MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. -- Meteorological and oceanographic analysis forecaster Marines are tasked
with analyzing weather information and dispersing the necessary
information to personnel on Marine Corps Air Station New River.
These Marines use a compilation of weather data from the Air Force
Weather Web Services, which was created to allow faster processing and
assessment of core weather data.
"My job is to forecast weather phenomena and relay the information to
pilots and personnel on the air station to keep them safe," said Sgt.
Hillary Hanner, a forecaster with Headquarters and Headquarters
Squadron.
The information METOC gathers is used to create warnings for all pilots
incoming and outgoing, personnel who deal with equipment that is
sensitive to certain weather conditions and lets units on the air
station know what to expect and what to keep in mind when creating
plans.
"We send out warnings to pilots to bring their aircraft in or to fly to a
different station, when the winds here are too strong for their
aircraft to handle," said Cpl. Daniel Rolla, another forecaster with
headquarters and headquarters squadron. "We are also responsible for
tracking lightning storms that can cause equipment failure for aircraft
that are struck and to inform crewmembers of the approaching hazards."
METOC personnel undergo an initial nine months of training to understand
the weather data collected in order to best help pilots understand the
severity of weather conditions and the dangers each represent to their
aircraft, equipment and personnel.
"We are effective because we are constantly training," said Rolla. "You
can be in this job for 20 years and you’re still going to be learning
methods to keep people safe, because the weather is constantly changing
and we are discovering year after year different methods to track it.
It’s training to save people’s lives."