Behind-the-Scenes of the National Weather Service: How they operate to keep Central Georgians safe

This is the National Weather Service Peachtree, home to the NWS office that serves Central Georgia.

Katie Martin-Ehmann is a meteorologist there.

Communication between the Weather Service and broadcast meteorologists is critical during severe weather.

"If we have a good relationship with [broadcast meteorologists], you feel comfortable asking us to clarify, and then that just makes for a more seamless transfer of communication from us to you guys to the public," she said.

"Because I think both of our goals are communicating with the public and keeping the public safe."

Watch the video to take a behind-the-scenes look at the office. Each desk is an integral part of the operation, and each cubicle has specific daily tasks.

The first desk is all about public service. This person's job is about numbers, from current temperatures to rainfall totals. They also run the office's social media.

"Social media is really critical for getting the message out to people in a way a lot of people know how to receive a message," Martin-Ehmann said.

The second desk is the long-range desk. This meteorologist is responsible for determining the three to seven-day forecasts. They look for weather patterns, like if it's likely that we will see rain or severe storms by the end of the week.

The third desk is the short-term and aviation desk. They serve the area airports, including Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. The meteorologist working this desk is in charge of updating the one to two and half day forecasts.

Lastly, there's the radar desk, which is very important during severe weather. 

There, they issue severe thunderstorm, tornado or flash flood warnings.

Using all these desks, the National Weather Service communicates with us to you about severe weather concerns to keep you safe.