This week, Ms. Hunter’s Earth Science Class at the High School welcomed Brian Montgomery and Christina Speciale from the National Weather Service in Albany.
Mr. Montgomery and Mrs. Speciale attended a virtual meet and spoke to students about their careers, their experiences, technology and jobs duties. Currently located at the SUNY Albany NanoTech Complex, the Albany branch of the National Weather Service covers 15 counties in eastern New York, two counties in Vermont and one county in both Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The presenters talked about the challenge of forecasting weather in the area where 1/3 of the region is at elevations of 1,500 feet and above. They also talked about various technologies being used in the weather service, and while there have been great strides in technology, the Service still launches weather balloons twice a day to collect data.
Students learned about how they can get involved in volunteer organizations such as CoCoRaHS, Skywarn, and others. These programs help the National Weather Service measure accumulation, verify forecasts, and more.
Each session wrapped up with a question and answer period.
