Passion for Weather

I thought my birthday would be a good time to discuss my passion for the weather.  Some of the earliest memories I have are watching a thunderstorm or taking measurements of the snow in different locations.

Every summer as my birthday approaches, my parents share stories of how I was born during a heat wave.  They also point out as a toddler, I nervously sat in the window to watch every time a thunderstorm.  In elementary school, I issued my own weather forecasts based on barometric (air) pressure trends.  My freshman high school honors science project was on weather forecasting.  I also served as a summer intern with a local National Weather Service Forecast Office and gained valuable insight on the science of forecasting. 

I vividly remember the first day of my internship with the local NWS Office during a heat wave.  Adding to the excitement of watching the temperatures rise to record levels was that the air conditioning failed!  That created a sense of urgency at the weather office as the computers and sensitive instrumentation relied on strict climate controls.

As a meteorology and communications major in college, I interned at the Washington, D.C. CBS affiliate, WUSA9.  That gave me insight into not only broadcast meteorology, but the importance of effectively communicating scientific information to the public.  I had the unique opportunity of being the intern under two Chief Meteorologists, Doug Hill and his successor, Topper Shutt.  This was an eye opening experience as I got to see the multiple roles that the broadcast meteorologist plays, namely of scientist, journalist and producer all wrapped into one.

Working with Topper and the WUSA9 weather team and hosting my blog the “Wide World of Weather” allows me to not only communicate the latest forecasts to the public, but to share my lifelong passion for the weather and climate issues.  Please feel free to share your childhood dreams and aspirations.  I’d also welcome any ideas for future blog posts.