Neither rain nor snow nor sleet can keep Margaret Curtis from her job: Weather is her job. Curtis is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Gray.

Margaret Curtis is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Gray. Staff photo by Ben McCanna

For six years, the Westbrook resident has been tracking and forecasting nor’easters, thunderstorms and the occasional tropical weather event from her workstation at the NWS station off Intervale Road. Curtis has been a meteorologist for 10 years.

She earned her undergrad degree in atmospheric science at McGill University in Montreal, then her master’s in meteorology at the University of Utah. For Curtis, studying weather is a way to bridge her interests.

“I always liked being outside, and I liked science,” she said. “Meteorology is the place in between.”

“I always liked being outside, and I liked science,” says Margaret Curtis of Westbrook. Staff photo by Ben McCanna

In Gray, Curtis and her fellow forecasters cover New Hampshire, western Maine and the coastal waters. Twice a day, they launch weather balloons to collect data. The field is a mix of art and science, Curtis said, and that means she and other forecasters aren’t always right.

“It doesn’t bother me if you get mad because we got it wrong as long as you call up and thank us when we get it right,” she joked. And that’s a satisfying experience, she said. “It’s kind of like predicting the future, which is pretty cool.”