Meet a Meteorologist

Interviewer     What is an average day at your job like?

Rogers           That depends on what time of year it is. For most of the year, I work in my office. I do research on the computer and read and write scientific articles. But, during hurricane season, I get the chance to fly into hurricanes.

Interviewer     You fly into hurricanes?                              

Rogers           Yes. We fly into storms to measure them. One of our jobs is to find out exactly the center of storms. In a storm, it’s really exciting. In one 2005 hurricane, I had a clipboard and a can of soda. Suddenly they were flying in the air-near my face!

Interviewer     Is it only you on the airplane?

Rogers            No, there are usually 15 to 18 people on the plane. These include pilots, engineers, and the scientific crew. I’m part of that last group, which usually has two to five people.

Interviewer     Are hurricanes always bad?

Rogers           Hurricanes are very dangerous, but they are also important. They move heat from the warm oceans toward the north and south poles. No hurricanes means some parts of the world don’t get rain. So we need hurricanes, too.