Today’s Question Comes From Facebook

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Today’s question comes from Facebook:

Teresa Walden Terrel: Did you ever want to be anything else other than meteorologist?

Teresa, the answer is yes. I never thought about being on TV growing up. Where I wanted to be was radio!

When I flunked out of college in 1969 I went to work as a disk jockey and lived all across the country: West Palm Beach, Charlotte, Cleveland, Phoenix and Philadelphia. That’s a lot of moving in eleven years.

When my friend Bob Lacey moved (successfully) from radio to TV I decided to take a shot too. My first job was in Buffalo working for Farrell Meisel and Vicky Gregorian, hosting PM Magazine/Buffalo first with Jan Stager then Susan Hunt.

The show was produced 100% on location. We drove everywhere in a pre-4WD Dodge van. As you might imagine Buffalo winters are rough.

After a few years of PM Magazine, I cajoled our news director, Jim Willi, to let me be his weekend weatherman. The idea was to work inside a few days a week.

I knew nothing about meteorology!

It didn’t take long to figure out I enjoyed the subject. Plus it was the first place in the TV station to have a computer! Though I had no formal meteo education I did everything possible to learn.

In 1984 I left Buffalo and moved to New Haven where Mike Sechrist hired me at WTNH.

Around 15 years ago my bosses asked if I would formalize my education. I registered at Mississippi State which has a well known distance learning program for meteorology. Nine semester and 53 credits later I became a certified meteorologist (with academic honors because going to school as a grown-up is VERY different than as a kid).

As it turns out I love meteorology and forecasting. It is seldom a simple or easy task. Commerce and even lives are often affected by what I say. I always keep that in mind.

Every person mentioned is still my friend.

4 thoughts on “Today’s Question Comes From Facebook”

  1. Great story Geoff, shows anything is possible. To me, your love for radio and broadcasting was evident at WINO in Flushing Queens when we first met back in high school!

  2. Wow! Although I have learned a lot about you through your blog as far as the radio gigs—your TV personality as Mr Science made your presentations enjoyable. It is interesting that all those years you were reporting the weather and doing a good job–they should ask you to do the book work! Then, looking ahead, can’t be that many years and they ‘let you go’ from ‘TNH. While I am happy for where life has taken you, New Haven hasn’t had anyone nearly as good, since you left. We do miss you,up here,Geoff.

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