Today was the fourth day of job shadowing at the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.
I spent the beginning of the day learning about the end of the month and beginning of the month reports and paperwork that needed to be filed. Climatology data is compiled at the end of each month and sent out to evaluate drought and flood conditions.
As we discussed climatology, we also discussed data collection and compilation methods and practices. This included several different types of weather stations and precipitation monitoring devices. I was surprised to learn that the Albuquerque NWS office measures snow, and that nobody in their viewing area uses snow pillows or similar measurement devices for climatological data.
After discussing the climatology reports, we moved on to the actual process of becoming a meteorologist for the NWS. Apparently, the term “intern” is a bit misleading; interns are full, graduated meteorologists, and typically spend at least two years training before being promoted to forecaster. Some never leave intern; the pay is decent, and it depends where your interests lie. He also spoke about some of the technician duties and what is involved with those as well. Apparently, there are many openings in Alaska, if I was interested in being a meteorological technician.
I hope you enjoyed this post! We may have some storms in the Albuquerque area tonight, so maybe I will have some photos or radar images for tomorrow’s post.
High Plains Chasing 