A lot of my meteorologist friends get asked what television station they are on, and hear jokes that you don’t need to know much math because you just sit and read the weather. It surprises a lot of people to find out that most meteorologists are not broadcasters, and that it takes a lot of math and physics to get a degree in meteorology. In fact, people who just want to storm chase are disappointed once they find out they will have to take several semesters of calculus, physics and sometimes chemistry before they can even start their upper-level classes in atmospheric dynamics. It takes a lot of hard work to get that degree, and it is too bad that meteorologists don’t get much respect for it, especially when you consider how often their forecasts are right. You can read more from Dr. Marshall Shepherd of UGA’s Atmospheric Sciences Program in Forbes.com here.

Working on data for a weather chart, c. 1922. INTERNET ARCHIVE/PUBLIC DOMAIN