Public Weather Services (PWS)

WMO International Symposium on Public Weather Services (PWS): a Key to Service Delivery, Geneva, Switzerland (3-5 December 2007)

Paper Title: The PWS Strategy – How does PWS relate to Service Delivery?

Names: Gerald Fleming

Institution: Met Éireann, The Irish Meteorological Service

Title: Deputy Head of Forecasting. Chair of the OPAG on PWS in WMO.

E-Mail Address: gfleming@eircom.net

Following study for B.Sc and M.Sc degrees from University College Dublin, Gerald joined Met Éireann in 1980, and trained as a weather forecaster. In 1985 he began presenting weather broadcasts on Irish public service television, RTÉ, and was assigned leadership of the TV broadcast team in 1990. A founder member of the International Association of Broadcast Meteorology in 1994, he served for six years as Chairman of that organization. Within the PWS Programme in WMO he chaired the Expert Team on Media Issues from 1999 to 2005, following which he was nominated by the Commission for Basic Systems to chair the OPAG on PWS. As chair he has promoted strategies for the improved definition and development of Public Weather Services within the world meteorological community.

He has lectured extensively on matters connected with weather broadcasting and Public Weather Services, and was Co-Chair, with Mr Tomas Molina, of the First World Conference on Broadcast Meteorology, held in Barcelona in 2004. He continues to broadcast regularly on RTÉ and mixes forecasting with administrative responsibilities in Met Éireann.