In Atlantic Canada the weather is the very fabric of our lives. With the region's vast size, varied terrain, abundant lakes and rivers, seasonal extremes and ocean influences, Atlantic Canadians experience a broad range of weather and climate conditions.

Environment Canada's Meteorological Service of Canada staff work to reduce risks to Atlantic Canadians from high-impact weather and other weather related environmental hazards.

The Atlantic Storm Prediction Centre (ASPC) is a full-service storm prediction office offering timely and accurate weather forecasts, warnings and information to residents of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Iles de la Madeleine.

Located in downtown Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, the men and women of the ASPC work a combination of shift work and regular daytime hours. They are responsible for producing the public weather forecasts and weather warnings for the Atlantic provinces including an air quality forecast program and the marine and sea state forecasts for the entire east coast territorial waters out to the 200 mile limit. The staff is also responsible for the operation and maintenance of the equipment used to disseminate these forecasts and warnings.

In addition to producing weather forecasts and warnings, ASPC staff are also responsible for many other weather-related products. Some of these client-defined products include forecasts for the transportation, agricultural, forestry and utilities sectors. The ASPC also runs the regional oil slick trajectory model used to track oil spills and lends weather support to emergency response personnel during emergencies, whether on land or at sea.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre (CHC) is co-located with the ASPC. During the hurricane season forecasters carefully monitor all storms of tropical origin. When a storm begins to threaten Canadian waters or land, specially trained meteorologists in the CHC track the tropical storms and provide guidance to other Canadian storm prediction centres. They work closely with the US hurricane Centre in Miami as well as municipal, provincial and federal emergency measures organizations in order to inform the public of expected conditions. During the off-season, the CHC Program Manager and staff also participate in international conferences and workshops, contributing original research on tropical systems as they affect Canada.

Forecasters at the ASPC work with many tools and technology to provide forecasts and warnings, including: Doppler weather radars, weather satellites, observations from a network of upper atmosphere and surface monitors, a network of offshore weather buoys, ship reports, volunteer reports and a variety of computer model output.

The ASPC operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, which means forecasters work day and night shifts as well as holidays. The job of being a meteorologist is very challenging yet satisfying, with the knowledge that public, marine and other types of weather warnings save both lives and money. This is particularly true in Atlantic Canada where many people make their living in jobs which are especially sensitive to weather.