When Did You Become a Weather Fanatic?

[DBriedis]

May 3rd, 1979, Duncanville TX. We had just moved there from Toronto, so I didn't know squat about tornadoes except for seeing the news about Wichita Falls on TV before we left Canada and not feeling too enthused about moving near there. I was in the 3rd grade at the time. By late morning the sky outside was dark green and since I was new and had never been in a drill, my teacher took me out into to hall to demonstrate proper form. We had a large classroom that held four separate classes, with one quarter of the room doubling as a reinforced shelter. Early afternoon saw the alarms go off and we filed into the room and curled up on the floor with our hands on our heads and butts in the air. Stupid kid in front of me kept moving his feet and kicking me in the head. After a while they sounded the all clear and apparently a bunch of parents had arrived to pick up kids, mine included. As I walked out of the school, I noticed a bunch of our teachers standing in a group staring across a large field. A few miles away was a beautiful rope funnel. My parents weren't interested in staying to watch so we all piled into the car and raced back to the hotel we were staying in until our house was finished, my Dad trying to see through the heavy rain, my Mom scanning the skies for the next one since the radio seemed to indicate that we were virtually surrounded. We made it back to the Holiday Inn and spent the rest of the day watching the news and stuffing towels under the outside door to our room to keep out the water from the tremendous rain. My first of many tornado encounters. Never needed to chase them, they seemed quite capable of finding me instead.

[RGweathergeek]

I can't think of one specific event that turned me into a weather geek but I was one as far back as I could remember. Other kids watched cartoons, I would watch TWC. I had the Weather Channel calendar for a few years that had major weather events on each day.

 

Growing up in Florida I remeber having the chicken pox when I was 3 and during T.S. Keith. I remember much clearer, T.S. Marco when I was 6. After moving to the Carolinas, I remember excitedly staying up and watching for the first snowflakes to fall during winter storms. When the first flakes would fall I would go on to the porch and act like a reporter in the field, reporting on the snow falling.  To this day I filp between each of the weathercasts on the 10 pm news just to see what each station and love to watch WGN at 9 and catch Tom Skilling's forecast as he gives an amazing national overview and explains the weather amazingly. Sadly the math scared me off of making this a career, but I still love the weather and wish I could go back in time and become a meteorologist.

[Upstate Tiger]

As many have said, I don't recall ever not being fascinated with weather.  However, I officially became a geek during the winter of 76/77.  January 77 still ranks as the coldest month on record for upstate SC and I would hurry off the bus everyday and quickly turn on NOAA radio and hear the forecast.  Typically, the new forecast would come out at 3:15PM everyday and I would be so ticked if it was ever late.  We had 3 snows, 1 ice storm and a brutal cold wave that Jan.  The highest temp all month was 50 and snow stayed on the ground from Jan 3 until the end of the month.  I was also excited when The Weather Channel first appreared and I watched it often in the "old days."  Locally, I also enjoyed Charlie Gertz.  He seemd to have a knack for predicting winter weather in the upstate.  Now my kids laugh and don't believe me when I tell them that I can still remember when The Weather Channel actually showed the weather and MTV actually played music videos. 

[LithiaWx]

March 13th, 1993

[FallsLake]

When I was a kid my Dad was stationed (Air Force) down in Cape Canaveral Florida. We use to drive back and forth between Florida and NC. I really loved coming back to NC during the winter (..to experience the cold air). We took a train one time from Durham to Orlando. Temps in Durham were in the 20s when we left and in the 70s the next morning when we got to Orlando. Really amazed me.   

 

I also experienced the big cold outbreak of  1977. It snowed in lot of places across Florida. I was told my location received a snow flurry but I didn't see it. Everybody stood outside for a long time but to my disappointed eyes nothing fell(...I've felt that feeling many times since). Also remember seeing my first TV weather map. They were showing lows in the teens all across the north of the state. I think seeing that map really got me loving weather.

[jburns]

I've been fascinated by the weather ever since Noah nailed that epic long range forecast.  A one in 4 billion year event and he totally rocked.

[lookingnorth]

It's hard for me to say, but I think the 2003-2004 winter when I was 5 and the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons had a big impact on me. I also still have vague memories of the 2002 ice storm.

[jburns]

It's hard for me to say, but I think the 2003-2004 winter when I was 5 and the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons had a big impact on me. I also still have vague memories of the 2002 ice storm.

 

Good Lord.  I have memories of the ice age.

[smog strangler]

Winter of 1976 in central NJ. It was all the fault of snow and school being postponed . No better sound then the radio announcing your school as CLOSED. Delayed openings were the worst!

[buckeyefan1]

Good Lord.  I have memories of the ice age.

I was thinking something similar, but not that far back        

[mackerel_sky]

Good Lord. I have memories of the ice age.

I was just going to say little ice age!

[CAD_Wedge_NC]

Where do I start? Well, the 1974 super outbreak was my first real awakening to weather. Then there was the winter of '76-'77. I will never forget the cold and snow. Then came the 1980 March blizzard with that extremely cold storm. Let's not forget the big daddy in 1988. 17 inches of snow IMBY. Of course hurricane Hugo with all the damage around here. Then 1993, who can't remember that? It was my first time recalling thunder-snow. Then the 2002 ice storm. Heck even last winter with the 3+ inch per hour snowfall rates at times for 3 hours were nothing to laugh at. We picked up 9 inches in 3 hours for a total of 12 inches. North Carolina has had plenty of weather events that would excite any young weather fan.

[Isopycnic]

Hurricane of '38.

[Tullioz]

I always had an interest in the weather and was fortunate enough to grow up In a part of the country (Along the NC/VA border)where one can experience almost every extreme weather has to offer. Experienced ball lightning up close and personal when I was around 7 years old as part of a dare to run around the house in the middle of a thunderstorm when I was around 7 years old. That was the single event that probably started it all.

Beyond that I started reading everything I could about weather and dreaming of having my own weather station. I also was fortunate to have grown up while Frank Deal was the weatherman on WGHP in High Point, NC. Learned a lot from him as he always went into great detail in his segments and always added humor to his weather cast. For those who may not remember him or never heard of him below is a video of one of the newscasts from 1980 (Skip to 3:10). I can remember recording his weather segments whenever snow was in the forecast at 6pm and listening to them over and over until the following day. Those were the days when the weather was really fun and full of surprises!

[Cold Rain]

I always had an interest in the weather and was fortunate enough to grow up In a part of the country (Along the NC/VA border)where one can experience almost every extreme weather has to offer. Experienced ball lightning up close and personal when I was around 7 years old as part of a dare to run around the house in the middle of a thunderstorm when I was around 7 years old. That was the single event that probably started it all.

Beyond that I started reading everything I could about weather and dreaming of having my own weather station. I also was fortunate to have grown up while Frank Deal was the weatherman on WGHP in High Point, NC. Learned a lot from him as he always went into great detail in his segments and always added humor to his weather cast. For those who may not remember him or never heard of him below is a video of one of the newscasts from 1980 (Skip to 3:10). I can remember recording his weather segments whenever snow was in the forecast at 6pm and listening to them over and over until the following day. Those were the days when the weather was really fun and full of surprises!

 

 

Thanks for posting that.  I grew up in Burlington and Frank Deal was the best!  He always had a corny joke.  As you said, he would go a little behind the scenes with the weather, which was always good.  I would flip over to Randy Jackson on WFMY News 2 and see if he agreed with Frank.  Frank was always more enthusiastic about snow than Randy, who seemed reticent to talk much about it.  I miss being able to watch Frank Deal!

[jburns]

Thanks for posting that.  I grew up in Burlington and Frank Deal was the best!  He always had a corny joke.  As you said, he would go a little behind the scenes with the weather, which was always good.  I would flip over to Randy Jackson on WFMY News 2 and see if he agreed with Frank.  Frank was always more enthusiastic about snow than Randy, who seemed reticent to talk much about it.  I miss being able to watch Frank Deal!

 

Frank Deal gave an informative forecast.  If you listened to him regularly, you would learn quite a bit about weather.  His schtick caused him to get a rep as somewhat of a clown, but there was a lot more to him than that.  

[Cold Rain]

Here is a good video re: Frank Deal.  Basically, it's the newscast of his last day at Fox8.

 

http://washingtonexaminer.com/frank-deals-last-day-on-air/video/gm-3986106

[mackerel_sky]

Basically Aug 2, 1975. The day I was born, the nurses all gathered around, said leave this one alone, I'm here to tell ya honey, he's bad to the bone! Bbbbbbbbbad, Bbbbbbbbbbad

[CandymanColumbusGA]

I've been fascinated with weather since I can remember. I grew up on the west coast of Florida, but I remember Andrew rolling through in 1992 when I was only 4. Thunderstorms also grabbed my attention because they were a daily phenomenon during the summer.

However, the thing that REALLY got me hooked was Hurricane Charley 10 years ago. It was forecast to hit the Tampa Bay Area and basically roll right over my house on its way there. It's the only time I remember my mom and dad boarding up the windows and taking all the necessary precautions. I told them that it would hit near Venice and go just east of us in Sarasota. The forecast track as of that morning, a Friday because it was my best friend's 16th birthday that day, still had it going over us. I remember being glued to the TV watching the meteorologists track the storm. I noticed the 'wiggle' just as they mentioned it and told my parents that it's turning! It's turning! I was so happy that my forecast from a few days out was correct and that my home was going to be okay. Little did I realize at the time that other people's lives would never be the same...

I remember Charley so well because that's when I knew I wanted to study meteorology. I wanted to know WHY Charley shifted like it did. I wanted to know why it spared my house but destroyed so many others east and south of us. I also wanted to know why we saw THREE more hurricanes hit my state that year. So, I decided to study meteorology at my favorite school, Florida State.

It wasn't until my junior year of college, however, that I decided I wanted to be a weatherman and do the same thing the mets did that fateful day. I interned with my favorite weatherman, lost 50 pounds, and got a job in TV here in Columbus, GA where I am right now.

And that, my friends, is how I got lost in the clouds.

[Eastatlwx]

I have loved weather since I was born, especially after I prayed for a lot of snow and we got 6" instead of the forecasted one inch

[Kory]

I've been fascinated with weather since I can remember. I grew up on the west coast of Florida, but I remember Andrew rolling through in 1992 when I was only 4. Thunderstorms also grabbed my attention because they were a daily phenomenon during the summer.

However, the thing that REALLY got me hooked was Hurricane Charley 10 years ago. It was forecast to hit the Tampa Bay Area and basically roll right over my house on its way there. It's the only time I remember my mom and dad boarding up the windows and taking all the necessary precautions. I told them that it would hit near Venice and go just east of us in Sarasota. The forecast track as of that morning, a Friday because it was my best friend's 16th birthday that day, still had it going over us. I remember being glued to the TV watching the meteorologists track the storm. I noticed the 'wiggle' just as they mentioned it and told my parents that it's turning! It's turning! I was so happy that my forecast from a few days out was correct and that my home was going to be okay. Little did I realize at the time that other people's lives would never be the same...

I remember Charley so well because that's when I knew I wanted to study meteorology. I wanted to know WHY Charley shifted like it did. I wanted to know why it spared my house but destroyed so many others east and south of us. I also wanted to know why we saw THREE more hurricanes hit my state that year. So, I decided to study meteorology at my favorite school, Florida State.

It wasn't until my junior year of college, however, that I decided I wanted to be a weatherman and do the same thing the mets did that fateful day. I interned with my favorite weatherman, lost 50 pounds, and got a job in TV here in Columbus, GA where I am right now.

And that, my friends, is how I got lost in the clouds.

Boy, my story sounds a lot like yours.  Grew up in New Orleans and was fascinated by the diurnally driven convection in the summer.  Then, experienced Hurricane Katrina as a tween.  One of the most incredible hurricanes I've been through.  Watching the track slowly shift westward from the Panhandle of Florida to Southeast Louisiana in the days leading up to 8/29/2005.  Seeing people's apathy toward the storm slowly turn to concern and then fear knowing that this was the real deal.  Katrina changed my hometown completely within the matter of hours and solidified my obsession with tropical weather.  Been through several hurricanes after Katrina before moving to Tuscaloosa for college.  

 

Then the fateful 4/27/2011 outbreak.  Another amazing event...watching every model run coming in looking even more grim for that Wednesday afternoon in April.  Watching the event unfold with James Spann doing wall to wall coverage.  Seeing the town of Tuscaloosa forever changed was moving; even to this day there's a large swath right through the middle of town with open lots.  James Spann is another inspiration for me...seeing how he handles such events with poise and being so knowledgeable in his field.   

 

I've decided against pursing meteorology, due to the poor job outlook.  There just seems to be so many people in that field and not as many jobs.  Probably will just keep it as a hobby.  

 

[griteater]

Some good write-ups in here.  For me, it was always about hurricanes and winter storms.  The first hurricanes I remember were David and Frederic in '79 (David's remnants tracked through Charlotte).  The first snowstorm I 'think' I remember was the big one in Feb '79.  The first winter storm I remember following on TV was the 'original' Atlanta snowjam storm in Jan '82.  I can remember meteorologist Jerry Peterson on WSOC in Charlotte describing it as a double-barrel low coming out of the gulf.  It was a moderate snow in Charlotte with a heavy crust of ice on top.  It was also the storm associated with the fatal Air Florida plane crash into the icy Potomac in DC