Q&A with Senior Meteorologist Samuel Sangster

Please Provide your name and age.

Sam Sangster, 25 years old.

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.

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 familiar with hurricanes, sea breezes, and summertime thunderstorms!

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!

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.

Are you a specialist of any specific type of weather?

While there is still much for me to learn about them, I’d say my specialty area is hurricanes. This is what I spent most of my graduate school career studying.

What types of technology do you rely on for your day-to-day analysis?

We have a variety of in-house and public tools and websites that we utilize, some of which are tailored to our customer needs. Most of our sources are web-based, however, there are some tools that are publicly available to download onto a computer. Bufkit is a great tool that we use for forecasting, especially on the surface desk.

Are there any instincts or gut feelings that you rely on to predict weather?

I’d say one of the ways we use instincts or gut feelings is through pattern recognition. For example, Los Angeles, CA often gets fog called “June Gloom” in the summer and is impactful to our operations. However, it is common to get the fog with a certain “pattern” of the atmosphere in place that is identifiable using some weather charts! Knowing and “experiencing” patterns helps to anticipate what kind of weather an airport can expect and comes with forecasting experience.

Do you use a weather balloon? If so, how often?

While we do use weather balloon data, we don’t launch them sadly. That would be cool though!

What made you interested in working with an airline as a Meteorologist?

This goes back to 2017, when a former meteorologist from Delta came by my undergrad to speak about her position. I found it very interesting and began to consider aviation meteorology as a career. After graduation, I landed an internship at Delta and just over two years later I am now a full-time meteorologist there!

Are there any subjects that you rely on specifically for your work with an airline?

I wouldn’t say there are specific meteorological topics that we use for our job. With the amount of area we cover, we forecast and deal with many types of weather phenomena that occur.

What are you looking for most in weather related to flying?

This can be things such as upper and lower-level wind speed and direction, temperature and dewpoint, cloud layers, types of precipitation if it is forecasted to fall, volcanic ash, and even space weather and ozone. If it’s surface desk forecasting specifically, knowing the location of the airport is also important for forecasting weather-related hazards or phenomena that could be unique to the location. Knowing major areas of terrain is important for forecasting mountain waves too!

Are there specific geographical regions that you are particularly focused on for changes in weather?

Nope! We forecast for pretty much the entire world 24/7, which I think is really cool! We have our forecast areas split up by desk and furthermore by en-route forecasting and surface (or airport) forecasting. Meteorologists in the department typically work the same desk (or region) for their shifts.

Not including weather, what is your go to topic of discussion or interest?

I enjoy spending my free time outside gardening and leisure hiking. I also like to spend time relaxing by the beach or watching some of my favorite shows! Of course, working for Delta I am always looking for advice on new places to travel as well.

Do you have a pilot’s license, or have you thought about getting one?

Unfortunately, no. That would be cool to consider getting in the future though.

What interesting fact do you want to share?

Hmm…that’s a tough one. From sixth grade through senior year of college, I was a member of the school’s concert band in which I played oboe. While I was in high school, I auditioned for the annual “all state” band where you get the chance to play with top musicians in the state. In my senior year of high school, I was top oboist in the state of Georgia! What a great experience!