When you think about who's responsible for a city's safety, your answer may be police officers, firefighters, emergency response teams. Would you put your local meteorologists (气象学家) in this group? That's the career Ashley Ruiz 1 , and she's now the first female chief meteorologist in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Ruiz predicts the 2 for her community.
In 2020, a tornado hit Chattanooga, Tennessee. She said, "Getting out in the community is one of my favorite parts of the job. Meeting the families who saw the 3 and were able to get to 4 --it's amazing, knowing I helped make that happen."
Then there's what Ruiz considers one of the 5 parts of the job. "Hearing people have been 6 , like in a big hurricane, is really hard," she said. "We try our best to predict the weather as best we can, but it can always 7 ."
"We are 8 changes in weather, with more-intense and more-frequent storms," Ruiz said. Weather is changing everywhere, as the planet9 . There are more frequent droughts, stronger storms, and increasing temperature changes. This makes predicting the weather a 10 .
Ruiz always knew she was interested in weather and how it 11 the world. But her path to a career in meteorology wasn't 12 . She wants teens to know they should never 13 their education or their dreams. "A lot of girls may be 14 to work in a male-dominated workforce,"she said. "I, for sure, was, but I hope I can help 15 girls, young women, and women in general to keep pushing forward."
