A Month at Wilson Airport…

       I study meteorology with an interest in aviation meteorology. While studying weather analysis, I was always more interested in upper air surface and aviation weather coding. I always wanted to know more about the elements that matter so much to an airline or an aerodrome. My university offers meteorology as a degree, there is no majoring unless at masters level. Last semester we had an aviation meteorology unit which I loved so much. It gave me a chance to connect more with weather and its significance which unfortunately is not locally well absorbed in Kenya. Most people tend to view weathermen as liars who always lie about when it will rain and not a drop is seen or when to expect a dry spell which at times doesn't pass. Every time I meet new people, I get surprised should somebody give  a positive response about my major (the norm has been negative comments).  I hope that my final year project work will take me on a road of researching more on meteorology in the aviation sector. 

To get a clearer understanding of how vital weather information is, I opted to have my attachment at an airport. This would also give me a chance to defend the weathermen better whenever anyone said something negative. I wanted to learn, experience and create a good factual story to tell out to the laymen, something that would captivate  and make them appreciate weather forecasting. Sometimes, we can use the power of a captivating story based on experience to change the perception that people have on a given subject.  For the entire month of June 2013, I was based at Wilson airport (HKNW) meteorological office. The staff at Wilson was very welcoming and friendly, at one point I had to ask whether they underwent training to be that generous, friendly and cheerful(because that sort of universal hospitality never comes easy) . If I was doing ISO-Certification based on work ethics and etiquette, then Wilson has my approval! 

A typical day starts at 0500Z (this is 8am East African time). All airports use the Greenwich Mean Time /Zulu /UTC. Every hour, observations are done for elements including temperature, pressure, cloud cover, visibility and wind. There are synoptic hours' observations usually done on a 3-hour interval (0600, 0900, 1200…) which are either main or intermediate hours. Every synoptic hour, we have to code more data which is then sent to the national meteorological centre for analysis and use in prediction. I have always known winds and temperature to be extremely important at an airport; they determine the plane weight load at take off. Not to say that other elements like cloud cover and visibility are not as important, in fact all weather is important weather at an airport. However, I came to appreciate the power of pressure as an element even more. A difference of 1mb pressure reading can make a damaging difference for a plane taking off or landing.

Pressure reading is done from a barometer. This is an instrument usually kept indoors. The reading once taken is corrected to station level pressure from the cistern reading. Taking the pressure reading is one of those things I had to become extra patient and careful while reading. I felt like a champion on the day I finally felt confident doing it right! 

Though the work seemed routine, one beautiful thing about it is the fact that weather changes, which means we always have to look out for something different every hour. It felt fulfilling doing a job that is appreciated by airlines and other consumers within and outside the airport.