Modernizing Your Weather Forecast

Guest: Dr. Mike Farrar, Booz Allen Hamilton Weather forecasting has come a long way—from hand-drawn maps and limited observations to a world driven by supercomputers, satellites, and real-time data. But as technology continues to evolve, so does the challenge of making forecasts faster, smarter, and more useful for the people who rely on them every day. Today on Weather Geeks, we’re joined by Dr. Mike Farrar, whose career has spanned research, operations, and leadership across the meteorological community. His company has been tasked to help modernize the National Weather Service, and with that he’s helping shape what the future of forecasting could look like for both meteorologists and the public alike. We’ll talk about the biggest challenges facing weather operations today, how emerging technologies like AI and cloud computing are changing the forecasting landscape, and why communication and public trust remain just as important as the science itself. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Career Background of Dr. Mike Farrar 01:30 The Evolution of Weather Forecasting Technologies 04:18 Transformational Advances in Meteorology 09:15 The Private Sector and Meteorology's Growth 12:16 Break 1 12:19 The Impact of AI and Cloud Computing 19:28 Modernizing the National Weather Service 22:55 The Role of Human Forecasters in the Age of AI 26:51 Break 2 28:01 The North Star of Meteorology: Science and Service 30:18 Skills for Future Meteorologists 33:50 Embracing Change in the Meteorological Field 34:29 Closing Remarks and Resources Resources Booz Allen Hamilton - https://www.boozallen.com NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction - https://www.weather.gov/ncep/ American Meteorological Society - https://www.ametsoc.org AWIPS (Advanced Weather Information Processing System) - https://vlab.noaa.gov/web/nws-heritage/-/introducing-awips NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) - https://ncar.ucar.edu Guest links LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/mikefarrar-wx