#33 – Meteorologist Allison Rogers Makes Weather Personal

Allison Rogers knew she wanted to be a meteorologist when she was twelve years old.

When Hurricane Katrina blew through her hometown, Allison relied on the TV weather to let her know if things were going to be okay. She says she immediately knew that’s what she wanted to do when she grew up, “I want to know why this happened, I want to know how…and I want to know how I can help people if it does happen again.”

A lot of people have a vague idea as a child that they’re interested in something. For most of us it doesn’t stick. But Allison’s drive to understand the weather, and to help other people understand and take action, never went away. Today as a broadcast meteorologist on Cincinnati NBC affiliate WLWT-TV, she’s the person others look to for information, and for safety, when dangerous weather comes through.

Episode #33 – Allison Rogers Links & Information

Building Relationships, Building Trust

Being a broadcast meteorologist is part scientist, part journalist, and part celebrity. If you doubt the science part, just look at the class listing for the broadcast meteorology major at Mississippi State University, where Allison went to school. But taking that scientific training, and translating it into information viewers can use and trust is no simple thing. Allison described the challenges of learning to use the tools of broadcasting, like the green-screen, alongside learning the science of interpreting and predicting weather patterns.

And building trust is key. For Allison the public nature of the job, the demands of social media and the need to connect with her audience, are all part of the package. And she loves it all. Sure, most days it may just be telling people whether to wear another layer, or whether there’s rain in the forecast. But on those days, like the day we met at Left Bank Coffeehouse when the tornado sirens are sounding around Cincinnati, there may just young woman looking to Allison to tell her it’s going to be okay. And maybe that makes it a little easier to bear when the alarm goes off at 4am.