{"id":305118,"date":"2024-03-27T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-27T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.natgeokids.com\/uk\/?p=305118"},"modified":"2024-04-02T08:30:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T08:30:04","slug":"meet-the-met-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.natgeokids.com\/nz\/discover\/geography\/meet-the-met-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Met Office!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The weird and wonderful world of weather is truly fascinating! Did you know that the average cloud weighs about the same as 70 African elephants? Or that there are around 2,000 thunderstorms happening at any given moment around the world? Yikes! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nobody finds weather more intriguing than the Met Office. <\/strong>They are a big team of meteorologists<\/strong>, weather<\/strong> and climate scientists<\/strong>, and more, who use satellites<\/strong>, weather stations<\/strong> and other cool hi-tech stuff <\/strong>to predict the weather<\/strong>, create maps<\/strong>, work out how climate change is affecting our world<\/strong>, and so much more! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pushing the boundaries of science and technology for 170 years<\/strong>, the Met Office is one of the most trusted forecasters globally<\/strong>, helping us plan our day<\/strong> and stay safe<\/strong>, whatever the weather! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Did you know:<\/strong> \u2018Met\u2019 is short for \u2018meteorology\u2019 \u2013 the scientific study of the Earth\u2019s atmosphere! <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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Met Office’s chief forecaster hard at work. That’s a lot of screens!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Met Office Facts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Grab your brolly, because it\u2019s raining facts!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 In 2015<\/strong>, the UK\u2019s Met Office<\/strong>, along with weather organisations in Ireland and the Netherlands, began naming storms<\/strong> impacting these regions. The names, suggested by the public<\/strong>, reflect names from each country. One of the storms in the 2023\/24 list is named after Beano<\/strong> character Minnie the Minx<\/strong>! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 The Met Office doesn\u2019t just do earthly forecasts \u2013 they also monitor space weather<\/strong>. They use awesome space tech<\/strong> to keep an eye out for solar flares<\/strong>, radiation<\/strong>, geomagnetic storms<\/strong> and more. Epic! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Founder of the Met Office, Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy<\/strong>, set up the first Shipping Forecast<\/strong> broadcast in 1861 <\/strong>to issue weather warnings to ships<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 The Met Office has over 2,200 staff worldwide<\/strong>! This includes meteorologists predicting the weather<\/strong>, climate scientists studying how the world is changing<\/strong>, engineers building important equipment<\/strong>, IT experts making sure everything runs smoothly<\/strong>, and so much more. It’s like a big team of weather wizards!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 The Met Office\u2019s supercomputer<\/strong> is one of the world\u2019s most powerful<\/strong> for monitoring weather and climate. It can take in a whopping 215 billion global weather observations daily<\/strong>. Woah!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 In 2007, the Met Office and Environment Agency opened the Flood Forecasting Centre <\/strong>\u2013 helping to monitor and prepare for flood risks<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Recognise this logo? You may have seen it on weather forecasts on TV, websites and apps…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\r\n\t\t