As severe weather grows, forecasters have become more important

New York Times : As increasingly severe weather destroys crops and urban infrastructure, and as scientists explore the implications of climate change, TV weather forecasters have gained in importance. And since the advent of Doppler radar in the 1980s, their role has gone from delivering National Weather Service reports to making their own local predictions based on data from a plethora of high-tech equipment. With advanced degrees that include courses in calculus and atmospheric thermodynamics, broadcast meteorologists are the ones who “bring it home,” with potentially life-saving local warnings of tornadoes, fires, and floods. “The broadcast meteorologist has emerged as an unlikely hero,” writes Kim Severson for the New York Times. According to Chris Vaccaro, a spokesman for the National Weather Service, “The weather is more extreme, the floods are wetter and the droughts are drier. That’s going to have real implications on society, and it elevates the need for more information and a need for those on-air personalities. It’s beyond what to wear for the day or do I need to carry an umbrella.”