Gilchrist Leads Glasgow NWS

Patrick Gilchrist took over as the meteorologist in charge (MIC) of the Glasgow National Weather Service (NWS) on Aug. 29, following the departure of Tanja Fransen. As an MIC, he oversees a staff of currently 20 people while also providing the overall administrative management of the office. In addition, his job duties include overseeing the overall data management and integration efforts as well as real-time weather observational programs, directing the weather forecast office's meteorological and hydrological warning, forecast and service programs while also overseeing the area-wide weather preparedness and coordination program, while ensuring the responsiveness and technical soundness of the warning and forecast programs. Though it sounds like a big responsibility to oversee an entire weather forecast office, Gilchrist admits it's been a pretty smooth transition.

The office or the community is not new territory for Gilchrist as he was born and raised in Glasgow, graduating from Glasgow High School (GHS) in 1997. After graduation, he attended the University of North Dakota (UND), in Grand Forks, N.D., and graduated with his atmospheric science degree in 2001. He volunteered at the Glasgow office after high school and was a student hire in 1999. After graduating from UND, he worked in Missoula for five and a half years as a general forecaster, and made his way back home in April 2007 where he worked as a senior forecaster. After nine years in that position, he was promoted to warning coordination meteorologist, which he held for six years before this new opportunity.

Though there were many private sector opportunities available upon graduating from UND, Gilchrist decided to continue with the NWS due to his previous experiences volunteering and working. "When I was a student, Jim Rea (the MIC at the time) really took me under his wing. I liked the mission of the NWS. It supports everyone in the United States with weather and climate, and that is really appealing to me. It's truly in line with what I wanted to do and it's been nothing but opportunities," said Gilchrist. "The NWS provides amazing opportunities for everyone. You do the initial training to be a meteorologist and then you get to pick what you want to do. There is room for everybody to do something. The amazing thing about the NWS is that you can find your own path. There are so many different fields under the same umbrella from tropical to hydrology to electronics. You can truly pick your career."

Gilchrist also admits Rae was instrumental in a lot of these opportunities, especially having the ability to be a certified incident meteorologist (IMET) at the Glasgow office, specifically for fire weather. This opportunity has allowed Gilchrist to travel the state, country and beyond when catastrophic fires occur. Since being certified in 2006, he has assisted with 27 fires, including providing fire support in Australia. "When I worked in Missoula, they had the reputation of being a fire weather office. There were plenty of IMETs around and I knew I wanted to do it, as I loved camping and Boy Scouts as a kid. Rea was an IMET in the 1960s, and he was the person who was able to get the program here in Glasgow," explained Gilchrist. In addition to being out in the field providing weather briefings for those who Gilchrist admits "make the high dollar decisions," he is the co-chair of the IMET outreach team and has been involved in many IMET trainings. All the fires he has been out on are memorable for different reasons, however the most memorable ones are ones he deployed to in Red Lodge and Lake Tahoe.

"When I look at my career, I think 'How lucky am I?', he reflected, which is what enticed him to apply and move up into the role of MIC. "This is a great office, with motivated people. We have a great crew here of really talented individuals. We have a mix of veterans who have been at the office for a long time and we have newer people who are motivated and smart, just right out of college who are doing their first year of training. I'm excited to see what the future holds!," he explained.

Right now, as he continues to get comfortable in his new role, he is focused on empowering all of his staff to not only do their jobs but also be accountable for the work they do. "I want all of my staff to be intrinsically motivated. I want them to find their calling and do great work, while moving the office and agency forward. The weather service is a great place to work!," Gilchrist stated.

He appreciates the support he has received so far from the community and his office while in this new role. He wants to stress when looking and sharing weather reports to make sure it's based upon reputable sources. "The challenges we have is that groups or individuals put out information based on advanced models and it can suck the air out of the room when you hear the extreme weather reports. Reliable TV and radio meteorologists and the NWS work together to get the information out there. When one person puts out bad information it gathers all of the attention," he stressed.

When not managing the office or working, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Christine Gilchrist, who is a music teacher at Irle School, and his three daughters, Amelia, Ella and Isla, as well as his parents and sister and her family. His passion in life is traveling and he has been to many amazing places. "If I could spend the rest of my life doing something, it's traveling. There are so many great experiences and every place has beauty," he remarked.

Gilchrist stated the National Weather Service has supported many volunteers and summer interns over the years, with some really loving the field and some realizing the field isn't right for them before they continue with the schooling and meteorology path. Gilchrist stresses anyone interested in being a volunteer or intern to contact the office at 406-228-4042.