Weather Wise: What does "AMS certified" mean?

If you’re reading this column, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve watched a broadcast weather segment on TV.

When you do, you probably notice that a lot of the meteorologists you see have an American Meteorological Society (AMS) certified seal by their names as they’re introduced.

A number of questions inevitably come to mind:

• What does that mean exactly?
• What does one have to do to earn their certification?
• How difficult is it to earn? 

First, the display of “AMS certified” means that they have completed the AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) program and are considered Certified Broadcast Meteorologists.

There are currently 549 active AMS certified broadcast meteorologists. Among them is Tom Terry, chief meteorologist at WFTV Channel 9 in Orlando.

He, like others, had to pass a “closed book” test of 100 multiple choice questions, where applicants need to answer 75 or more correctly.  Terry says he passed it the first time, but only after studying diligently for “about four weeks” in between broadcasts.

Overall, Terry noted that the test material came from a very broad range of topics, including “everything from specific geography questions, to holiday origins, to air pollution alert colors, tropical weather, severe weather, synoptic, you name it.”

“Well, to get certified it requires a rather extensive review of a wide range of topics,” said Terry in an e-mail to FLORIDA TODAY. “It was a good review on certain things I hadn’t studied much since college (like heavy snow forecasting). It was also so broad in scope that it required learning a few peripheral things that I hadn’t learned about yet. For example, “Groundhog’s Day” originated back in Germany in the 1800s as “Candlemas Day.” Who knew, right?”

Breaking it down, he estimated that half of the questions are those “you should know already from college classes and daily experienced as a meteorologist. He added that a quarter of the questions will be on topics only briefly discussed or pertain to a meteorologist’s day-to-day forecasting.

The other quarter of the questions “may be entirely new things you’ll have to learn,” he added.

The written test is just one part of the examination.  Applicants must also submit two working broadcasts: one from a day where the weather is considered “active” and another from when local conditions are considered more normal, and are judged on graphical content, explanation and presentation.

Before testing to become a CBM,  applicants must have a degree in meteorology or something equivalent at the collegiate level.

And a $300 fee attached for members and a $600 fee for non-members (the re-application fee is $100 for members and $200 for non-members). There’s also an annual renewal fee of $180 for members and $350 for non-members.

“I’m also glad the AMS has yearly continuing education or professional credits you have to amass, too. You have to actively pursue your science, and keep up on the latest,” Terry wrote.

There is also a program for meteorologists who aren’t on the broadcast side of things to earn certification. The Certified Consulting Meteorologist Program (CCM) is generally sought after, according to the AMS, by people who seek to advise or consult in the field, such as people who make specialized forecasts or provide engineering design support.

There are currently 278 certified consulting meteorologists, per the AMS website.

For information, visit ametsoc.org.

Bonanno graduated from Florida Tech with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science with meteorology option. Contact him at 321-242-3662, cbonanno@floridatoday.com  or follow Chris on Twitter @FTChrisBonanno.