Meteorology
My passion for understanding weather and atmospheric science
I have been interested in meteorology since i was very young. My interest and passion in the field has only strengthened over the years, and I am excited to be starting my second year pursuing a meteorology degree at the University of Oklahoma. Below, my primary three areas of interest are listed, along with my journey!
Operational Forecasting
After graduation with a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology, I hope to work for the National Weather Service (NWS) as a forecaster at one of the many local Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) around the country. Alternatively, if such options prove to be particularly enticing, I may pursue private sector employment as an operational meteorologist.
Tropical Meteorology
As tropical storms and hurricanes have been a longtime meteorological interest of mine, I continually seek to learn more about these systems. For example, the dynamics that can lead to rapid intensification as we've seen with numerous recent hurricanes. I also hope to learn more about the models that help predict the development and movements of these storms, the Hurricane Analysis and Forecasting System (HAFS).
Climate Research
I am also interested in the changing climate and what can be done to address the impacts already being felt and that will continue to become more severe, as well as potential solutions to address these impacts.
My Journey in Meteorology
My fascination with weather began when I first started watching weather reports on television as an elementary school student. During that time period, I created my own hurricane update reports that I often shared with adults in my family sometimes twice a day. As I grew older, I eventually obtained my own personal weather station that I continue to use to this day to collect real-time temperature, wind, rain, lightning, and pressure data from my home. I also use other mobile apps and computer programs to track weather, most notably RadarScope Pro, which is my app of choice for viewing high-resolution radar data from the NWS WSR-88D doppler radar network.
When my junior year of high school rolled around and it became time to begin the college application process, my ideal major was pretty clear right from the very beginning (and continues to be). Although I applied to the meteorology programs of 7 universities, attending the University of Oklahoma was an obvious choice for me thanks to them housing the number 1 undergraduate program in the country for meteorology.
Over recent weeks and months, I have continued to pursue additional knowledge in the field of meteorology, especially in regard to atmospheric soundings and numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. Among the models I have sought info about are the GFS, 3km NAM, HRRR, and the experimental RRFS.