What I Learned About Weather While on Maternity Leave

Hi everyone! Long time, no post...at least from me. I've been on maternity leave since mid-July after my baby girl arrived. Thank you for all the kind words and well-wishes while I've been away! It means more than I know how to say.

Today I want to share with you what I learned about the weather while I was gone. I did zero work, didn't make a forecast or even keep up with much of what was happening in the weather unless it directly impacted me. Does that sound familiar? While on my leave, I felt like a regular consumer of weather information instead of someone with advanced knowledge of atmospheric dynamics. And that experience taught me a few things I want to share with you:

1. It's really easy to not know the forecast. Maybe this sounds like a "duh" moment for you, but I am surrounded by weather information nearly 24/7 because of my job. I totally took for granted knowing the forecast and being able to make good decisions because I had that info. I didn't have to do anything different in my life to be weather-informed...until I had a baby. Suddenly I still needed weather information but had to go looking for it. I opened the WDRB Weather app more often on my maternity leave than I ever had before. I tuned into newscasts I don't usually watch to hear the explanation of a complicated forecast I needed to know more about. Having to go look for that information was unusual and took effort, and I realized I needed to start looking for that info before the weather arrived. If I waited til I wanted to walk out the door to check the forecast, I was often surprised by rain or disappointed by how hot it was. I needed to check the forecast sooner so I could use it to make plans, instead of waiting until I needed it then expecting it to be whatever weather I wanted. Typing that, I hear how silly that sounds.

2. When unexpected active weather picks up, it's a little unnerving. Now, let me be clear - storms didn't hit "out of nowhere" like you might see in a headline somewhere. I simply didn't make myself aware of the forecast, so that's on me. I've always said you bear some personal responsibility to check the forecast so you know what's coming. I can't inform you about the weather if you're not listening or looking for that info. But on my maternity leave I learned what that means practically. It means interrupting my normal routine to seek out information then taking time to understand how that will affect me. It also means having access to resources that I understand not everyone does. I was able to open my WDRB Weather app and see the forecast because the Wi-Fi in my house was working, my smartphone was charged and able to easily pull that data for me. And if none of that worked, I could turn on the TV to hear the forecast in my native language. How can we ensure everyone has access to the weather information they need to make good decisions about their safety? I don't have those answers, but I'm more committed than ever to making that a reality in our community.

3. Trusting the source of the forecast matters. I used the WDRB Weather app a lot to see if it was cool enough to safely take my baby outside or check how far away the rain was. But I will never forget watching Rick DeLuca cover a tornado at midnight from the floor of my kid's nursery via live stream. I put my infant to bed because I trusted Rick's evaluation of that dangerous storm when he said it wasn't headed toward us. And he was right. When you need help around the weather - usually around here that's during severe weather - getting the info you need from someone you trust makes a difference. An app can't tell you if that tornado-warned storm is headed your way or not or what to do if it is headed toward you. A meteorologist does that, and I feel that responsibility now more than ever for those of you who trust us to be your source in those moments.

After reflecting on all of that, I don't think my advice to you around active weather changes but how I communicate it likely will. It's still your responsibility to look for the information you need; I can't reach you if you aren't looking. You can find helpful weather info from our WDRB Meteorologists in all of our newscasts. Those are live 5 - 10 AM, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM, 4 - 7 PM, and 10 - 11:30 PM. When we aren't live, you can watch a replay of the last newscast in our streaming app, WDRB+. We also live stream our newscasts there and in our WDRB News app so you can watch from a mobile device. The WDRB Weather app also has pre-recorded videos from us; exclusive videos you will only find in the app and the forecast from a recent newscast so you can watch those whenever you get time in your day.

All our meteorologists are also on social media. You can find each of us on Facebook, X (a.k.a. Twitter), and Instagram where we share weather information. If you like to read more than listen, this blog is for you. We use this space to share more detailed thoughts about the forecast when the weather turns active. We try our hardest to put that information out in as many forms and places as we can manage, and we hope you come to us looking for that information when you need it.

TL;DR maternity leave showed me it's harder than I expected to stay weather-aware, and I will use that perspective to better communicate around active weather. Thanks for indulging my reflections today; I'll get back to writing a normal blog post tomorrow.