If I asked all of you to tell me how hard it is to predict the weather, you would probably say that it isn’t that hard. You would proceed to say that meteorologists get paid to be wrong. Or that you know who to blame when the weather goes bad. And while all these things are funny at the moment, as an Atmospheric Science major I’m here to tell you why you need to stop making fun of meteorologists because really it’s not a bogus major or career.
Myth 1: You don’t have to go to school to be a meteorologist.
To be on television, especially in top markets, you have to have gone to school. That’s right you actually need a degree--either in Communications or English or Broadcasting or omg, Meteorology. The people you see on television aren’t just making up the weather. They usually have a college degree and in top markets, 10 plus years of experience. Oh, yea and just an FYI, as an Atmospheric Science major here at Cornell, I have to take physics, chemistry, calc I, II and III and differential equations for engineers.
Myth 2: It’s the only career where you get paid to be wrong.
Everyone says we get paid to be wrong. But people in the stock market still get paid even when they bet on the wrong stocks. Pilots still get paid even when they don’t get to the airport on time. You at your office job most likely still get paid even when you make an error in your spreadsheet or at your meeting, etc.
Myth 3: On-air meteorologists just read the weather straight off the prompter.
Did you know that there is no prompter for weather? That’s right, No prompter. We have to talk off the cuff for three minutes at a time while we can’t see our slides behind us because there is a green screen. Sure sometimes there are little cameras where we can see ourselves and our slides but not always! And no matter what, we don’t read anything! Only anchors do that.
Myth 4: The weather people on TV just copy forecasts from the National Weather Service or their weather apps- anyone can do it.
Sure, if you copied your forecast straight from your app and went on TV and said it you’d probably be right or near right a lot of the time. But first off, those apps are made by meteorologists or models. Some meteorologist is either making that forecast or making the model which makes that forecast. Secondly, a real meteorologist won’t just rely on their app or the models. Weather is ever-changing and specific features of a certain location like topography or closeness to bodies of water can significantly impact a forecast, which is not something that your app or even the NWS station 15 miles from your house might be able to pick up on.
Myth 5: We control the weather.
Yep okay. Sure. We just control the weather. Because I totally have control over the clouds and the snow and the rain right? A real meteorologist doesn’t make up anything and hence can’t control the outcome. They base all their forecasts on the models and field data and climatology. And you’re right, sometimes it doesn’t go well but it’s not because we made it up or because we’re in charge of it, it’s because we’re trying to predict the future perfectly so that when you walk out the door at 9.58 a.m. you know it’s going to be raining.
So next time you turn on the weather, please don't just roll your eyes.
