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Pat Shingleton: "Careers in Weather"

8 years 2 months 1 day ago Tuesday, January 26 2016 Jan 26, 2016 January 26, 2016 10:31 PM January 26, 2016 in Pat Shingleton Column
By: Pat Shingleton
Dave Thurlow ran the Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire for many years and after retiring the position was furthered to Ken Rancourt. Cyrena Marie Briete now runs the observatory. A portion of her and her team's responsibilities include recording some of the coldest temperatures in the country. There is a consistent theme between these directors that there are  two winters: the astronomical winter starting December 21and ending March 21 and the meteorological winter for those that live farther north. As the meteorological winter is based upon weather, the astronomical winter is based on earth's position in orbit around the sun. The meteorological winter happens only when the average temperature stays below 30 degrees for three months and where the snow depth averages 10 inches for the same period. Scientists believe that true winter occurs in less than a third of the country, on a line from Boston to Salt Lake City to Anchorage. If the scientific study of the earth's atmosphere is of interest to your kids or grandkids then meteorology my be the ticket for the future. Two current broadcast meteorologists in Baton Rouge, our own Josh Eachus and Channel 9's Steve Caparotta are securing their PhD's at Louisiana State University. U.S. News and World Report verified that meteorology is one of the 50 best careers with strong growth expected over the next 10 years. The article was originally published in 2010 when employment growth for meteorologists was expected to be faster than the averages with an additional 1,400 jobs into 2018, representing a 15% expansion. Consulting firms and research groups offer increasing opportunities in the private sector. More than a third of atmospheric scientists are on the government federal payroll, primarily with the National weather Service. A bachelor's degree in meteorology is suggested with at least 24 hours in related courses.    

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