PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Thursday was a 10 On Your Side first as Chief Meteorologist Jeff Edmondson and Petty Officer Garland Riggs from the Fleet Weather Center at Naval Station Norfolk swapped jobs.
Meteorologists Jeremy Wheeler and Ricky Matthews pulled back the curtain on what we do here at WAVY in putting together our forecast.
Meanwhile, Chief Meteorologist Jeff Edmondson spent time at the fleet weather center. He learned that it’s divided up into two sections. One side focuses on the maritime, where the ships are located. The other is for aviation and forecasting in their operations. Each ship, aircraft and fleet requires specific forecasts for the parameters that they need to go by. When the weather is calm across their area of responsibility, those days are straightforward. When there are hurricanes in the Atlantic, it can get busy.
“We have such a large area of responsibility. We can cover the entire Atlantic ocean, the Mediterranean, and the arctic. It’s a very large area and our Navy is operating over that large area,” said Andy Kraft, Senior Meteorologist Operation Officer.
“When you are forecasting for high-intensity, things like that, you really want to be heard. This is a destructive force that’s coming your way and you want to make sure everybody is safe,” said Petty Officer Garland Riggs.
Each forecaster has a responsibility for what ship, aircraft or group they are helping overseas. They said they forecast from the seabed to the stars, and using tools like satellites and observations made on board ships is how they can put together their forecast.
To learn more and to see the forecasts from the Fleet Weather Center go here:
Fleet Weather Center Norfolk
