Meteorologist Interview Questions & Answers

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My normal work day at the station is 2-11pm. If the weather warrants I get in earlier and stay later of course, but I also visit schools or civic groups for weather presentations before going in to the station and occasionally have to shoot promotional pieces as well.

I think just the lightning and thunderstorms, the noise and power. One minute it's there and the next minute it's gone. It's just the sheer force behind those things.

I make and present the forecast for our website, mobile apps, news radio station and 5, 6 and 10pm newscasts M-F. Additionally I supervise the other members of Stormtracker13 to develop our presentation as a cohesive unit and I oversee the maintenance of our 20+ weather computers.

Warnings of severe weather for the UK are issued by our National Meteorological sService, the Met Office. We also post a warning on the front page of our site. Follow this link to find out what severe weather warnings are in place today.

Storm surge is a large mound of water that accompanies a tropical cyclone as it comes ashore. The intense winds of the cyclone pile up the ocean into a dome of water that is pushed onshore as the cyclone strikes the coast. The low pressure of the cyclone adds to the height of the mound of water, though this is a secondary effect. When the height of a storm surge is discussed it does not take into account the height of the large waves on top of the mound of water.

Mapleton would have to be up there and Hurricane Brett back in 1999 (while working in Texas). Hurricane Brett was a three-day marathon. In all that time I think I had eight hours of sleep.

The sun heats the tropical areas more than the polar regions. If there were no wind, then the tropics would keep getting hotter and hotter, and the poles would get colder and colder. The atmosphere's basic function is to redistribute heat from the equator to the poles, and tropical cyclones are one mechanism by which this occurs. However it is still quite remarkable that such a thing as a tropical cyclone should arise. It has been said that if we had not actually observed tropical cyclones then, despite all we know about the physics of the atmosphere, we would never have guessed at their existence.

The ‘climate statistics’ for your holiday location will tell you what the average weather conditions are, and also how variable the weather is. In 2005 the World Meteorological Organization launched a World Weather Information Service. It provides climate statistics from the national meteorological and hydrological services of participating countries, including the UK

The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is a part of the National Weather Service (NWS) and is one of nine National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

Cyclones off northern Australia typically develop between 5 and 15°S and reach maximum intensity between 10 and 20°S. As they move further south they will weaken over land or, for those remaining over water, weaken as they encounter an unfavourable environment (strengthening wind shear) and move over cooler water. They usually increase in speed as the steering winds in the mid-levels of the atmosphere increase and move to the south or southeast.

The convention of naming Australian tropical cyclones began in 1964. The first Western Australian named cyclone was Bessie that formed on 6 January 1964. Female names were used exclusively until the current convention of alternating male and female names commenced in 1975.

The naming of weather systems in Australia began much earlier than the 1960s, however. The flamboyant Clement Wragge, Government meteorologist in Queensland from 1887 until 1902, initiated the practice by naming weather systems after anything from mythological creatures to politicians who may have annoyed him.

I’ve been at KRDO Newschannel 13 for more than ten years so I get about 3 weeks off per year plus some sick time.

The fact that things can change at a moment's notice. One small change in something in the atmosphere can mess up your whole forecast.

You’ve got to LOVE the weather for it to be worth it. Don’t get into this just because you want to be on TV.

I got a bachelor of arts in atmospheric science from the University of Kansas.

I’m the Chief Meteorologist at KRDO Newschannel 13 the ABC affiliate in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

I probably knew when I was in second, third grade it was something I wanted to do.

In November it'll be 8 years.

The weather is different everyday, weather is the only part of a newscast that affects every person watching and I like being able to help people. This help can take several forms. From providing information to help viewers plan (what to wear, what to do for recreation, when to travel) or to keep families safe (from hail and tornadoes to icy roads and whiteouts) I need to be on my “A” game every day.

There are primarily two education backgrounds among people that do weather on television. “Meteorologists” typically have at least a B.S. degree in Meteorology or Atmospheric Science while some television weather casters have a journalism or communications degree.

Winter is harder because there's just so many variables that go into winter weather.

Most days I'll get here at 2 o'clock and we've got a show at 5 and I'll be working up to five minutes before the show.

The size of a cyclone is usually described in terms of the radius of gale-force (sustained winds of at least 63 km/h). Although the distribution of surface winds is never completely symmetrical estimates of the gale-radius provide a reasonable guide on the size of a system. Cyclones off the northwest have an average radius of gales of about 150 to 200 kilometres. It is common for gales to occur well beyond the average radius of gales in one quadrant, for example the northwesterly monsoon winds to the north of the centre.

To a first approximation a tropical cyclone is like a heat engine - it derives its energy from the heat that is released when water vapour that has been evaporated from the ocean surface (assisted by high winds and low pressure) condenses in the middle of the atmosphere. Mid-latitude cyclones (low pressure systems associated with fronts) primarily get their energy from horizontal gradients in temperature.

Another important difference between the two is that tropical cyclones have their strongest winds near the surface while mid-latitude systems have their strongest winds many kilometres above the surface near the top of the atmosphere.

That we have people that do our hair and makeup for us!