The now classic book, Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, published in 1962, caught the attention of college students in the early 1960s. In it, she introduced the world to a pervasive and deadly environmental problem. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, DDT, is an effective pesticide first isolated in 1873, but used extensively worldwide after World War II. It is […]

Have a weather-related problem in your business and don’t know how to locate a competent meteorological consultant or an expert witness for a trial? The American Meteorological Society will be pleased to provide a listing of Certified Consulting Meteorologists (CCMs) serving your area. Contact the AMS at 45 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 02108 (617/227-2425) for […]

The title of Certified Consulting Meteorologist (CCM) is generated by the American Meteorological Society. It is a formal recognition on the part of colleagues, acting through their Society, that an applicant is considered well qualified to carry on the work as a consulting meteorologist. The qualifications for certification are centered around the fundamental characteristics of […]

Once upon a time, each state had a federally appointed State Climatologist. Budget cutting ended that. But most states have found ways to re-establish this vitally important post, which helps relate weather and climate patterns to the state’s economic activities. Only Pennsylvania and New Mexico do not have an official climatologist. They usually are associated […]

Many professional and amateur meteorologists spend a lot of time watching the skies when severe weather threatens. Storm chasing has become an obsession with some. Since you’re spending all that time cloud watching, you can also reap a very positive side benefit. The Skywarn Program is organized by the National Weather Service in cooperation with […]

While the federal government operates several hundred full- and part-time weather stations in the United States, given the size of the nation, many more stations are needed to fully define our weather and climate. The number of points is greatly expanded by the nation’s team of cooperative weather observers. These volunteers take vital temperature, rainfall, […]

Many scientists with training in physics work on atmospheric-related problems. These can include issues related to radar and radio wave propagation, optical propagation, acoustics and spectroscopy, to name just a few. The field can be highly theoretical and mathematical. There are also many observationally oriented programs in which new sensing systems are developed such as […]

Atmospheric chemistry is a scientific discipline that deals with the chemical constituents in our air. The problems addressed, often at a very highly theoretical level, include understanding and predicting stratospheric ozone levels, which are now known to be strongly influenced by chemicals injected into the atmosphere by humans. Closer to the ground, unraveling the problem […]

Weather is responsible for 85 percent of the U.S. areas declared a natural disaster area by the President. The average annual direct damage toll due to natural disasters in the United States has been running at about $6 billion. In recent years the toll has been much higher, such as 1989’s $15+ billion and 1992’s […]

The forensic meteorologist, who may act as either a background consultant or an actual testifying expert, will collect, interpret, and analyze atmospheric data in sup port of insurance fraud claim investigations, civil and criminal trials, and environ mental regulatory actions. The forensic meteorologist may be employed directly by an insurance company, the attorneys for either […]