Meet Helen Roberts - The first Socio-Meteorologist with the Met Office

For the love of weather by Gemma Plumb & Aisling Creevey

Episode notes

Helen Roberts has a breadth of experience in weather forecasting and is the Met Office’s first socio-meteorologist.

Helen’s fascination with ‘Big Science’ started as a little girl in the southwest of England, looking at sunsets and thunderstorms from her bedroom window. Listening to Helen on this podcast you can hear how that curiosity has evolved and lasted right the way through her career.

She talks about changes in communicating the weather forecast and how the role of a forecaster is about helping people and businesses to make better decisions, to strive and to stay safe. She discusses the challenges of making a relatable forecast, particularly in severe and impactful weather like the unprecedented spell of hot weather in July 2022, when a number of places in the UK reached a staggering 40C. Something most of the population would  ... 

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