Rodney Barney: Meteorologist (program supervisor)

Meet Rodney!

Rodney has been a Meteorologist with the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) for 19 years. Much of his career has been spent in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the weather can be extremely challenging to forecast, but that only makes the job of being a Meteorologist more exciting for Rodney.

One of Rodney’s favourite things about being a meteorologist is forecasting large blizzards, and there is certainly no shortage of those in Newfoundland. In the Spring of 2017, Gander experienced back-to-back snow storms with 135 centimetres of snow falling from March 30 to April 4, making getting to and from work a challenge, but memorable.

Over Rodney’s 19-year career with the MSC, he’s seen a lot of change including the advancements of technology and the the impact of increased computing power on everything from satellite and radar meteorology, to better modelling of the weather, and to much higher-quality data visualizations. Social media has also changed a lot and has shaped the speed and frequency of interactions with people.

Did you know the Newfoundland and Labrador Weather Office has their own twitter account? Be sure to follow along.

Here are a few random facts about Rodney:

• What was your first job? Tracking inventory for a marine lightning manufacturing company
• If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? Tasmania
• Would you rather ride a bike, ride a horse, or drive a car? Drive
• If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to? 1490 (pre industrial North America)
• What is your favourite flavour of ice cream? Rocky Road
• How many pairs of shoes do you own? 2 - if you don’t include sneakers and boots
• If you were a super-hero, what powers would you have? Teleportation
• What form of public transportation do you prefer? (air, boat, train, bus, car, etc.) Air
• What's your favourite holiday? New Year’s
• What's your favourite fast food chain? Mary Brown’s