By Jessica Stewart on April 10, 2025

“Evening Shower Over the Needles” by Jamie Russell (UK). 2024 Third Place Overall.

“Striking visual images aid the understanding of complex weather and climate topics, making science more accessible and inspiring curiosity.”

For the past decade, the UK’s Royal Meteorological Society has been promoting the beauty and power of weather with its Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year competition. Now open for entry, the contest encourages amateur and professional photographers to submit their best weather imagery taken during the last 10 years.

The contest is meaningful for the organization, which is a leading expert in weather and climate, as it fits its mission to start discourse around meteorological topics and make them more accessible to the public. From sculptural cloud formations to incredible lightning strikes, the winning photos all have one thing in common—the ability to tell a story.

“African Dust Over Athens” by Lesley Hellgeth (Greece). 2024 Mobile Runner-up.
“You might be forgiven for thinking that the Parthenon has been magically transported to Mars, but this scene is actually much more down to Earth! This image shows the influence of Saharan dust on Athens during April 2023 and is a reminder of the interconnectivity of weather conditions around the world, an aspect that particularly impressed the judges.”

This year, My Modern Met is proud to join as a media partner, as visibility for climate issues is more necessary than ever. To celebrate the contest’s opening, which is accepting entries until June 15, 2025, we were delighted to speak with Kirsty McCabe FRMetS, senior broadcast meteorologist and editor of the RMetS MetMatters blog.

Read on for our exclusive interview, in which we learn more about RMetS’s mission, learn about some of McCabe’s favorite winners from the past decade, and get her advice on how to select a photo to enter into competition.

Can you explain the Royal Meteorological Society’s work and why it’s important that it is an independent organization?

As the leading independent expert in weather and climate, the Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS) brings together and supports weather and climate experts, researchers, professionals, and enthusiasts, as well as provide up-to-date and reliable information to the public, educators, and decision-makers. We’re passionate about advancing the understanding of weather and climate and the impact it has on individuals, organizations, and society. We’re proud of our Royal Charter and for being the only authority worldwide that can award Chartered Meteorologist status.

Some of our activities include setting education standards, sharing evidence-based content and tools, engaging communities, and empowering the next generation of meteorologists and climate scientists to understand the impact of weather and climate. We’re also leading conversations with government, policy makers, and organizations. In addition, we want to ensure that every school graduate is climate-literate, nurturing the next generation’s understanding.

Our independence allows us to provide trustworthy, science-based advice, as we aren’t influenced by politics or profit. This is particularly important in today’s world, where climate science can sometimes become politicized. Our independence helps us uphold scientific integrity, support professional standards in meteorology, and act as an authoritative voice that the public, media, and policymakers can trust. […]

“Tornado on show” by Tim Moxon (UK). 2016 Weather Photographer of the Year.
“A slow moving tornado forms in Colorado and is viewed by us and various spectators, all writing their own stories of getting the storm chaser’s prize of a close encounter with a tornado.”[…]

“Storm Eunice” by Christopher Ison (UK). 2022 Weather Photographer of the Year.
“After checking the time Storm Eunice would hit as well as the high tides times, Christopher discovered that the storm would hit Newhaven, East Sussex, at almost exactly high tide. When taking his photo, Christopher decided to head to high ground and stand slightly further away from the harbour wall with his back to the weather and was rewarded with a fantastic set of images.”

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More: Royal Meteorological Society Celebrates 10 Years of Weather Photos