Happy Monday and welcome to another edition of the Beyond The Forecast!
Another week, another opportunity to get to know a member of Your Local Weather Authority. This time, we’re chatting with Delaney Wearden about what got her interested in meteorology, her path in college and career and her experience in Roanoke so far.
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Take it away, Delaney!
Thanks, Justin! When I was growing up, my dad always had The Weather Channel on. As a little kid, this was frustrating at times because I’d want to watch something a little more kid-friendly, but as I grew up, I became much more interested in the stories that were being told.
One night, we had a powerful storm move through San Antonio and it was in that moment that I decided I would become a meteorologist. The incredible storm had me wondering how weather happened. Why was this storm occurring? What ingredients had to be there to fuel a thunderstorm? I had so many questions.
Before long, I was applying to college. The University of Oklahoma was an easy choice as it is the best school in the country to study meteorology. What an exciting and very difficult time college was! Within a few years, I had earned my Bachelor of Science in meteorology with a minor in broadcast journalism.
During my time at OU, I interned with the weather department at KOCO in Oklahoma City. I was also lucky enough to be hired on to work behind-the-scenes running audio, teleprompter and cameras. This gave me hands-on experience behind-the-scenes of a news station and helped me learn how things are run. This greatly prepared me for my first job as a meteorologist in Amarillo, Texas.
The day after I graduated, I made my way from Oklahoma back to Texas. I spent two years covering all kinds of weather. Severe weather is significant in the Texas panhandle which led me to cover countless severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. Not only did we deal with severe storms, but fire weather was a big threat with the strong winds that were almost a constant in the high plains.
After two years, it was time to make my next move. I’ve always been opening to living in new places so when I saw that WSLS had a job opening, I was quick to apply. I could not get over the beauty of Virginia and knew I’d be able to call this place home.
Here we are… two years later. I’m now a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist, which is a prestigious title in weather community. I’ve been lucky enough to continue learning new things and work with a great group of people. The weather is unlike what I’ve forecasted for in the past which has been an exciting challenge.
Thanks Delaney! If you want to catch her forecasts on 10 News, she’s primarily on our weekend evening shows: 6 and 11 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. You will also see her filling in at times for Chris Michaels and Jeff Haniewich during the week.
You can keep up with Delaney on social media, she’s on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! She can also be reached via email at dwearden@wsls.com.
In case you missed it, we profiled Chris in last week’s newsletter. He has a look at what you can expect with the weather on this Monday and for the rest of the week in our daily forecast article. Summertime warmth, humidity and occasional thunderstorms not going anywhere!
You can always get specific forecast details for your zone, whether it’s the Roanoke Valley, Southside, the Highlands 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