National Weather Service Office at Brookhaven National Laboratory
On Friday July 25th, HIRES interns visited the National Weather Service Forecast Office at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Jeff Tongue, a NOAA science and operations officer and a NWS meteorologist, introduced the students to the NWS and how they serve society. He and his staff then led students on a tour of the NWS office, where students gained a greater understanding of all the data these scientists are using to analyze and predict the weather. Students had fun going on a temperature scavenger hunt around an area of the BNL campus, to understand surface temperature versus air temperature, and participating in an energetic round of weather jeopardy. A highlight of this trip is the launching of the weather balloon, which was particularly interesting this year, as students plotted the pressure, height, and temperature data that were being recorded by the balloon in real time!