Weather Watching With the National Weather Service

What meteorologist wouldn't want to work in Virginia? Between the impact of a hurricane, the three hottest summers on record in the metro area, a derecho and a drought, recent years have brought more than their fair share of interesting weather conditions. 

"It's a great spot to be a weather forecaster," said Christopher Strong, a warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Baltimore/Washington Weather Forecast Office, located in Sterling, Va. 

Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, there's staff on hand at the office, keeping tabs on the weather. Outside the office, a large white golf ball-shaped dome covers rotating satellite equipment, which monitors conditions high above the ground.

Every day, at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., a meteorologist puts together a weather balloon and sends it into the air. The information it collects allows the staff to make predictions, which are more accurate the closer it gets to the date. Their primary focus is the nearest seven days. After seven days, the degree of accuracy drops.

"The forecasters are always looking through that seven day window," Strong said. "The most important thing they can do is look for outlooks that could be hazardous."

Weather forecasting has changed dramatically over the last 20 years, when Strong first started working for the NWS. There's new technology and now, more points of observation than ever, thanks to sensors set up at places like roadsides and schools, in addition to volunteer weather watchers who send in data. 

The Sterling office also recently hired three new meteorologists to prepare for the "next generation" of weather forecasting and help out in emergency situations. It's part of a push to make society more "weather ready." Promoting emergency preparedness is an important part of what they do. 

"We want everyone to be informed of dangerous weather and to know what to do with that information," Strong said. 

The office will hold an open house this weekend to promote emergency preparedness. The public will also have an opportunity to tour the operations center and learn more about how meteorologists make their predictions. Click here for more information about the open house.