How did you get interested in following the weather?

[Carvers Gap]

I'll start.  I grew up watching Knoxville weather TV.  I was most interested in what was happening to my west.  I was always jealous of people living on the Plateau, and also closely watched the weather in Paducah, KY, and Memphis.  I used to really enjoy listening to the wx radio at my grandparent's house.  Eventually, someone bought me my own weather radio.  I have had two weather radios in my lifetime and knew exactly when the forecast updated each day.  I tracked a bunch of winter storms on those babies!  Next came the weather channel, and I watched it often.   Eventually, the internet became accessible to all, and I decided I wanted more details.   So, I started following the NOGAPS model.  At the time, it was the only model I could find on the internet.  I came to AmWx(whatever it was called prior to this iteration...eastern?), and then my resources and understanding greatly expanded.  Before the TN Valley Forum, we were part of a robust SE forum which was pretty much, "Is it going to snow in North Carolina?"  I learned a lot there from some great amateur hobby folks there and also from red taggers (mets).  I think one of the great things about this wx forum is that meteorologist chime-in and participate - maybe that is the best thing about this site.  

I also grew up in Knoxville until I was ten years old.  It was the 1970s, and it was the glory days of my lifetime.  I spent two years in Florida during the early 80s - pretty much hell for anyone who loves winter and who is also a TN fan.  I do like Florida now, so no offense to the Sunshine State.  My two favorite winters are 84-85 and 14-15.  During the 84-85 winter, my dad was traveling from St Louis and would keep calling home(on payphones) to tell us that he was just ahead of a bad storm.  We were relieved when he got home, and sure enough, bitterly cold air and snow followed as he rode into town.

I do remember the blizzard of '93 as I was on the UT campus at that time.  That was probably the first time I had seen a wx model referenced on TV.  I also watched the WxChannel like crazy during those days.  When the snow started falling, it was very fine in texture.  I thought maybe the storm had missed us.  Nope, bullseye for Knoxville.  I took some cafeteria trays down hills that I probably shouldn't have!

Anyway, thought this might be an interesting thread idea.  

[John1122]

I grew up in the 70s around my grandfather. Our house was across the driveway. He was very weather focused for his whole life. Always recording what the weather was on a particular day to the best of his ability. 

He could "smell snow." I didn't understand how he could but it seemed like it always snowed when he said it was going to do it. Years later I realized it was the smell of burning coal that was often in the air when he predicted snow. 

Around here nearly everyone had coal burning stoves in their house for heat. I live/lived within a mile of multiple coal mines. Even now, in certain areas, I smell that smell when it's cold. Much less than back in those days. 

I loved Margie Ison back then. She was on channel 6. We only got 6 and 10 back then. Channel 26 was a thing but we never had much luck getting it to come in because it was UHF. 

When Margie started talking about Alberta clippers or a Siberian express, get the sleds ready because we were getting 3-6 inches of snow and it was going to be cold. 

My favorite weather events center around snow events. Not surprisingly at all. Two in particular from when I was a child strike me. One, we went to get carpet in Knoxville in the 1970s.

 

I remember three things distinctly, my dad had borrowed a 1970s white ford utility van. My brother's and I had enough room to hold full on wrestling matches in the back as we drove there. It was a Sunday and we left with no snow on the ground. I remember being amazed at how big the rolls of carpet were in that warehouse. 

It was raining when we left the place in Knoxville. I think it was on Broadway. It was cold and coming down really hard. It poured all the way up I-75 until we started up the hill above Cherry Bottom in Southern Campbell County. Suddenly, about halfway up the hill, it started snowing. By the top, and further north in Campbell County it was a winter wonderland. There was probably four inches of snow down and it was pouring big, wet, goosefeathers. We all celebrated no school that next day. 

It was the first time I knew that winter weather was different here than it was points south of here. 

The second, my grandfather said we might as well not go to church that evening because it was going to snow and they'd call it off.  This was probably 3pm. He hadn't had any way to watch weather that day. 

I stayed home with them but my mom made my little brother go. It was December 12th, and it got dark early. By 6pm it was dark and light snow, enough to dust the car tops had started. By 6:45 pm not much more had fallen. I started watching Ripley's Believe It or Not at 7pm and my brother came in about 7:30, church usually went from 7 to 8:15ish. He said that they barely made it home.

I went and looked out and in 30 or  45 minutes about 3 inches of snow had fallen and it was pouring. We got 9 inches that evening into Monday morning. 

Days like that made me love winter and I was always trying to be more like my grandfather, and his weather love was infectious to me. 

[nrgjeff]

I can't remember an age I did not love a good storm. Certainly by 2nd grade my career was set.

I'm told I was fascinated by the Great Flood of the Country Club Plaza in KCMO 1977. I do not really remember it; only read articles later. Likely the flood planted the seeds before I could remember.

Ironically flooding bores me like watching someone else derive calculus, that I don't need to know for a test or anything. I want wind, hail and tornadoes!
John Hope got me interested in hurricanes mid to late 80s. My love of snow would probably be there regardless. Who doesn't' like snow?

I don't chase snow or hurricanes. Snow is more fun when it comes to me, esp the challenge in the South. I'm not interested in structure only either. I want tornadoes!

[8283 El Nino Baby]

I lived in the California bay area for most my life, so weather was usually quite boring. Especially since I lived in the shadow of the Santa Cruz mountains. Some years they would get 80 inches of rain and my area 20 miles way would get 12.

My love of weather grew mostly from a fascination with the power of hurricanes and tornadoes. I would religiously watch the Weather Channel tropical update at 50 past the hour with legendary John hope. 

My passion grew further in the 97-98 El Nino where for a change, strong pacific storms seemed to hold together, even where I lived. 

In 2 years of living in Tennessee I am a bit spoiled as I have seen more close proximity lightning in one 2 minute storm then all of the lighting I saw over 38 years of living in California. Plus, getting to experience snow where I live is amazing as I used to have to drive the Sierras and it seemed to never snow when I visited. Hoping for a snowy winter this year.

The one thing I hate in weather is drought and monotony. They say people in Seattle get depressed from day after day of clouds and rain. Well I feel the same way after days of dry sunny weather. I have found the last 3 months pretty lame as the drought has taken hold in the Southeast.

[BuCoVaWx]

I can remember watching the weather channel as a very young child. Probably 3 or 4, some of my earliest memories. I was amazed at how the weather could change on a dime, and how everyone is affected by the weather. 

We moved in our new big house in Oct 92. The property was really big for a young boy. I was 7 when the 93 blizzard hit. That storm had a major impact on my love for weather. I had experienced snow before, but not on that level. I was amazed at how it just shut everything down. Almost as if I was in a different world. That Saturday afternoon my brother and I met up with a few other neighborhood kids and had an absolute blast. Riding inner tubes down hillsides, snow ball fights and we built an awesome snow igloo, enough for 3 of us to fit into. That evening as it got darker, the wind slowed but the snow continued to fall. The complete silence and the snow weighing the trees and power lines was nothing I had ever witnessed, almost eerie, but I loved it. I will never forget it. I've been a freak over weather, especially winter weather ever since.

On the warmer side of weather, my first real experience was in third grade. I was at school, I remember going to the gym, which was outside and separate from the school. That was around 11 that morning. There were a few clouds but nothing out of the ordinary. After 45 minutes to an hour later, as the teacher walked us back to the main building, the sky was an ominous color. A greenish/purple hue hung overhead in very low fast moving clouds. It was frightening to me. We got back to the classroom and an announcement came over the speaker for the teachers to get ready for a tornado "test". My teacher actually drug the TV out and put it on the weather channel. As I had watched it for years leading up to this moment, I understood more than most kids that age. It was not a pretty sight. A line of severe storms was moving in very close to the area. As the siren sounded for our drill, the power started flickering as we made our way into the hallway. They made us all get against the wall, hunker down and put our hands over our head. I knew it was serious because the older kids who were on the second floor all came down to the first floor. After a few seconds of being in the hands over head position, the power went completely out. Thunder crashed so hard it shook the ground below us. I remember the wind smashing rain and hail into the window to the lower end of the hall. To make it worse the older kids were teasing the younger kids that were scared. A huge tree limb crashed into the window and broke a bunch of glass out of it. After that, there was silence. The older kids were now scared out of their minds, a long with some of the staff. Things eventually cleared up, but for the rest of that day there were multiple severe storms and tornado warnings issued for the area. After that, I was absolutely terrified of thunderstorms for a couple of years. As I got older that fear turned into fascination. 

Those two events as a young kid stuck with me and made my love for weather very real. 

Sorry for the novel lol. I start talking about past weather events and never shut up.

[ottorec]

I remember sitting in class (Knoxville) in the 1960s ….looking out the window and watching the light rain in the morning , knowing that it would change to snow around 10 am because Margie said it would. And, many times it did. I think for most of us non- technical weather lovers, we became enamored with winter forecasts because of the anticipation and excitement it would bring. I think now my love for winter weather is due to the memories it stirs from those good ole days. I’m sure all of us remember waking up several times per night to peek out the window for that dusting to an inch. Seems like it like it was more often than it really was. Heck, I even married a “TV weather girl” in the 80s. She lasted 5 months on TV ….she was terrible. (We were only married for 3 years……not just because she was a terrible weather girl).    Cheers.