20 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY february 16-22, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com Weather Vane A team of National Weather Service meteorologists in Monterey predicts the weather for an 11-county region of 8 million people. By Sara Rubin and David Schmalz The National Weather Service’s station in Monterey operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, mostly out of sight. While someone from the team of 24 meteorologists is always on, interpreting data to predict what’s coming—often moderate, pleasant, 60-something-degree conditions—sometimes the weather forecast shows the potential for severe, even life-threatening weather. In those times, such as the series of storms that pummeled the West Coast in late December and early January, the team at NWS’ Monterey office suddenly becomes more prominent, issuing warnings about safety when it comes to high winds, hot temperatures, dangerous ocean conditions and more. Meteorologists embed with incident management teams on wildfires, deployed to wherever they are needed in the country, to give weather updates. They may be asked to embed with a county office of emergency management, or to give weather briefings that influence all sorts of decisions, such as whether to close roads or, for the Federal Aviation Administration, airport runway plans. Brian Garcia is the warning coordiComposite satellite imagery from the North Pacific shows an active weather pattern in early January, as one in a series of storms prepares to hit the coast of California. Courtesy NOAA
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