In 1999, there were two unprecedented occurrences. The historic Oklahoma tornado outbreak and my birth. It’s almost as if fate has linked my life and weather together. For most people, their first memories are of toys, pets, and things of this nature. But for me, my first memory is of a hurricane. Weather is my life.
My mom loves to tell stories about how, as a toddler, I would hide under the covers in my room every time it would rain. I would insist on returning home if there was even a hint of gray in the sky. I also had a nasty habit of chewing holes in my shirt from my weather anxiety, but I’ve thankfully grown out of that. For Christmas, when I was seven, my grandmother bought me a weather radio, so I could always have the latest forecast at my fingertips. I’m not sure that I understood most or any of the information that came across the radio at that age, but when that alert signal would sound I would run through the house to make sure everyone knew of the impending doom.
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I wanted to know everything about this mythical thing that terrified me in my early years. I was very fortunate to grow up in the age of the internet, giving me the ability to answer every question that came to my mind. El Niño, La Niña, downbursts, multi-vortex tornadoes, I wanted to know all the terms and to share my findings with everyone, whether they wanted to know or not. While my friends were playing video games, I spent my afternoons watching YouTube videos from Reed Timmer, and Hank Schyma. Arriving home a couple of hours before my parents after school, meant that I could sneak in a couple of hours of The Weather Channel to get caught up on the day’s weather events before my mom changed the channel to Seinfeld