Richard's interest in the weather began during geography lessons at grammar school. After A Levels he joined the Met Office as a weather observer in 1979 and spent the first 10 years of his career at RAF Lyneham, Exeter International Airport and RAF Honington. During this time Richard gained further A Levels and an HNC in Maths and Physics. This allowed him to gain a place on a forecasting course in 1990 and he then spent the next 10 years of his career as a forecaster based at Bristol Weather Centre.