NOAA National Weather Service 2014 Summer Student Volunteer Program Application Deadline: Friday Jan 24th

2014 Summer Student Volunteer Program 

The Baltimore/Washington Forecast Office of the National Weather Service is accepting applications through January 24, 2014, for volunteer interns for the summer of 2014.  This program provides selected college students with the experience of performing a mentored meteorological research project, presenting a briefing on their research, and assisting in operations at an NWS forecast office.  Students will be selected after a competitive application and interview process.

Students wishing to apply to the student volunteer program must 1) submit an application and 2) include a resume and an official transcript.  Applicants are asked to provide available work days and times in their application.

Expectations of the students volunteering at NWS Sterling include:

• Volunteer for approximately 16-20 hours per week from late May through early August.
• Work on an assigned research project with a forecaster.
• Complete specified goals of both the school and the NWS.

Students will be required to complete a research project during their time at the office, with the goal of submitting their research to the 2014 National Weather Association Annual Conference.  Research of past students includes:

“Tornado Climatology for the Sterling, VA Weather Forecast Area,”

“A Study of Small Craft Advisories on the Potomac and Upper Chesapeake Bay,”

“Location of Flash Flood Prone Areas,”

“A Study of the Feb 2007 Sleet Storm,”  

“Increased accuracy in predicting severe hail size using Doppler radar,”

“Sociological Impacts in the Washington DC Metro Area resulting from the convective wintertime event of 26 January 2011”

“Gauge Correlations and Tidal Anomaly Indicators in the Chesapeake Bay and Tidal Potomac”

One of our students was awarded second place at the 2013 NWA conference.

Students will have opportunities to become familiar with NWS Policies and Procedures, Operational Software and Computer Systems, and Hydrological/Meteorological Products.
This is a volunteer program; students will not be paid for their time at the office.  However, it may be possible for the student to earn class credit.  This can be determined by the school’s advisor or department head.  Students will most likely spend two to three days a week in the forecast office from late-May through early August.

The application form may be downloaded here.

Email the application, resume and transcript(s) to andrew.woodcock@noaa.gov by Friday January 24, 2014.