Meet your Mets: Meteorologist Heather

 We have had quite a few meteorologists and staff come and go over the years, so we figured it was time to introduce you to some of the newer forecasters. Heather has been working with us at NWS Reno since mid August and is quickly familiarizing herself with the quirks of eastern Sierra and Nevada weather. 

Welcome to Heather! 

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Heather first became interested in meteorology as a child growing up in Michigan, witnessing many storms, floods, and winter events. Her family lived along a river in a flood zone, and had three separate occasions of complete inundation of their house. Her undergraduate degree in meteorology (Central Michigan University) and Master’s degree in geography (Ball State University) allowed her to study the hydrological and meteorological relationships responsible for the flood events that led to the inundations. Heather used GIS, hydrology, and meteorology to model flood behavior for flooding related to frozen versus unfrozen soil conditions. She was successful in convincing her family to move to a new home on higher ground.

Heather’s background is diverse, having worked in academic settings, hospitality, and customer service in her past. These experiences have offered Heather myriad opportunities to communicate on many different topics, and she always enjoys learning from others. Heather’s most recent position was Graduate Assistant with Ball State University, where she taught and tutored students in geography, thermodynamics, statistics and GIS. She was able to assist with a storm chase class that took students to the Great Plains and Texas Panhandle in search of beautiful storm structures.

Photo: Meteorologist Heather Richards on a storm chase in May 2019.

Location: Reno, NV, USA

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