ANCHORAGE, Alaska - They’re learning how to be prepared for life and that includes being prepared for the weather. In this week’s Weather Lab, Alaska Scout troops 20 and 2026 stopped by Alaska’s News Source studios while working on earning their weather merit badges.
They started by watching a live news broadcast to see how Melissa delivers the weather on television, including what happens behind the scenes and in front of the camera. From there, they got to head into the Weather Lab to learn more about meteorology. To earn their badges they have a long list of requirements, including understanding the physics of meteorology, identifying and describing different types of weather and how to stay safe in dangerous weather.
Melissa taught them about the most extreme and damaging types of weather across Alaska and how she monitors and tracks the weather locally to make her forecast each night. And they still have one more big step before they can get their badges — giving their own presentations explaining outdoor safety during lightning, floods and tornadoes.