The Atlantic hurricane season has started, running from June 1 through November 30. This year, forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, say they expect it to be busy.

“As Americans focus their attention on a safe and healthy reopening of our country, it remains critically important that we also remember to make the necessary preparations for the upcoming hurricane season,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in a statement. “Just as in years past, NOAA experts will stay ahead of developing hurricanes and tropical storms and provide the forecasts and warnings we depend on to stay safe.”

Kandis Boyd, Ph.D., a deputy director in the Office of Weather and Air Quality at NOAA, is one of those experts.

"For the past 25 years, I’ve had amazing experiences communicating the importance of weather to youth, academia, and federal executives in the United States and globally," Boyd said recently.

For her efforts, Boyd won a Career Achievement in Government Award at a Career Communications Group event in the nation's capital.

Presenting the award, an assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere said that throughout Dr. Boyd's 25-year federal career at NOAA, her expertise has helped hydrology, satellite and space systems, remote sensing, and operational forecasting to prioritize research that saves lives, reduces property damage, and enhances the national economy.

The first African-American female to receive an undergraduate degree in meteorology from Iowa State University, Boyd now leads a $44 million scientific program management office that’s part of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.

Her key focus is supporting the infusion of social science into the technical and engineering sciences by communicating critical information to the scientific community in the face of the uncertainties that weather presents.

"Twenty-five years ago I started my federal career as a meteorology intern in Des Moines, Iowa," Boyd said. "I wanted to be an on-air meteorologist but did not fit the demographic, so I decided to accept an internship with NOAA's National Weather Service. What I thought was a devastating blow to my career aspirations turned into the best decision for my career.