NBC Connecticut meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan visited with Reed Intermediate School sixth grade students in Ellen Buckley and Michael Corvello's cluster on Tuesday, January 19.

"Who's excited for snow on Saturday?" said Mr Hanrahan.

Almost all of the students quickly raised their hands.

"Yeah. Me too," he said, smiling.

The students, Ms Buckley explained, have been studying weather in their science classes.

"I forecast the weather," said Mr Hanrahan. "I try to figure out what is going to happen today, tomorrow, and for the next seven days."

Mr Hanrahan spoke about different aspects of his job and answered a range of student questions.

A meteorologist, Mr Hanrahan said, looks for evidence and different clues to make a weather forecast. The farther out people look at the weather, Mr Hanrahan told the students, the harder it is to forecast.

Mr Hanrahan told the students he has been interested the weather since he was "a little kid, younger than you," and he studied meteorology at Pennsylvania State University. Being able to study what he loves, he said, is "cool,"  and he has been with NBC Connecticut for ten years now.

"I get really excited about strange weather events," said Mr Hanrahan, explaining that he has gone storm chasing before while on vacation.

Mr Hanrahan pulled up two projections to show the students different computer models used to predict the weather, the Global Forecast System and a European model.

"The question is, does it go to the north or does it go to the east?" he said, explaining why it was still hard to predict what the then-upcoming snow would look like for Saturday, January 23.

Mr Hanrahan asked the students to think about what he would tell people when he went on air just a few short hours from then, explaining that it is his job to tell people what he most expects to happen for the weather and how confident he is in that prediction.

Learning, Mr Hanrahan said, does not stop after school, and constantly learning is one of his favorite parts of his job.

The students asked Mr Hanrahan a number of questions. One student wanted to know if pinecones actually close up before it rains. Mr Hanrahan said yes, plants and animals react to the weather in different ways. He used his dog, a 100-pound golden retriever named Doppler as an example, saying Doppler frequently responds to thunder before he hears it.

Mr Hanrahan then explained what the Doppler Effect is and how it was used to detect the May 16, 2007, tornado that started on the Bethel/Newtown line. Most of the students were too young to remember that particular weather event, but that did not stop them from asking more questions about tornados and hurricanes.

One student asked Mr Hanrahan what his typical day is like, and he said he starts his day around 9:30 am by checking the latest computer models and evolves the forecast from the morning. He then talks with his producer before offering the midday forecast, and continues to work on the forecast throughout the rest of his day before evening forecasts. He also maintains a Facebook page "Meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan," a Twitter account, @ryanhanrahan, and works on the NBC Connecticut website during his afternoons.

Reed parent Michele Lurie arranged Mr Hanrahan's visit with the sixth grade cluster.

Before he left, Mr Hanrahan posed with the cluster for a photo.