AFWA Auditorium

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- Retired Chief Master Sgt. Peter Morris talks about his career in Air Force Weather during the dedication of the Air Force Weather Agency auditorium in his name here Feb. 15. Chief Morris served 30 years in the Air Force and is widely recognized as one of their finest enlisted leaders and weather warriors. (Air Force photo by Jeff W. Gates)

AFWA Auditorium

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- Retired Chief Master Sgt. Peter Morris talks about his career in Air Force Weather during the dedication of the Air Force Weather Agency auditorium in his name here Feb. 15. Chief Morris served 30 years in the Air Force and is widely recognized as one of their finest enlisted leaders and weather warriors. (Air Force photo by Jeff W. Gates)

Uphill Battle

ATOP MOUNT LEMMON, Ariz. -- (From left to right) Capt. Tim Villaran, 25th Operational Weather Squadron flight commander, Marc Touchton, 25th OWS meteorologist, Lt. Col. Lee Byerle, 25th OWS commander, and 25th OWS forecasters Senior Airman Carlos Calle and Airman 1st Class Michael Neahr, pose for a photo following the completion of the inaugural Mount Lemmon Half Marathon on Oct. 17. Also completing the race was Senior Master Sgt. Gabriel Lacayo, 25th OWS operations superintendent. The marathon is billed as the toughest marathon in the world and the only uphill marathon in the United States. (Courtesy Photo)

Deployed Forecaster

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Staff Sgt. Ashley Barnett, a weather forecaster for the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, collects data from a TMQ-53 weather sensor to observe conditions and update forecasts at an undisclosed air base in Southwest Asia, Oct. 28, 2010. The 386th AEW forecasters work behind the scenes to provide Air Force and Army personnel with accurate, up-to-date forecasts so flying missions can continue in support of operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn. Barnett is deployed from Air Mobility Command’s 305th Operations Support Squadron, 305th Air Mobility Wing, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Senior Airman Laura Turner)

Braving the weather

A special operations weather team operator looks out the back of a CH-47 Chinook to locate a landing site during an operational training exercise April 15, 2010, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. The exercise was part of Red Flag-Alaska 10-2 and enables units to sharpen their combat skills by exchanging tactics, techniques, and procedures and improves interoperability. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Willard E. Grande II)

Braving the weather

A team of special operations weather team operators hurry to board a CH-47 Chinook during a training operation for Red Flag-Alaska 10-2 April 15, 2010, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. The operators are deploying weather pods that will take several different types of readings that could affect air and ground operations down range. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Willard E. Grande II)

Iraqi weather graduates

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A crowd gathers for the graduation of the first class of Iraqi air force meteorology officer's graduation at the Air Force House, Camp Victory, Iraq, March 25. The graduates will be sent throughout Iraq for 30 days of on the job training. Once the training is concluded, some of the weather advisory officers will become instructors while others will begin their weather advisory mission for the Iraqi military. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Patricia Bunting)

2nd Weather Squadron, Solar Observing Optical Network

2nd Weather Squadron, Solar Observing Optical Network

Guardsmen forecast weather

SANDSTON, Va. -- Senior Master Sgt. Stephen Gamache and Senior Airman Christopher Tuck track weather systems moving across Virginia during the snow storms that ravaged the region in February 2010. (Photo by Sgt. Andrew H. Owen, Virginia Guard Public Affairs)

Weather

Staff Sgt. Jack Cotham observes weather conditions on the flight line Feb. 11, 2010 at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. Sergeant Cothan is a 8th Operation Support Squadron weather forecaster. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Roy Lynch)

Red Flag WX specialists do more than predict the weather

Staff Sgt. CeCe Ybarra, a Red Flag weather forecaster deployed from the 48th Operations Support Squadron at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, briefs Red Flag aircrews prior to a mission. Sergeant Ybarra provides weather support for more than 1,200 servicemembers from the U.S. and United Kingdom participating in the exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Blue Skies

Captain Dan Santiago, Joint Special Operations Air Component weather officer, uses his Kestral pocket weather sensor at the Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport in Port au Prince, Haiti. Capt. Santiago deployed as part of the Air Force Special Operations Contingent responsible for opening and establishing aircraft flow following the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck here Jan. 12. Capt. Santiago and fellow 1st Special Operations Wing weather flight weatherman Tech. Sgt. Chris Patterson employed creative solutions to overcome technological and equipment shortfalls during their deployment to Haiti. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Larry Carpenter)