“Storm Fronts and Fish Tales: A Meteorologist’s Week in Review”
This week was full of storm chasing and story writing about some slimy swimmers!
The best part about being a meteorologist and an environmental journalist is that each week is an adventure! These last few days I found myself chasing storms, interviewing experts, and putting the final touches on a fishy story!
It was a stormy week in the D.C. area, which only means one thing for me: STORM CHASING! This last week was jam-packed with multiple rounds of strong storms. Some of them even became severe! So it became my job to jump in the storm-chasing truck and head straight into the worst of it. Safely of course.
Storm Chasing Set-Up
Here’s the usual setup when I go storm chasing. There is always a team of 3 if not more- my photographer, another meteorologist back at the station, and myself. I will sit in the back of the car where the mobile studio is set up. From there I can access all the cameras in and on top of the car and I can change which camera shots are shown on air. My photographer is the one driving the car. They are also looking for damage that we might see along the way. And finally, there is another meteorologist back at the station who helps send us in the right direction in the safest way possible. It’s always a team effort to get the best weather data and information while staying safe. Weather can switch up on a dime and we are always ready to pivot.
The first day of chasing was definitely the busiest! My photographer and I were able to get into position early so we were ready when the storms started to bubble up. We started near the Leesburg Outlets and once the dark clouds moved in, we moved out. It was the perfect setup for us. We rode along the line of storms all the way back to the station! It’s pretty tough to be in the exact right spot at the exact right time for developing weather, but this time WE DID IT. Earlier in the day I secured an interview with a local power company. They gave some really helpful tips on how people can stay safe if the storms knock out the power.
The first day of chasing was definitely the busiest! My photographer and I were able to get into position early so we were ready when the storms started to bubble up. We started near the Leesburg Outlets and once the dark clouds moved in, we moved out. It was the perfect setup for us. We rode along the line of storms all the way back to the station! It’s pretty tough to be in the exact right spot at the exact right time for developing weather, but this time WE DID IT. Earlier in the day I secured an interview with a local power company. They gave some really helpful tips on how people can stay safe if the storms knock out the power.
Day two of storm chasing was a little different. The classic gray clouds didn’t start to develop until later in the day so my first few ‘live looks’ from the chaser truck were anticlimactic. So much so that I decided we should stop driving, get out of the car, and report on the drought conditions. I spoke with the National Weather Service earlier that day about the rainfall deficit for the D.C. region so I was full of facts and figures. It’s almost like Mother Nature was playing a trick on me because the moment I got on air talking about the drought a storm popped up and it started raining. It was just a few sprinkles at first… but then it was a deluge! My photographer and I quickly jumped into the car and followed that storm cell as far as we could! What started as a dry and sunny storm-chasing day quickly turned soggy!
A Slimy Story
Once the storms were all said and done it was time to turn my attention to a story I’ve been working on for a while!
It’s a piece about invasive fish that are harming the Potomac River. A few months back I was able to go out fishing with the Maryland Coastal Conservation Association. While out on the Potomac River I learned all about the invasive blue catfish. This invasive species is hurting the native fish and their environment.
The best part of filming this story was that I caught my first fish! I’ve never gone fishing before so it was a thrill! If you want to see the whole piece I’ll add a link HERE.
What I Learned
So here are a few takeaways from these experiences. It’s important to always be ready to pivot. When there is something better in another direction, and you can safely do so, start chasing the better option. When we were sitting under a blue sky we could have just asked to be taken out of the newscast but instead, we pivoted. I talked about the lack of rainfall and showed the real impact that it’s having. And when the rain popped up, we pivoted to start chasing that. Another takeaway is to try something new! I have been on a boat many times but I had never caught a fish. It was a totally new experience and I am glad I gave it a try!