Happy belated Weatherperson’s Day

(file photo – today is sunny and 48)

Hey, yesterday, Feb 5, was National Weatherperson’s Day!

(I meant to post this yesterday, but didn’t get it done.)

Thank a weatherperson for his or her public service. The date commemorates the birth of John Jeffries, a Boston physician and one of America’s first weathermen. He was born on Feb 5, 1744 and kept weather records from 1774 to 1816.

(From the National Weather Association site.) 

 

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In Kansas, meteorologists save lives. They tell us about the dangers lurking in the wilds of Kansas: flash floods, blizzards, hail, tornadoes, lightning, strong winds.

It’s the weatherman/weatherwoman we turn to every morning to see what we can expect: sunshine? rain? hail?

Before we start out on a trip in the wintertime, we’ll tune in to see if we’ll be driving into rain or snow or ice.

When a tornado warning is in our area, the TV meteorologists stay on the air to keep us informed. They’ll cut into programming and add maps to the screen to show areas of trouble. During extended periods of severe weather, they’ll stay at the station all night following the storms, keeping us advised.

 

I visited Mark Bogner at KSN in Wichita recently. For the past few years, Mark has been my go-to guy for weather. When I’m writing a column about weather and need to make sure I’ve got my science right, he’s the one I turn to for advice. So I guess you could say that Mark is the official Flyover People meteorologist.

And I’m happy to say that Mark and I are currently co-writing a book about Kansas weather!

Mark grew up on a farm near Kingman; he knows the Kansas weather inside and out and he can explain it well using both personal and a scientific perspectives. I am very excited to have Mark on board with this book, couldn’t be happier with my choice of a co-writer.

Mark Bogner and Mark Davidson during a noon newscast at KSN.