Alexander Besson Email & Phone Number

I am a meteorologist based out of Bismarck, North Dakota, currently working for the National Weather Service at WFO Bismarck. I have been working as a meteorologist full-time since June of 2022, and have experience in both private sector and public sector forecasting.I graduated from Central Michigan University in May of 2022, with a BS in Meteorology and a minor in Mathematics. I was also the recipient of the Centralis Gold scholarship, and completed my degree as part of the Honors Program, alongside a Capstone research project pertaining to my field.Prior to the completion of my degree, I worked as a team member with my hometown's Dairy Queen for 5 years, where I learned valuable, foundational work skills, such as time management, teamwork, strategy, and customer service. I was also selected as a Pathways Intern for the National Weather Service WFO in Anchorage, Alaska. During my time as a Pathways Intern, I learned all about the NWS, including their mission, and the general workflow of an NWS office. It was a unique experience, as Alaskan meteorology is quite different from any other place in the United States.Following the completion of my degree, I worked for Aerospace & Marine International as an Offshore Marine Forecaster, giving me private sector experience and further strengthening my customer service and forecasting skills. This job also focused specifically on marine meteorology, which required me to learn some additional forecasting skills, such as forecasting wave heights and tropical systems.As a full-time NWS meteorologist, I now provide forecasts and other specialized products to the general public, as well as our media and emergency partners. While we do plenty of work with the weather forecast itself, we are also focusing on Impact-Based Decision Support Services (IDSS). This entails communicating the weather and any associated risk to the public and our partners in a way that is easy to understand, which ensures that they can make the appropriate decisions regarding the risks that we are communicating.

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  Central Michigan University

  Meteorology