Jenifer Prieto

Jenifer Prieto

Location: Topeka, Kansas
Office: Weather Forecast Office
Job Title: Meteorologist

Educational Background:

I graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor's Degree in Meteorology and a minor in Mathematics back in 2010.

While I was attending the University of Oklahoma, Patrick Burke, a meteorologist at the WFO Norman, OK office came to our class and spoke with us on volunteer opportunities in the National Weather Service. It piqued my interest since I planned on an operational meteorology career so I walked into the office the next day to inquire about volunteering. I ended up speaking with a nice gentleman about my ambitions and interest not knowing that he was the Meteorologist-In-Charge at the time. He offered me a position to volunteer on the spot and I volunteered for a year before being offered a SCEP (now called Pathways) position at the office. Upon graduating in 2010, I was offered a paid Meteorologist Intern position at the WFO in Topeka, Kansas. Since then, I have moved up to a Journeyman Forecaster and now Lead Forecaster at the office since 2018.

I am a shift supervisor for an amazing team of meteorologists that routinely issue forecast products and hazardous weather information for northeast Kansas. Given that Kansas has weather that changes seasons by the day, our office focuses on protecting the public and working with our partners on severe weather safety and information, winter weather, fire weather, hydrology, and aviation forecasts to name a few. I currently lead the local Aviation, Diversity, and Culture teams at the office. Regionally, I am the Central Region Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Representative and Women’s History Month Program Manager for the Diversity Management Council. As an advocate for diversity and inclusion initiatives, I work with over 35 offices in the region on improving office teams, celebrating and learning about official NOAA observances (i.e. Women’s History Month), and serving as an invaluable resource to local Diversity teams in offering solutions and training opportunities. I also greatly enjoy working with our partners and the public on providing weather safety education to vulnerable populations and schools, and also offering decision support during major outdoor events.

May 28, 2019 when an EF-4 tornado struck the southern portions of Lawrence, damaging homes and injuring 18 people between Lawrence and Linwood, Kansas. I was the Public Information Officer and responsible for communications beginning in the morning and continuing through the late evening. The event made a big impact on me because it was the first event that I worked where we knew that the environment was supportive of strong tornadoes within populated areas. When we saw the supercell forming southwest of Lawrence, I knew it was critical to provide timely information on what we were seeing on radar and when we expected the tornado to reach Lawrence. I was in constant contact with the emergency management team and local media stations, providing up to 45 minutes lead time to give the public ample time to find a safe shelter. On a personal note, my husband and daughter live in Lawrence so I was very concerned about the safety of my family and my colleagues' families close to the path. The next day, I toured the storm damage and was emotionally impacted by the generosity and resilience of the residents - an experience I will never forget.

Since I was 5 years old, I have always been fascinated by thunderstorms and tornadoes. My dad used to take me storm chasing and I was in awe of seeing lightning strikes and massive storm clouds developing so quickly. When the movie Twister came out, my dad and I were first in line to watch it in the theater. I knew after seeing the movie that I wanted to study the weather and be a meteorologist one day.

The important work and responsibility that we have in protecting the public and serving our community through education, volunteerism, and participating in decision support service during high impact events. I also greatly enjoy that the weather forecasts and hazard focus changes by the day. It’s difficult to have a dull moment in the NWS.

Volunteer at your local office! You can contact the office to see what opportunities are available. If you are in grade school, you could take a tour of the office or job shadow a forecaster for a day. If you are a meteorology student in college, you can volunteer for a semester to learn more about the NWS and daily responsibilities.

In addition to lots of math and physics, I highly recommend studying sociology, public speaking and writing, and computer programming. I was not aware of the high level of communication that is involved daily, crafting it to fit the appropriate audience. Computer programming is also becoming increasingly important in being able to create and edit programs/software to improve operations.