Want to know if you should leave home with your umbrella?

Ask forecasting trainee Khamla Smith, who has had a lifelong fascination with stormy weather.

Ms Smith, 23, has spent her summer in training at the Bermuda Weather Service, helping put together daily weather forecasts and keeping a close eye on Hurricane Ivan as it swept through the Caribbean and the US last week on its deadly path of destruction.

Next week she will leave Bermuda for a five-month training course in England to qualify her in becoming a weather forecaster.

All it took was a geography course at the Bermuda College five years ago to peak Ms. Smith's interest in weather.

Rather than pursuing business or psychology, Ms Smith discovered she had a keen interest in science and a flair for studying Mother Nature's erratic behaviour. Meteorology, as an area of study, has become increasingly popular with Bermudians over the last few years, with the majority of the staff at the Weather Service are Bermudian or spouses of Bermudians. "I found that I really loved studying in the meteorology course. I was fascinated with bad weather and I wanted to do something rewarding that would help me provide useful information for people," said Ms. Smith.

"I also thought it was such an interesting job as we are paid to watch the sky and see what's happening with nature."

On Thursday, Ms Smith leaves for the UK MET Office for meteorology training course supported by the Weather Service. The training at the 150-year-old institution allows forecasters to develop their knowledge in accurately tracking weather patterns across the world.

Ms Smith will observe how the office processes up to 100,000 million pieces of weather data every day and will take additional courses in computer software and mathematics.

Last year, she graduated from Dalhousie University, in Halifax, with her Bachelor of Science degree in physics. Aspiring forecasters typically pursue science degrees at their chosen university, and then pursue additional training overseas. The relevance of such a profession is apparent in the lead-up to hurricanes when the public is depending on you to supply vital information.

"It's an essential service. When you look at how hurricanes have affected lives, you realise the importance of having a forecaster on top of the job and you realise its importance. It's a 24-hour job that can change at any minute."

This past summer, Ms Smith had a practical lesson in weather systems as several tropical storms began brewing to the south of the Island. Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Ivan also provided more lessons in hurricane movement as they moved on a disastrous journey from the Caribbean into the United States.

Although the Island dealt with its share of disaster last year with Hurricane Fabian, it has, so far, been a relatively quiet season here.

Ms Smith said her duties this summer involved assisting with daily forecasts and in storm watches and warnings. During the shift work ? which takes her from 6.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. ? she assists in putting out two forecasts and monitoring information sent in to the Weather Service by radar satellite images. Forecasters supply weather information to pilots before they take off and land on the Island.

When the first tropical storm of the season popped up in early August, Ms Smith was awaiting its arrival with excitement.

"It was exciting, (and) although it fizzled out, I was waiting for it," she laughs.

So what are her thoughts on the active hurricane season?

"It could be the upper wind patterns and warmer temperatures that provide favourable conditions, but it's difficult to predict these kind of systems. They have a mind of their own," she said.

After returning from her training course, Ms Smith said she will consider pursuing a Masters in Meteorology. She plans on working her way up the ranks at the Weather Service, possibly to become Director.

After all, the sky's the limit.