A Case Study of How AMS Mentoring and Meetings Can Help Develop Young Meteorologists

How do young adults find their career paths and interests? What if that career path is a little less common, not as visible as the doctor, teacher, lawyer, construction worker options most children are exposed to in grade school? What if a person’s calling is beyond what her school or parents have expertise in?

As a Junior in high school, I had the opportunity to attend an AMS conference with my weather club. At the conference, I discovered a career that I previously didn’t know existed, forensic meteorology, and I knew I had to explore this option that fits with many of my skills and passions. The 2019 conference allowed me to get the contact information for a potential mentor in this subject area, Morgan Yarker, the founder and owner of Yarker Consulting and an active AMS member. Morgan agreed to help me on my journey to explore this career path by doing what forensic meteorologists do, analyze a weather event and prepare a report. In order to learn more about Forensic Meteorology, I have decided to perform a case study on a rare severe weather event that caused damage in my hometown, Concord, MA in 2016.

I will begin my work by gathering information about the tornado from news reports and first-hand accounts of friends, neighbors, and residents in the locations affected. I will pursue background information about tornados and about this tornado from available sources. I will research the specific atmospheric conditions from the event. Morgan will help me to frame my case, provide me with meteorology tools and resources to determine the atmospheric conditions during the event, and help guide me in writing with style and purpose. Once I have gathered sufficient information, I will be producing a written report similar to those presented in court during real cases. My work will be presented to Concord Carlisle Weather Services. I will also seek feedback and mentoring from an insurance and legal source and hopefully attend a case in which a forensic meteorologist is called.

At the end of this project, I will have an improved understanding not only of this severe weather event and accessing resources for understanding the events but also of the career path of forensic meteorology. I will have learned how the experts go about completing a case, and I will know more about the different types of cases. Finally, I will have gained life experience when it comes to taking charge of my own education. I’ll have practiced how to seek out and work with a mentor, develop a project that will help me to explore an interest, and perhaps find my future career.