THE LOVE OF WEATHER, MORE THAN JUST A RADAR
Knowing your weather person comes from more than a radar post!
For many of you, you know your local weather person as just that face behind the screen or on your tv. The one who brings the weather to you each and every day. For many of you, that one you ridicule when the forecast is wrong and praise when the forecast is right. For some, the one who saved their lives during a major tornado, or helped them plan for that winter storm. For us, It is MUCH MORE than just a radar or a forecast. For your local weather person it is a way of life. Just like many sports players who do it for the love of the game, we do it for the love of weather, the science behind it, and occasionally, the travel that goes with it. Weather is much more than just radar. Its a constant study of the atmosphere, weather patterns and even the sky itself. Why do we do it? Well its much more than you think!
For a few of our team members each year, the love of weather involves being in the elements. No matter if it is seen rolling through the Ozarks of Arkansas, or traversing the open Plains of Tornado Alley, there is ALWAYS something to be seen especially during the spring. For those of us who bring you the forecast each and every day, it is a release to go into that open field and study everything that nature throws our way. Sometimes it could be hail, other times it could be amazing light shows that storms give us each summer. It is more than just a tornado, because those are destructive, it is about the scenic beauty in which weather brings. Unfortunately sometimes that is met with the chaos of severe weather, other times it is met with the beauty of clouds forming in a field or that tractor sitting there just waiting for a raindrop to hit it. Other times, it could be nature from the ground meeting the sky in something simple as cows in a field underneath a storm.
It is a sense of awe and wonder, that mystery that brings the storm. For us the travel and being in the elements we forecast so many times is actually a way to relax and ease our constantly storming minds. Minds that are on business, on making sure your safe, and making sure that we are taking care of ourselves mentally and physically during our most chaotic time of the year. To be able to travel, even with very little means, and still be able to experince the natural beauty of weather is something very few understand, but to us in the weather world, it is all about that peace of mind that only a storm can give. While others choose the beach or the mountains we seek out that wonder of nature. When one thinks of storm chasing, one thinks of the Reed Timmers, or the movies like Twisters and Twister. For those of us in the weather world who enjoy weather, a simple meal out of town surrounded by friends or sharing a bust under the open Oklahoma sky is all it takes to make us happy. At the end of the day, its more than a "vacation" to us it is a way of life. A way of life we breathe, a way of life we live 24/7 365 days a year. So when we get that chance to see the awe and wonder of nature, we take it. Afterall, studying those patterns out in the elements could mean us being able to better forecast that next storm or even better, being able to give you a better heads up when we step behind the screen once again.
This is just one of the many ways to get to know that person behind your screen. We are more than just that face you see on air, the one who is all doom and gloom or always trying to find the worst as many seem. We are just humans who enjoy the same things as anyone else, just in a different mindset. Just because we may not seem like it, we are to just trying to navigate that season of life like anyone else. So next time you think of saying or bashing someone in this field, remember that we are just like you, navigating the storm. But for many of us, you may see us under that storm taking a photo, in a field just sitting there watching the sky for the next big thing. Don't worry, we are just fine. We are doing what we do best, relaxing the storm in our minds and always keeping and eye to the sky. Our love of weather, is far more than just a radar post or a forecast, it is in fact a way of life.
~Derek Smith
President Arkansas Weather Watchers Media Group LLC
