it's really just nature's way of averaging out. This winter is unusual only compared to last year, but not compared to the last hundred.
If you find weather fascinating and love math, science and computers, you may consider becoming a meteorologist. If you do, there are lots of places where you can work besides a television station, Reed says.
Meteorologists can work for the National Weather Service, the Navy or Air Force, large utility companies, and the aviation (flying) and shipping industries. They also can work for agricultural groups that need to know the weather so they can protect their crops.
"It's a growing field because we are more dependant on meteorology now than every before," he says. "We rely on it more and more to keep us out of harm's way."
by CNB