Dr Anna Whitford
Anna is a scientific consultant working on providing weather and climate information for customers, primarily in the water and energy sectors.
Areas of expertise
- Weather/climate change impacts on the energy sector
- Climate variability
- Short duration rainfall extremes
- Large-scale weather patterns
Current activities
Anna is currently working on climate risk assessments and related adaptation, using observations and climate models to quantify how weather impacts the energy sector, both now and in the future, from the impacts of everyday weather on overhead line performance to the impacts of extreme weather events on electricity network faults.
Career background
Anna received a PhD in Atmospheric Science from Newcastle University in 2023, following a Master’s degree in Geophysical Hazards at UCL. Her PhD research focussed on the large-scale dynamical drivers (including weather patterns and Rossby waves) of sub-daily rainfall extremes in Europe and included a 4-month research visit to the University of British Columbia, Canada. She has been involved in a range of projects throughout her academic career, from examining the current levels of climate resilience in UK energy distribution networks to investigating climate change impacts on water pollution from mine waste in Kazakhstan.
Anna joined the Met Office in 2023 in the Industry Science and Consultancy team.