Education

M.S., Meteorology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, 1980.
B.S., Geography, Pennsylvania State University, State College, 1978.

Career Description

I became a meteorologist to better understand the forces behind weather systems and what we observe on a daily basis. I have enjoyed tracking and measuring weather since elementary school. I chose to get a masters degree in meteorology to follow my natural love for the science behind meteorology. The best part of my job is forecasting changing weather events and communicating my enthusiasm for weather, both on television and in the classroom. The most difficult part is probably the hours--working holidays, weekends, different shifts within the same week--but that is part of what it means to be a round-the-clock newsoperation.

The most exciting event for me was the big snowstorm of February 2003, including forecasting and then watching the storm sequence unfold. And, while doing all of that, broadcasting the latest developments to the public. Columbus received more than 15 inches of snow over a four-day period, and I worked each day averaging 12 hours or more covering the storm from every angle.

What has changed most in the past ten years is the ability to show weather on TV as a dynamic drama full of plot twists with the aid of colorful three-dimensional computer graphics. In the next ten years, I would expect more tightly focused neighborhood plots of radar and weather forecasts.