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The Weather Dude
Like many other Fort Worth natives, Nick Walker was anxious about the weather
forecast for the area on March 28, 2000. He knew that colliding strong warm and
cold fronts would likely produce supercell thunderstorms that could result in
hail, or worse, a tornado outbreak.
Before the end of the day, Walker's fears came true. Tornadoes hit Fort
Worth and nearby Arlington and Grand Prairie in the early evening, causing widespread
damage in both downtown Fort Worth and several neighborhoods. Five deaths were
attributed to the storm.
But Walker couldn't let his fears tear him up. As an on-camera meteorologist
for The Weather Channel in Atlanta, he had to be calm and objective while reporting
on the tornadoes during Evening Edition.
"The storms still affected me because my parents still live in Fort Worth," he
says. "But it was real gratifying to know that what I was doing could possibly
save lives."
DJ to storm tracker
Now the co-host of The Weather Channel's First Outlook, which airs weekdays
from 4 to 6 a.m. Central time, Walker didn't initially consider a career
in meteorology. He entered North Texas State University in 1971 to major in communications.
He worked as a disk jockey for KNTU-FM, the campus radio station.
"The radio station was a great experience because I learned to ad lib. Today,
almost everything I say on camera is an ad lib," he says.
After graduating in 1977, Walker worked briefly for a Denton radio station, then
switched to television. He was hired by a San Angelo station.
"I shot film, wrote stories and anchored. It was a great place to start," he
says.
Walker then worked at television stations in Austin and Wichita, Kan., before
joining KIRO-TV in Seattle as an anchor and reporter.
In late 1992, he was asked to fill in for one of the station's meteorologists,
who had suddenly quit.
"I knew nothing about weather reporting. I learned how to work the weather computer
in four days, and the news director advised before my first day to just read
the report from the National Weather Service and point to the clouds on the satellite," Walker
says.
He expected to return to news reporting in a few months.
Seattle's "Inauguration Day Windstorm" in January 1993 changed
his mind, however. The storm sent gusts up to 100 mph to Seattle and other cities
in Washington, toppled trees and power poles and forced widespread closure of
roads. More than 600 homes were destroyed or sustained major damage.
After reporting on the storm, Walker became hooked on weather.
"Only one person died in Seattle. I realized that weather reporting saves lives," Walker
says. "It's what I've wanted to do ever since."
After deciding to make weather forecasting a career, he earned a certificate
in broadcast meteorology through a correspondence program at Mississippi State
University. He joined The Weather Channel in 1999.
Singing about snow
Walker doesn't just explain weather to the business travelers who are the
primary audience for his Weather Channel show. As the "Weather Dude," he
regularly gives presentations to elementary school students. A musician since
high school, Walker also produced a CD, Sing Along With the Weather Dude, with
10 songs to explain weather to children.
He became the "Weather Dude" when his Seattle station asked him to
speak at an elementary school.
"A teacher suggested I sing a weather song to keep her class's attention.
I wrote a little rap song, and later wrote two more songs. Then I decided to
do a recording," Walker says.
His CD and the accompanying book are now being used in classrooms across the
United States. Walker also maintains a web site (www.wxdude.com) to answer
questions about the weather.
"Explaining weather to students keeps me sharp. Once in a while, a question
will stump me, and I'll go to one of The Weather Channel experts for the
answer. I always learn something new," he says.
Taking weather seriously
Since joining The Weather Channel, Walker has covered several significant weather
events in addition to the Fort Worth tornado, including Hurricane Floyd in
September 1999.
Walker says large storms increase viewership of the channel.
"The weather determines the ratings. A snowstorm impacting only a small
area is not going to get the audience of a snowstorm that affects several major
metropolitan areas like New York and Boston," he says.
He says the biggest challenge facing meteorologists is finding a line between
underplaying a storm and overwarning about it.
"You want to err on the side of caution, giving people the idea of the
storm's potential without scaring them," he says.
When weather isn't always as predicted, some blame the meteorologist,
he says.
"Hurricane Floyd looked like it would hit Florida at first, but it passed
Florida by. People who had prepared for the storm were mad at us," he says.
At the same time, others don't take The Weather Channel seriously.
"Lots of people like to poke fun at it," Walker says, adding that
clips of him aired on the Late Show with David Letterman and Comedy Central's
The Daily Show. "But it does provide a valuable service. When I was a news
reporter, not everyone watched my stories, but just about everyone watches the
weather. After I started doing weather in Seattle, people would actually come
to me on the street to talk."
And while Walker feels gratification in providing useful information about approaching
storms, he personally prefers quieter weather.
"My favorite weather is blue sky, temperatures in the 70s and low humidity," he
says. "We only get a few days like that in Atlanta. But it's always
wonderful when it happens."
UNT News Service Phone Number: (940) 565-2108
Contact: Nancy Kolsti (940) 565-3509
Email: nkolsti@unt.edu
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