Happy Monday and welcome to another edition of the Beyond The Forecast!
Typically, we use this weekly newsletter to explain current weather phenomena; however, this week will be a little different!
Recommended Videos
We’re starting a mini-series and we’re taking you behind the scenes with the four meteorologists who make up Your Local Weather Authority.
Jeff, Chris, Delaney and I will talk about our backgrounds in meteorology and what led us to Roanoke and WSLS 10.
First up, Chris Michaels. Take it away Chris!
Thanks Justin!
Hey guys, Chris Michaels, here.
My path to meteorology was kind of weird, to be quite honest. Most people know this is what they want to do from a very young age. I didn’t find out until my senior year of high school.
My friend’s dad was a meteorologist in Raleigh and would talk about how he loved his job. I was then “mistakenly” placed in a meteorology course in high school. Justin McKee just so happened to be in this class too! Small world, right?
From there, I decided this was something for me. I ditched my desire to become a music engineer and once again followed Justin McKee to North Carolina State.
I went there for four years and got a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology. This required calculus, physics, chemistry and thermodynamics.
Anyway, the course load isn’t enough to get into television. I wound up going through multiple internships between WRAL-TV and what is now known as Spectrum in Raleigh. Five days after graduating, I began work at WCYB-TV in Bristol, Virginia.
Here, I covered a handful of tornadoes, wildfires, flooding events and snowstorms.
After four years working there, I moved to Roanoke. I’ve been here for more than three years and I love it.
The weather is challenging. (I’ve covered plenty more tornadoes, tropical systems and ice storms here than I did in my previous job.) The area has a lot of natural beauty and things to do.
Thanks Chris! If you haven’t seen him on the news, tune in! He does the weather on Virginia Today from 5 to 7 a.m. and WSLS 10 News at Noon Monday through Friday.
You can also keep up with Chris on social media, he’s on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Finally, if you have a weather photo you want to share with Chris or a weather question you want to ask him, he can be reached via email at cmichaels@wsls.com.
Speaking of Chris, he has a look at what you can expect with the weather this week in our daily forecast article. Spoiler alert: he has good news for warm weather fans!
You can always get specific forecast details for your zone, whether it’s the Roanoke Valley, Lynchburg area, the New River Valley or elsewhere around Southwest and Central Virginia, anytime at WSLS.com/weather. Know your zone!
In case you missed it, we’re posting great weather and science content on WSLS.com. Here are a few links from the past week to check out:
If you prefer your weather information delivered by social media, you can follow Your Local Weather Authority on Facebook and Twitter.
You can also keep up with me on social media. I’m on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, follow along!
-- Justin McKee