ASK AMY – What Is A Meteorologist?

Have you ever wondered why someone who studies weather is called a “meteorologist” rather than a “weather-ologist?”

If a Cardiologist studies the heart and a Paleontologist studies fossils, then WHY doesn’t a Meteorologist study meteors?

When you add the suffix -ologist to the end of a word, it refers to a person who studies a particular subject (usually a science).

The reason we use this word (that is difficult to both pronounce and spell) dates back to around 350 B.C. when the Greek scientist and philosopher, Aristotle, wrote a book (journal) called “Meteorologica.”

Because he didn’t have a lot of information about what happens where above the earth, he grouped everything together – stars, meteors, clouds. The term “meteorology” was used to describe everything that happened above the earth. The term stuck and is still used today.

Even though it sounds like someone who studies meteors, a meteorologist is actually the title given to someone who studies and forecasts weather. Meteorology is the science of weather.

About Amy Sweezey

Amy Sweezey is an award-winning meteorologist, author, and public speaker. She spent her entire career in full-time broadcast news before leaving in 2020 to pursue her “What’s Next.” She now focuses on .public speaking and providing media services for various companies worldwide.

As Founder and CEO of Social Weather, LLC, Amy’s portfolio includes Carnival Cruise Line, Growing Bolder, Convention News Television, and nationwide local affiliates of ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and Spectrum News.

Amy has authored two children’s books about weather, one fiction, and one nonfiction, and created two weather workbooks for elementary school students based on Florida’s state standards for science and weather. Amy was chosen from dozens of applicants to share her story, Reinvention at Any Age, at TEDxEustis 2024 and in 2025 she created a podcast by the same name. She lives in Central Florida with her husband.

About Amy Sweezey

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