Look, there are just some folks that I really appreciate in the weather community. Most are folks you probably never heard of. Not because they aren’t out making a difference but because the difference they make isn’t being live tweeted.
Though maybe it should be.
I want to tell you a story about some really awesome weather folks who get me star struck…
Ariel Cohen
Back when I was on TV a lot of folks said, “Nick you must be pretty smart to accurately forecast the weather in Mississippi…” but let me tell you about a guy who is way smarter than I’ll ever be: Ariel Cohen.
He is, like, the Yoda of severe weather forecasting.
Never heard of him? I’m not surprised. While he is a fantastic Meteorologist that works for the National Weather Service, he doesn’t spend much time on TV. But he still gets on screen, occasionally. Here he is casually explaining the physics of tornadoes forming from Supercell Thunderstorms.
I first “met” Ariel through his work. He was a meteorologist at the Storm Prediction Center while I was at ym first TV job in Amarillo, Texas. Whenever I went to read a forecast discussion from the SPC, I looked forward to his the most. A few years later, I found a paper he co-wrote: “The Statistical Severe Convective Risk Assessment Model”
I’ll be honest, I understood about 25-percent of it. Maybe.
But it was fascinating stuff. And it made me hunt down all of his subsequent work. I read “The Challenge of Forecasting Significant Tornadoes from June to October Using Convective Parameters,” “Tornado Damage Rating Probabilities Derived from WSR-88D Data,” and “Evaluation of Multiple Planetary Boundary Layer Parameterization Schemes in Southeast U.S. Cold Season Severe Thunderstorm Environments,” all of which he co-wrote.
Again, I understood about 25-percent of these papers, but it was great stuff, fascinating and completely applicable to my career.
I’ve had a chance to meet him, in real life, twice. The first time I said, like, two words to him because I was too star struck to speak. The second time, in a group setting, I’m certain I made a fool of myself because I told the entire group – in front of him – how much I appreciated and admired his work and meteorological skill.
Chad Gravelle
Poor Chad. Here’s a guy that doesn’t get me as star struck anymore, but man when I had a chance to shake his hand the first time I bet he was looking for the exit.
Don’t know Chad? He would probably prefer it that way. He is as humble as summer breeze. And an award winner.
Chad was my gateway to the world of CIPS Analogs. He is a great meteorologist who is probably more of a specialist with satellite meteorology than severe weather forecasting – and that says a lot because he is a very good severe weather forecaster. And he may know more about the backend of model data creation than either of those things.
I would say, “I read Chad’s paper “XXX” but I haven’t. I’ve tried. But I didn’t understand any of it. Way over my head.
He is the Renaissance Man of meteorology, I don’t think there is anything he isn’t at least “good” at with weather.
Chad helped teach me the ropes of analog-based weather forecasting. The CIPS Analogs got my foot in the door for looking at past set-ups to make predictions about future similar set-ups. And it is what paved the way for the Karrie Meter. The Karrie Meter is basically a super-localized CIPS Analogs on steroids for just severe weather.
On top of that, he also introduced me to the NBM – the National Blend of Models. This is a new way of producing a computerized forecast that is more accurate that past model data. It uses, as the name implies, a blend of model data to try to find the most accurate forecast within a batch of guidance. It takes into account ensemble members, short-range and medium-range data, as well as convective-allowing model guidance.
With his guidance, the NBM helped cut my forecasting time down by about one-third, allowing me more time to focus on high impact weather. And freed me up to continue to perfect the Karrie Meter.
Dave Schwartz
You may know this name. He was a television meteorologist at The Weather Channel.
People say, “Don’t meet your heroes.” But as someone who missed the opportunity to meet one of his, I can say, “Meet them. Every chance you get.”
My only interaction with him was via Linkedin when I reached out to him, congratulating him on his return to television (at that time with “Network Weather” which ended up falling through, I think) and I half-joked about ‘if you need anyone, I’d love to work with you!’
Dave was the one who got me into weather. Not directly, but through television. When I was a kid, his engaging personality and unique way of presenting the weather was captivating. He explained things that other people didn’t bother explaining. And made it fun and interesting.
While I knew as a kid I liked nature and science, it was Dave’s presence – both literally and figuretivly – on television that helped me fall in love with the weather. He spent more than 20 years at The Weather Channel as an on-air meteorologist. He started doing overnights. I recall watching him at during my summer vacation as a kid. I would be up at 2am in Wisconsin watching him make the West Coast and Alaska forecasts fun and interesting.
He wasn’t a typical “degreed meteorologist” as he actually got his degree from Temple in Psychology. Later in life, he attended Mississippi State and earned his certificate in Broadcast Meteorology. But he did so after more than 10 years on the air. For me, also not a degreed meteorologist, he made it feel like I could still end up having a weather job even without the degree.
So when I say, “meet your heroes,” I do so because I had the chance to meet mine. And didn’t.
Over the years I got lucky enough to befriend a few folks that worked at The Weather Channel, one who worked directly with Dave every day, Alex Wilson. She even offered to show me around TWC and she would introduce me to Dave! But, I got too scared. What would I say to him, you know? He was Dave freaking Schwartz! Here is a guy I’ve looked up to my whole life.
So I kept kicking the can down the road, hoping one day I’d be brave enough to say, “Hi Dave. I’m Nick.”
And you think you have all the time in the world. Until you don’t. Dave fought Cancer three times. But eventually, well, Cancer sucks.
Some folks who watch WDAM may remember me breaking down into tears briefly during the 630p news the day he passed. I’d just found out before air. To this day it is difficult for me. And I didn’t even “know” the guy. But, because he was such an important part of my journey, I do feel like I owe him a lot
That’s just the short list…
There are tons of great people who work in the weather community – both on TV and behind the scenes. Honestly, I could write another 20 names on here and keep going all night. And I’d still have more people to list off.
But I did want to take some time out today to list off a few folks that, for very different reasons, I think are amazing meteorologists and people who deserve a digital thanks from this meteorologist.
