What is a Meteorologist?
The Council of the American Meteorological Society adopted in 2005, the following guideline to define a meteorologist (from American Meteorological Society home page at www.ametsoc.org): A meteorologist is an individual with specialized education who uses scientific principles to explain, understand, observe or forecast the earth’s atmospheric phenomena and/or how the atmosphere affects the earth and life on the planet. This specialized education would be a bachelor’s or higher degree in meteorology, or atmospheric science, consistent with the requirements as required in the program of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences There are some cases where an individual has not obtained a B.S. or higher degree in meteorology, but has met the educational requirements set forth in the American Meteorological Society’s Interpretive Memorandum effective June 1990, Article III, Section 4 (C), and has at least three years professional experience in meteorology. Such an individual also can be refer
A meteorologist is probably best known for weather forecasting. However, the weather reports that come to you through media such as radio and televisions broadcasts or those that you read in the newspaper and the Internet are only a fraction of what a meteorologist actually does. Meteorology encompasses scientific research and education that extends to the environment, transportation and many other methods for improving quality of life such as studying hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes etc. A meteorologist that works in the field of atmospheric research can, among other things, discern the impact of environmental crisis such as global warming. With highly sensitive equipment, a meteorologist is able to study past, present and future weather conditions and how they contribute to or reduce the effects of global warming. For example an atmospheric research meteorologist might look at how atmospheric conditions change the polar ice caps which in turn release greenhouse gases creating a cy
