Q&A
with Senior Meteorologist
Samuel Sangster
Please Provide your name and age. Sam Sangster, 25 years old.
familiar with hurricanes, seabreezes, and summertime thunderstorms!
What school did you graduate from and with what degree? I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from the University of South Alabama in May 2019. In August 2021 I received my Master of Science degree in Meteorology from Florida State University.
What advice would you give a young person thinking about becoming a Meteorologist? My best advice would be to reach out to someone in the field! Whether it’s a TV meteorologist, someone in the public (government) sector such as the National Weather Service, or someone like me in the private sector, we are all happy to mentor young and interested students! Also, I would encourage you to take as many math and science classes as you can!
Where do you work? I am currently a Senior Meteorologist at Delta Air Lines, Inc. What are your day-to-day duties as a Meteorologist for an Airline? Our day-to-day duties involve monitoring and forecasting turbulence, mountain waves, thunderstorms, volcanic ash, space weather, ozone, and weather for airports that Delta operates in. During significant weather events, such as major winter storms (IROPs), we do supplemental forecasting for airports we fly to that may be impacted. How old were you when you first took notice of the weather? Oh man…this goes back to when I was real young around 2-3 years old. I grew up in Florida and I can vividly remember standing outside during thunderstorms watching the rain fall and the gusty winds blowing through the trees. How old were you when you had an Aha moment and thought about becoming a Meteorologist? This was probably more into my early teenage years and thru high school when I realized I was fascinated by all things weather and liked math and science subjects. From then on, I knew I wanted to be a meteorologist when I got older. What City were you born in, raised in and what types of weather did you experience growing up? I am originally from Daytona Beach, FL. While winter weather is very infrequent down there, I was very
38
How did you choose the College that you graduated from and what advice would you give a young person in making their choice? For my undergraduate degree, I more or less chose based on location. I wanted to be somewhere close to the beach again but also “close” to home in case of any emergencies. The University of South Alabama seemed to be the perfect fit since it is located in Mobile, AL and it has a Meteorology program. They also have opportunities for students to work on research and even to work for the school’s mesonet. For graduate school, I wanted to be somewhere with a reputation for research on hurricanes. FSU is well-known for this and is still close to the beach, being in Tallahassee, FL. Who stands out as a person(s) who encouraged you to seek a degree or to become a Meteorologist? Professors? Oh wow…that’s tough to pick one individual who has helped along the way since there have been so many. I’d most importantly like to thank my family for always pushing me and for encouraging me to study Meteorology. All of my meteorology professors from the University of South Alabama played a vital role in all of the things I accomplished while I was there and preparing me for graduate school. I would also like to acknowledge my advisor, Dr. Robert Hart, from FSU for his guidance and encouragement that helped me to get where I am today.