The Life of a Met Office Chief Forecaster

SPEAKWR | Paul Gundersen, Chief Forecaster
UK Met Office.

ABSTRACT | The Met Office Guidance Unit, lead by the Chief Operational Meterologist, is responsible for all operational output from the Met Office and 'owns' the weather 'story'. In a world of advanced supercomputers and 'big data' it's the job of the Chief to analyse and manage this data, make clear operational decisions and provide consistent guidance to meteorologists serving a wide variety of customer groups and the public. A key responsibility is the National Severe Weather Warning Service. Whilst much collaboration occurs in decision-making, the duty Chief is ultimately accountable and carries the Met Office reputation upon his or her shoulders. Here we take a look behind the scenes and hear some forecasting stories from one of the humans inside the forecasting machine.