Weather World Alumni

We've had a lot of friends since we've been on the air. Here, you can take a look back into our past with some familiar faces. Most biographies of our weather world alumni have not been updated since their days on the show.  Kudos to where they are now.

Paul Knight

Paul Knight was a founding member of the Penn State Weather Communications Group. He along with Fred Gadomski designed the format and content of Weather World in 1983 and Paul was a host and producer of the show until he retired in June, 2015. Paul began his academic career at New York University looking for a dual degree in meteorology and oceanography, but came to Penn State in 1973 and has never left. He earned his BS and MS in meteorology in the mid 1970's, worked for a few years at AccuWeather and then returned to Penn State in 1983. In 1986, he, Fred and Lee began composing the daily weather page for the New York Times (which ended in 2010). In 1994, Paul was named the Pennsylvania State Climatologist and was elected as the president of the American Association of State Climatologists from 2006-2008. He has held the AMS TV Seal of Approval since 1980 and was awarded the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist seal from the AMS. Paul also holds the NWA TV Seal and is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist. In 2000, Paul was made manager of the Penn State Weather Communications Group. He and Fred received the Broadcaster of the Year Award from the AMS and The Pennsylvania Radio and Television Broadcasters Association in 2003. Paul was inducted into the Meteorologists Hall of Fame on Ground Hog Day 2010. He and his wife (also a Penn State grad) live in Boalsburg.

Fred Gadomski

Fred Gadomski was a founding member of the Penn State Weather Communications Group and worked with Paul Knight to create the current format of Weather World in 1983. For 35 years, Fred was a host, producer, and forecaster for the show until he retired in September of 2018. Fred is originally from New Bedford, Massachusetts and began working with Weather World in 1980. He received his bachelors degree from Lowell University and an MS degree from Penn State in the field of meteorology. For years, he was a senior forecaster for the New York Times and an instructor of meteorology at Penn State. Fred has been on the American Meteorological Society Board of Broadcasting and made appearances on television shows such as Good Morning America, The Today Show, and Newton's Apple. Fred also enjoys politics. He was inducted into the Meteorologists Hall of Fame in 2012.

Lee joined Weather World in late 1984. He is originally from Butler, PA and received his bachelors degree from Penn State University. Lee then went on to get two masters degrees from Emory College in Georgia and Montreal's McGill University. An original member of The Weather Communications Group, Lee is a current forecaster for the New York Times.

Lee has taught classes at Penn State in meteorology and advanced math. Lee has co-authored with Jon Nese a college level meteorology text book. Lee coordinates the teaching assistants in the Department of Meteorology. Among Lee's avid interests are softball and animals. Lee retired from Penn State in August, 2012.

Raymond J. Ban is retired Executive Vice President of Programming and Meteorology at The Weather Channel, Inc. He is currently Consultant, Weather Industry and Government Partnerships and is responsible for growing TWC relationships with the atmospheric science community across the entire weather and climate enterprise. In addition, he is a guest lecturer in the Meteorology and Atmospheric Science Department at Penn State University where he teaches a part of each semester in the Weather Communications Program. Ray has been with The Weather Channel for over 28 years and is considered one of the founders of TWC having served as an On-Camera Meteorologist at the launch of the network.

In the industry, Ray has been an active member of the AMS for more than 35 years and holds both the Television and Radio Seals of Approval from the Society. Previously Ray was the Commissioner on Professional Affairs for the AMS for six years, served as Councilor for three years and is now serving on the Steering Committee of the AMS Commission on The Weather and Climate Enterprise. He is an Alumni Fellow of Penn State University, the most prestigious award given by the Penn State Alumni Association, a Centennial Fellow of Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, has served on the Board of Atmospheric Science and Climate of the National Academy of Sciences, and has also served as President of the Alumni Board of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State. Currently, among other committee positions, he is Chair of the NOAA Science Advisory Board and sits on the Board of Directors of the National Environmental Education Foundation. Prior to joining TWC in 1982, Ray worked as an operational weather forecaster at Accu-Weather, Inc., from 1973 to 1982. He graduated from Penn State with a degree in meteorology.

Elliot is originally from Philadelphia and has been part of the show since 1967. He graduated from Penn State University with a masters degree in meteorology. He is currently the Senior Vice President ofAccuWeather Inc. and is considered the most recognizable radio weather personality in the country.

Elliot has received numerous awards in the meteorological field including the prestigious American Meteorological Society's awards for excellence in broadcasting and forecasting. Elliot is also a local government representative and in his spare time enjoys playing golf. He has been elected an AMS Fellow, and was asked to be a candidate for AMS Council in this fall's AMS election. His wife Bonnie is also a Penn State grad and has been teaching second grade for more than 30 years. Their oldest son Mike was editor of The Daily Collegian when he was at Penn State and now works at The New York Times; their youngest son Randy was business manager of The Daily Collegian and is now a vice-president at Credit Suisse.

Drew Anderson

After a couple of years of production behind the scenes for Weather World, Drew made his on-air debut on the most celebrated weather day of the year... Groundhog Day 2010! Capturing the festivities and sprit of the day, Drew delivered his first forecast on-location in Punxsutawney, PA, home of Punxsutawney Phil. As a May 2010 graduate in meteorology, Drew is no stranger to the Weather World personalities as he has worked with and learned from the entire Weather Communications Group.

Joe Bastardi

Due in large part to his enthusiastic love for snow, Joe was known to many at Weather World as Joe Snow. He is a native of Providence Rhode Island, though lived for 4 years in College Station Texas where his dad got his meteorology degree at Texas A and M, and then for 7 years in Somers Point NJ. He was with Weather World for 20 years, 1977 to May of 1997. For over 30 years, he was a weather forecaster and broadcaster at AccuWeather. Joe is currently the chief meteorologist at weatherbell.com where he has been since 2011. Joe has a highly respected expertise in predicting tropical storms. He is a former Penn State wrestler and has continued to be successful at the masters level in bodybuilding. He has become well-known for his often surprisingly accurate long-range forecasts which have been accurate enough so that he has been able to make a living on it.

Jeff Warner

Jeff joined the Weather World team in May, 2001. Prior to becoming an on-air meteorologist, Jeff worked for the Weather Communications Group as a daily forecaster for The New York Times and was an instructor of several meteorology courses. Jeff currently is the undergraduate advisor for the E&MS College and works with incoming students to help them get acquainted with college life. He received a bachelor of science degree in meteorology from Penn State in 1996, followed by a master of science degree in meteorology from PSU in 1999. Jeff has always been fascinated by the weather, but became most intensely interested following the May 31, 1985 tornado outbreak in Pennsylvania. He can still remember looking out his window that night in suburban Pittsburgh and being fascinated by the vivid lightning to his north.

Jeff is an avid sports fan, with special interest for any Pittsburgh or Nittany Lion teams. He also works part-time in the sports information office as a game-day assistant, primarily handling statistical duties for men's and women's basketball along with men's and women's volleyball. Jeff also works football game-days in the media section of the press box at Beaver Stadium. Other interests include coin collecting and Frank Sinatra music.

Steve Seman

Steve Seman joined the Weather World team in May of 2003, making his first appearance the day before he graduated from Penn State with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Meteorology. In addition to his appearances on Weather World, Steve teaches several online meteorology courses in Penn State's Certificate of Achievement in Weather Forecasting program.

Steve's main meteorological interests are synoptic and mesoscale forecasting, and of course, weather communications. During his college years, he interned at WLIO NBC 35 in Lima, Ohio and WTVG 13 ABC in Toledo, Ohio. He was fortunate enough to appear on-air several times in Lima, doing short weather segments during NBC's weekend Today.

Growing up in Findlay, Ohio, Steve developed an intense interest in severe thunderstorms, as they are a great demonstration of nature's awesome power. When he's not looking at the sky, or his computer, Steve loves watching Cincinnati Reds baseball, Penn State football, and playing sports. He also enjoys music and relaxing with friends and family. Steve would like to thank everyone who tunes in to Weather World every night. Listen up Weather Nation, Some of his colleagues think he is a dead-ringer as the weatherman version of Stephen Colbert!

Scott Loeffler

Scott was born outside of Detroit, MI shortly before moving to Dallas, TX, where he got his first taste of severe weather. The sound of large hail hitting his roof made a 5 year old Scott wonder how the atmosphere could "throw big cubes at his house." He then moved to just north of Miami, FL, where he experienced the 2004 hurricane season that saw four hurricanes hit Florida, and watched the Tropical Update on The Weather Channel on a daily basis. Scott then moved to Cleveland, OH, where he was introduced to lake effect snow, rounding out a wide variety of weather experiences. He attended the University of Michigan from 2011 to 2015 where he was the fundraising and outreach chair for the local chapter of the American Meteorological Society. During his time at Michigan, Scott interned for the National Weather Service Detroit office as well as interned for the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab. Scott came to Penn State in fall 2015 for his graduate studies in radar meteorology.

He enjoys watching and following college football as well as being a movie enthusiast.

Jacob Morse

Jacob was born and raised in Brookfield, CT, and has been intrigued and passionate about the weather from a young age. Big snowstorms have always excited Jacob as he is an avid skier, so he wanted to know when the mountains of New England were going to have the best ski conditions. Jacob is currently a senior meteorology student at Penn State, with a particular focus on forecasting and communication, and also a part of the Schreyer Honors College. Jacob was honored to receive the NOAA Hollings Scholarship in 2019, which kickstarted his research project on investigating winter weather messaging strategies that he is continuing now at Penn State. Jacob served as the Head of Communications for the Penn State Campus Weather Service in 2020 and also was a meteorologist for the Centre County Report on their live Friday newscasts during the fall of 2020. During the summer of 2019, Jacob had the fantastic opportunity to intern at WVIT/NBC CT, the TV station he grew up watching, where he really got to see what it is like to be a broadcast meteorologist.

Jacob started helping out with Weather World as a freshman in the fall of 2017, giving time cues to the on-air talent and learning how the show was produced. He officially joined the Weather World team in the fall of 2019 as a director of the show and then made his on-air debut as a host in November of that year. Jacob has been a forecaster on the show since the fall of 2020 and has gotten to forecast for a few large snowstorms in the Commonwealth. Besides meteorology being a huge passion for Jacob, he also enjoys skiing, hiking, biking, golfing, bowling, and photography. He's also a sports fanatic and loves to cheer on his beloved New York Mets.

Nick Guzzo

Nick Guzzo was born in Dallas, PA and used to be horrified of disastrous weather. Thunderstorms, especially the severe kind, were a nightmare to him. He would constantly check weather forecasts to see if there were any chances for thunderstorms. This led to him learning more about the ever-changing atmosphere which quickly started to fascinate him. Meteorology soon became a hobby of his, and once hurricane Irene hit the Northeast in 2011, a career path in meteorology became cemented. Nick was fascinated by the power of the hurricane and wanted to learn even more about meteorology. During his time here at Penn State, Nick remained very involved. He has done the student run weather shows Up in the Air and Weather or Not, the Emmy award winning college newscast Centre County Report, and eventually joined Weather World in the spring of 2020. Nick started as a director for Weather World and then quickly began doing features, #Headlines, and was a forecaster on the show. Aside from meteorology, Nick loves the outdoors. In his free time, he can be seen hiking, running, cooking, and spending time with friends. Nick graduated in the spring of 2021 and began his career as a broadcast meteorologist in Elmira, NY.

Christopher Tate

Christopher Tate found his way to Penn State in 2018 and joined the Weather World crew shortly thereafter. A native of Burlington, North Carolina, his fascination with meteorology extends back many years. Any sort of winter weather gets him especially excited, explaining in part why most of the meteorology programs he applied to were in the northern half of the US. He has maintained a heavy involvement in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science at Penn State, joining several clubs, assisting on Weather World, and taking weather observations in State College as a tower worker.

Christopher graduated with his degree in Meteorology and Atmospheric Science in December 2021. He was also the president of Penn State's Campus Weather Service, which in 2022 celebrates its 50th anniversary. He was the club's Head of IT in the calendar year prior, and was responsible for helping both CWS and Weather World switch to remote forecasting when the COVID-19 pandemic suspended in-person activities. He also gave forecasts on the Centre County Report, a student-run newscast in the Bellisario College of Communications, in Fall 2021. He started a new chapter in New York City as an Associate Weather Producer/Forecaster for FOX Weather, the new 24/7 digital streaming channel, in January 2022. When not forecasting the next weather-maker, he enjoys tinkering with new computer software, the odd bit of coding, geocaching, and making contacts around the world as an amateur radio licensee.

Heather Waldman

Heather was with the Weather World family since her freshman year as a producer and director, but weather was not always a passion for Heather, in fact, she was terrified of thunderstorms as a child. Her parents still enjoy telling stories of her hiding in the basement upon seeing "dark clouds" rolling into the backyard. Growing up, she learned all that she could and is now fascinated by the fury of mother nature. Heather served as Vice President of the Penn State Campus Weather Service and was a member of the 'Weather or Not' season 10 team in 2011. In the summer of 2011, she interned with WCAU in Philadelphia. She also worked for the Penn State Athletic Department as a production assistant during most home varsity sporting events. Some of her non-weather interests include baseball, drawing and running. Heather teamed up with Fred to produce the new open to Weather World. Heather graduated in December 2013 with a double major in Meteorology and Telecommunications and started her career in broadcasting at Accu-Weather.

Travis Patterson

Since Spring 2012, Travis has been working behind the scenes as a director for Weather World and is now on the other side of the camera! Growing up in Texas, Travis has experienced a wide variety of weather and fell in love with it. Now a senior at Penn State working toward a meteorology degree after having received a degree in communications, he plays an active role in the meteorology department producing Weather World for the last two summers, he is also a producer/anchor/reporter for "Weather or Not" on C-Net Channel 7 in Centre County. Travis is a step away from graduating in May 2013. Outside of his weather hobbies he is quasi-fluent in Italian and has studied Italian literature and culture.

Tyler Jankoski

Tyler was born and raised in Bristol, CT, the home of ESPN! He interned at NBC-owned WVIT-TV in West Hartford, CT for 2 summers. The multi-year experience in a growing news environment, coupled with a heavy emphasis on wall-to-wall weather coverage, molded many of Tyler’s ideas of a successful broadcast weather operation. At Penn State, he is a member of the Weather or Not team, forecasting the weather and delivering exciting environmental stories to central Pennsylvania residents. Since sophomore year, he has also worked as graphics designer for Dr. Nese’s WeatherWhys segment on Weather World. Tyler is heavily involved in the Campus Weather Service, and has served in a variety of roles including Vice President. He spearheaded the creation of the Live Broadcast Team, enabling students to gain experience in live severe weather coverage. Another notable accomplishment was his creation of the Social Media Team, which quickly pushed Campus Weather Service accounts to become the face of Penn State Meteorology in the world of social media. Tyler has grown to become a die-hard Penn State Football fan, following every move the program makes. Each summer since 2004, Tyler has volunteered at the Little League Baseball Eastern Regional in Bristol – the final stop on the road to South Williamsport. As the Operations Coordinator, he has served as public address announcer, stadium music coordinator, scoreboard operator, webmaster, weather forecaster (of course!), and technical support specialist for all aspects of the 11-day tournament.

Justin Brousse

Justin joined the Weather World team in January of 2002. Additionally, he worked with the Weather Communications Group as a forecaster for The New York Times and taught an introductory meteorology course. Although he experienced his share of exciting weather while growing up in southern Louisiana (including canoeing down his flooded street after Hurricane Florence in 1988), Justin become most interested in the atmosphere after moving to Carlisle, Pennsylvania and experiencing the Blizzards of '93 and '96. Watching Weather World as a high school student led Justin to pursue a meteorology degree at Penn State.

Following his graduation in May of 2003, Justin accepted a weekend meteorologist position at KDLT-TV in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He was promoted to morning meteorologist a few months later. Justin moved to Nashville's WKRN in September of 2004. He misses the snow and cold of Pennsylvania and South Dakota, but enjoys living in the South and predicting thunderstorms much of the year.

Zack Byko

Zack was a member of the Weather World team from January 2006-May 2007. Originally from West Hartford, CT, he has had a passion for the weather since he was four years old. Growing up in New England, Zack is most interested in Nor' Easters, yet he finds hurricanes and severe weather fascinating as well. His interest in weather lead Zack to come to Penn State to study meteorology, where he attained both a B.S. and M.S. While at Penn State, Zack was heavily involved in the Campus Weather Service, the Penn State Branch of the American Meteorological Society and Chi Epsilon Pi.

Zack also taught several introductory meteorology courses. Zack held quite a few internships prior to joining Weather World, including positions at the Talcott Mountain Science Center in Avon, CT, NBC 30 and the WTIC/New England Weather Service in Hartford, CT, and the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK. In his spare time, Zack is an avid runner, enjoys relaxing with friends, and is a huge baseball fan. Zack is currently working as a Meteorologist/Commodity Research Analyst in northwest New Jersey.

Kristin Clark

Kristin graduated from Penn State in meteorology in May, 2007 and is very special in that both of her parents are television meteorologists! By growing up in Mountain Top, PA in a household where the Weather Channel was constantly on and dinner table conversations consisted of fronts, troughs, and weather data, it is no wonder that Kristin is choosing a career in weather.

Kristin joined the Weather World team in the fall of 2006. In addition to her work with Weather World, she produces 90-second weather features for the Weather Channel’s Abrams and Bettes show. She has been actively involved with the Penn State Campus Weather Service television and radio operations. Kristin spent a summer interning in Minneapolis, MN at the CBS affiliate, WCCO-TV.

Kristin has a passion for mountain biking and as a member of the Penn State Cycling Club she has competed in intercollegiate mountain bike races. In addition to biking, she enjoys many outdoor activities including fishing and walking her two Old English Sheepdogs. Kristin is pursuing a career in broadcast meteorology.

Geoff was born into a family of weather enthusiasts in the Philadelphia suburb of Worcester, Pennsylvania. As he grew through the adolescent and teen years, severe weather, heavy snow and record drought brought great excitement, while the trepidation of being overcome by the dreaded rain-snow line grounded him. Geoff's passion for the weather blossomed upon his arrival at Penn State as a freshman in 2000. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in meteorology in 2004, and his New York Times apprenticeship with the Weather Communications Group evolved into full-time employment as a forecaster with the University.

While most of Geoff's role with the Weather Communications Group continues to be as a New York Times forecaster, he was welcomed into the Weather World family in December of 2004. When not in the office or studio, Geoff spends a lot of time at the firehouse. He's a volunteer firefighter with the Alpha Fire Company in State College. In June of 2006, he married his fiancee, Angie. Geoff and Angie moved to near Springfield, MO in August, 2006 where he is now an on-camera meteorologists for KOAM-TV.

Adam DelRosso

Adam Del Rosso was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA and has been intrigued by the weather ever since he can remember. When people would run inside to avoid a storm, he would be the one going outside. Adam is now a senior at Penn State studying meteorology with a focus in forecasting and communications and a minor in geosciences. At Penn State, Adam is currently one of two forecasters for PPG Industries as well as one of the talents on Weather or Not, a student-run TV show focused on the weather. He has also interned at WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, PA. Adam started working behind the scenes of Weather World in 2009 doing anything from making graphics to directing and now he joins us on-air. For fun, Adam enjoys relaxing with friends, listening to music, watching TV, bowling, skiing and following the sports teams of Pittsburgh.

Jim Dickey

Jim joined Weather World in the Fall of 2009. He hails from Downingtown Pennsylvania, a town about an hour west of Philadelphia. He is currently a senior at Penn State and will receive a degree in meteorology in May of 2010 in the weather forecasting and communications option. He can also be seen as an on air personality for the show Weather or Not. Jim has been interested in the weather from a very young age, and becoming a meteorologist at Penn State has been a dream come true. He is most interested in winter weather, except for sleet, which he feels is frankly a waste of a good winter storm. Aside from the weather, Jim is also very much engrained in the theatre community at Penn State, having performed with The Penn State Thespians and No Refund Theatre. Also, despite only living an hour away from Philadelphia, Jim hails from a long line of die hard Pittsburgh Steelers and Penguins fans, and he is no different. Jim has taken a full-time position as a broadcast meteorologists with Accu-Weather in August, 2010.

Scott Dimmich

Scott was part of the Weather World team from October 2006 until he graduated in May, 2007. Like many meteorologists, he developed an interest in the weather as a young child. While staying focused on academics in grade school, Scott revisited his passion for meteorology on April 9, 1999 after an F4 tornado pummeled through his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. Deciding to make weather a part of his career, Scott came to Penn State to pursue a B.S. in meteorology and begin a career in television. He plans to attend graduate school in the future with hopes of researching severe storms. At Penn State, Scott had been an active member of the Campus Weather Service, the Penn State Branch of the American Meteorological Society, and Penn State Dance Marathon. He has also helped to teach several introductory and mesoscale meteorology courses. Throughout his college career, Scott had interned at the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio, as well as with WCPO-TV and WKRC-TV in Cincinnati. In his free time, Scott enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing volleyball, watching Penn State football, and following college basketball.

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Joanne is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Geography with a prominence in Meteorology, Climatology and Cartography. While at UGA she was named Phi Beta Kappa while working in the Climate Research Lab studying the climatology of convective windstorms. In addition, she worked behind the scenes at the Weather Channel. In the summer of 1999 Joanne joined Weather World as one of two graduate students selected until leaving in January of 2000. During this time, she was a graduate student in Meteorology at Penn State and a teaching assistant for an undergraduate course in weather analysis and forecasting on a scholarship from the American Meteorological society. She focused on studying severe storms and Doppler radar interpretation. Once she passed the tough graduate comprehensive exams, an offer as a weekend meteorologist at KMPH in Fresno, California. She stayed in Fresno to work at KFSN where she earned an Emmy nomination for her coverage of winter storms. Joanne is now once again in North Carolina where she forecasts as the meteorologists for ABC 11 Eyewitness news at the prime time news shift Monday through Friday. She spends her free time sharing her love for weather, practicing her ice skating, taking ballet or going for a run. Joanne and husband Chris are the proud parents of nine-year-old son Cameron and one-year-old daughter Carys are happy to call Apex, North Carolina their home.

Jeff Grabon

Jeff earned a B.S. degree in meteorology from Penn State in 2007. He graduated with distinction and minored in mathematics. During his undergraduate years, Jeff was a member of the Campus Weather Service, the Penn State Branch of the American Meteorological Society, and a calculus tutor. He interned in the weather station at NBC 30 in Hartford, Connecticut during the summer of 2005. Previously, he served as an on-air meteorologist for The Palestra.com and CNET. Jeff received his M.S. in meteorology focusing on boundary layer studies in May, 2009. He is currently hiking the Appalachian Trail before beginning his professional career.

Outside of academics, Jeff keeps himself busy with a variety of activities. A New England native from Vernon, Connecticut, he is a huge Red Sox fan and loves to attend ballgames. Jeff enjoys going the gym along with playing tennis and basketball. Since he is an Eagle Scout, he spends time camping, hiking, and biking. His rainy day hobbies include playing the guitar or piano, playing cards, and reading a good book.

Doug Harlow

Doug is a first year graduate student at Penn State. He joined the Weather World team in the Spring of 2001. He has interned at three news stations, including WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. and is currently working behind the scenes creating graphics for the Weather World show.

Doug became interested in the weather after hearing fascinating stories about Hurricane Hazel from his grandmother. After spending a weekend on the beach during the passage of Hurricane Bob, he knew he wanted to study meteorology. Since then, he has endured sleepless nights and countless hours of driving to experience Hurricanes Bertha, Bonnie, and Floyd in Wilmington, NC. Doug also has an interest in snowstorms, and attending undergraduate school in upstate NY did not leave him disappointed. Doug is joining a new station as its morning weatherman. He will replace Brian Shields, who departed in July, 2006 for a job at Orlando, Fla., ABC affiliate, WFTV-TV. Harlow comes to Charleston from WIVT-TV NewsChannel 34, an ABC affiliate in Binghamton, NY. He started on October 21, 2006. His outside interests include Italian automobiles and basketball.

Joby Hilliker

Joby Hilliker was raised on a dairy farm in Chemung, New York, a rural town near the Pennsylvania border. He has had an affinity for meteorology and, in particular, weather forecasting since the second grade. It is no doubt this interest was kindled when a powerful tornado destroyed several homes in his home town in 1983.

Joby became a member of the Weather Communications Group during his second year of graduate studies here at Penn State. He has worked as an intern at Accu-Weather and has volunteered his time helping his peers in physics, mathematics, and meteorology classes. His primary academic interests include studying lake-effect snow events and implementing statistics in meteorological data. “Meteorology was an innate affinity for him. While at Penn State, he observed this characteristic was true for his peers. It was also great to share this common bond, which naturally extended beyond the classroom. Joby got his start in Meteorology from Penn State, and after receiving his Doctorate in December 2002, he moved to Cincinnati where he worked as a forecast expert for Cynergy Corporation. While at Penn State, Dr. Hilliker worked as a weather forecaster for Accu-weather and a writer for a page in the New York Times. He also taught an introductory meteorology course at his alma mater, all in addition to appearing on Weather World and volunteering his tutoring to fellow students. In 2000, Joby won the ZedX Weather Information Technology Award, which recognized him as a Penn State student who “contributed to the use of advanced technology in improved utilization of weather observations or numerical guidance for specialized forecast applications.”He also wrote several papers for the American Meteorological Society from 1999 to 2004 which relate to statistical weather forecasting. Currently, Dr. Hilliker is an assistant professor at West Chester University of Pennsylvania in West Chester, PA. He teaches an atmospheric principles course for general education as well as an introductory meteorology course for earth science majors. Joby offers his advice to incoming students, “Don’t do it alone. Participate in groups or activities, particularly in your major or department” and to departing seniors,“First, patience. Second, don’t feel pressured to ‘get it right’ with your first job.”

Drew Jackson

Drew first appeared on Weather World in the spring of 1999. When He graduated in August 2000, he took a position as the on-camera meteorologist with KNDU in Richland, Washington. He was born in Portland, Oregon, and lived there until he came to Penn State as an undergraduate Meteorology student in 1994.

Drew then spent 18 months in Jacksonville, FL as their on-camera meteorologist. In May, 2004, he joined KPTV in his hometown of Portland, OR. Drew began his independent graphic consulting company and alreday services KCPQ in Seattle and KOVR in Sacramento and travels to these stations on his days off from KPTV.

Although Drew is certainly fascinated by the weather (especially big snow storms), his interest in Mother Nature was not the only reason he left the west coast to come to Penn State. Being a springboard and platform diver since he was seven years old, Drew was recruited to come and dive for the Nittany Lions. While competing, he distinguished himself as the only Penn State diver in the school's history to qualify for the NCAA Championships all four years of his collegiate career. Now a retired athlete, Drew remained involved in the sport by coaching the State College Area High School team and assisting the Penn State team. Aside from diving, Drew's other interests include skiing, windsurfing, mountain climbing, and traveling.

Rob Lydick

Originally from the small western Pennsylvania town of Blairsville, Rob Lydick has been in love with the weather since he was a child. Taking inspiration from Pittsburgh meteorology legend Joe DeNardo and the Weather Channel, Rob is now a senior in meteorology at Penn State, focusing on weather forecasting and communications. At Penn State, Rob is active in several organizations, including Campus Weather Service (where he served as President), the College of Earth & Mineral Sciences Special Living Option Irvin Hall (where he served as Social Chairman), the Association of Residence Hall Students (serving as Channel 14 Director), among others. You can also see Rob on the weekly CNET program Weather or Not, where he acts as a director/personality. Over the summers, Rob has had the opportunity to intern with WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, PA, along with AccuWeather in State College. Rob also serves as a forecaster for PPG Industries and ZedX Inc, forecasting pool use and soybean rust, respectively. Rob started out helping with Weather World production in 2009 as a floor manager and is thrilled to now be part of the on-air team! In his spare time, Rob enjoys spending time with friends, watching movies, participating in clubs, and listening to music.

Christine McEnrue

Born and raised in Nazareth, PA, Christine McEnrue has always been fascinated by the weather. She has numerous memories of her and her father watching storms from her back porch while growing up. Christine is now a senior at Penn State University studying meteorology with a focus on forecasting and communications. She serves on the PSUBMAS executive council as the Community Outreach Chair and is an active member in EMS THON. Christine is a member of the Campus Weather Service and can be seen on CNET, PSN News, and Centre County Report. She also interned at WLUK-TV in Green Bay, WI during the summer of 2010. Christine enjoys working out, dancing, live music, golfing, and fine dining.

Neil McGillis

Neil was part of the Weather World team from 1997 until April, 1999. He is a native of Northampton, PA, which is situated just north of Allentown, PA, in the beautiful Lehigh Valley in the eastern part of the state. Neil's interest in the weather began during his childhood, and he has attained a B.S. in meteorology from Penn State. He completed his master's degree in the same field in early May 1996. His research interests were in severe thunderstorms and flash flood-producing storms.

Neil graduated from Penn State with a B.S. in Meteorology in 1997, and an M.S. in Meteorology in 1999 under the guidance of Dr. Greg Forbes. He subsequently moved to Atlanta, GA where he currently resides and works for The Weather Channel. He began working as a software developer but ultimately worked his way into a management position. He is currently part of a team of meteorologists and software developers responsible for managing, creating, and distributing weather content to all of TWC’s platforms, and his focus is in the area of weather graphics and graphics systems. Neil and his family enjoy good food, spending time with family and friends, and traveling together, especially anywhere with a beach. They love to go for long walks or other exercise, and are sure not to miss any PSU football games on TV.

Gannon Medwick

Gannon Medwick was born in Wilmington, DE and grew up in nearby Kennett Square, PA. He joined the Weather World production team in November 2001 and was a part of the on-air team from February to November 2003. In December 2003 Gannon graduated from Penn State with a degree in meteorology, a degree-emphasis in weather forecasting and communications, and a minor in business-leadership strategy.

His experience with Weather World has propelled Gannon to a television meteorologist position in Lake Charles, LA. A seafood and tropical weather enthusiast, Gannon certainly felt at home in Acadiana. But, Gannon admits, as a Philadelphia-area native, he'll eventually want to return to a region that features all the forecasting fun of the four seasons (especially snow!). In October 2004 Gannon joined Storm Team 9 in Greenville, NC as the morning and noon meteorologist. He lives in Pitt County with his wife Jennifer. The tricky weather systems that move through eastern North Carolina and the East Coast are what caught Gannon’s interest in meteorology early on. In spare time, Gannon enjoys experimenting with web design, jogging, playing racquetball and tennis, cooking, and-what else?-"recreational" weather-watching!

Andrea Michalenicz

Andrea joined Weather World team in late October 2008. She is from Folcroft, PA just outside of Philadelphia. Her degree in May, 2009 will be in meteorology with a forecasting and communications option. She has been seen on Palestra.net, Weather or Not and C-Net. Andrea interned at NBC10 (WCAU-TV) in Philadelphia in summer 2007. She enjoys football and has gone to every Penn State football game since freshman year and is a big fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. Andrea likes to read and learn languages for fun; knows a good bit of Spanish, Italian, and Japanese, and even taking an Italian class this semester for further enrichment, loves food from different cultures (sushi is the favorite!), likes playing tennis, shopping, likes spending time with family and friends. Andrea just graduated in May 2009 with a degree in meteorology from Penn State, with a concentration in Forecasting and Communications.

Dave Miller

Dave came on board the Weather World team in December of 2009 and is a resident of Turbotville, PA (located thirty minutes south of Williamsport). Dave developed a passion for weather at a young age, when Hurricane Bertha cut short a family vacation to the Outer Banks in 1996. This love/hate relationship later led him to Penn State University where he worked toward a B.S. degree in Meteorology with a focus in Weather Forecasting and Communications. In his four years at Penn State, Dave became an active member of the Campus Weather Service’s radio operations, and has also been involved with other weather television productions at Penn State. Some of these include CNET and Weather or Not, a weekly weather show developed and produced entirely by students. When he is not in the studio, looking at weather models, or working behind the Weather World scenes, Dave can be found playing sports, attempting to play the guitar, or simply enjoying the company of friends. After college, David plans to pursue a career in broadcast meteorology or perhaps dentistry and hopes to one day settle down somewhere along the east coast, preferably along the Outer Banks. Dave graduated in May 2010 with a degree in meteorology from Penn State, with a concentration in Forecasting and Communications and will likely pursue a degree in dentistry in 2011.

Todd Miner

Todd Miner joined the Weather World team late in 1997. He hails from Buffalo, New York. The atmosphere never ceases to fascinate Todd who recalls being interested in the meteorology since the age of five when a tornado tore through his family's campsite in northern New York (luckily no one was injured!). While virtually all aspects of weather interest Todd, his true passion lies in the study of how the Great Lakes influence the weather and climate.

When he was a member of the Penn State Weather Communications Group, Todd taught classes in both weather communications and forecasting and also teaches introductory meteorology classes for non-majors on occasion. He helped supervise the daily creation of the New York Times Weather Page, which was done every day at Penn State until January, 2010. Subsequently, Todd has been working in the State College area. Some of Todd's other interests include swimming, biking and generally wandering around in the great outdoors. Ademas, el ha descubierto satisfaccion para aprender idiomas extranas, especialmente espanol. Hasta luego!

Tyler McCandless

Tyler joined the Weather World team in May of 2010. The Blizzard of 1996 was the event that sparked Tyler’s interest in winter weather forecasting as two feet of snow shut down school for a week in his hometown of Northampton, Pennsylvania. Tyler was glued to the TV during these winter storms that frequently impacted Eastern Pennsylvania. The fascination in east coast snowstorms led Tyler to Penn State to study these winter weather phenomena. This past spring, Tyler graduated with both a BS and MS in meteorology, with a thesis focused on improving 24-hr snowfall accumulation through advanced statistics applied to ensemble forecasting. During his undergraduate years at Penn State, Tyler has forecasted winter weather for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District II, worked as a PA Climate Office Assistant, and was the President of Penn State’s Branch of Chi Epsilon Pi, the National Meteorological Honors Society. He has also been awarded Penn State’s recipient of the Astronaut Scholarship as well as the American Meteorological Society Bob Glahn Scholarship for Statistical Meteorology. In addition to working in the classroom, Tyler has been a member of the Penn State Varsity Men’s Cross Country and Track teams and recently ran the 6th fastest time in Penn State History for the 10,000 meter run. In his spare time, he enjoys kayaking and fishing in the Rothrock and Black Moshannon State Parks. Tyler will continue his study of meteorology and winter weather forecasting after a stint as a professional runner in 2010-2011.

Brian Monahan

Brian Monahan joined Weather World during the fall of 2004 as the program returned to the airwaves on PCN. Brian graduated from Penn State in Spring 2004 with a B.S. in Meteorology and completed his M.S. in May, 2006.

In addition to Brian's work on Weather World, he also served as the weekend morning meteorologist on WBRE-TV in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Brian is currently the morning and midday meteorologist on WINK-TV, Fort Myers, FL. When he's not watching the weather, Brian enjoys both watching and participating in sports of all kinds.

Sam Perugini

Sam had been on the show from 1993 until 1998. Sam taught introductory and advanced meteorology classes at Penn State during that time. He is originally from Philadelphia and went to Penn State University, where he received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in meteorology.

Sam was a forecaster for the New York Times and has a passion for chasing hurricanes. Sam's other interests include politics and his dog Snuffy. Sam is now working at AccuWeather Inc. as a broadcast meteorologist.

Harlan Shannon

Harlan was a member of the Weather World team from 1992-94. He is a native of Portland, CT. He followed in the footsteps of his parents whom also attended Penn State. Harlan has a B.S. and M.S. in meteorology, and is completing a doctorate degree in the same field. His research interests are the effects of weather on bird behavioral patterns. Harlan's hobbies include playing football, basketball, and softball and he enjoys fishing and model railroading.

Dave Skutnik

Dave joined the Weather World forecast team in December 2000. However, he began working behind the scenes in March 2000, assisting in the production of many of the graphics you see each and every night on Weather World. Dave came to Weather World from Washington Township, New Jersey, located just outside of Philadelphia. Before coming to Penn State, Dave was extremely active in youth sports. In addition to playing high school ice hockey, he coached several sports, including baseball, ice hockey, and soccer. He was also involved in officiating all of those sports. Here in central Pennsylvania, Dave continued to be very involved in ice hockey, and could be found at several area rinks as a high school and college ice hockey referee. Dave enjoys attending Penn State sporting events and catching the Flyers and Eagles on TV.

Dave first fell in love with the weather in the early 1980s, when a storm dropped 26" of snow in his backyard. Since then, winter has always been his favorite season, topped off by the Blizzard of 1996, which dropped 31" of snow in Philadelphia, leaving Dave grinning ear-to-ear. He also enjoys spending summer days at the beach, and spring days on the baseball fields.

Dave graduated in May 2001. He spent 2 years as Chief Meteorologist at WHIZ in Zanesville, Ohio. Dave then moved to the NBC affiliate, WHAG in Hagerstown, MD for 2 more years where he covered some things from the Presidents’ Day Blizzard to 18 tornadoes produced in the viewing area in a 4 hour span during Hurricane Ivan. He has been at WBRE since June 2005 where most recently he led their coverage during the devastating June 2006 flash flooding (8-14” of rain in 5days).

Joe Sobel

Other than for Elliot Abrams, Joe has been with Weather World the longest. He joined the show in 1969 and is considered a mentor for many of Weather World's successful broadcasters. He has a B.S. degree from the University of Michigan as well as M.S. and PhD degrees from Penn State University.

Joe is the Senior Vice President of AccuWeather Inc. and is heard regularly on radio throughout New York and in large market cities in the Deep South. His specialty is in the field of broadcasting and forensics. Joe's outside interests include baseball and tennis.

Heidi Sonen

Heidi joined the on-camera Weather World staff in March 2000, but her work with the program dated back to 1998 when she became a mentor and coach to the Campus Weather Service television presenters. While at Penn State, Heidi was a member of the Weather Communications Group. Her work centered around the (then) new television studio and the department's WSI WeatherProducer computers for producing weather graphics. Heidi is originally from Venango County in northwestern Pennsylvania. She received her B.S. in meteorology from Penn State in 1986. Her interest in television weather took her to jobs as a broadcast meteorologist in Wausua, WI, Portland, OR and Dayton, OH. She has served on the American Meteorological Society's Board of TV Broadcasters, and she currently is a member of the Meteorology Alumni of Penn State (MAPS) steering committee. She is also a Centennial Fellow of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.In her spare time, Heidi is an orchid grower and a member of the American Orchid society. Growing up on a farm has left her with a love of gardening and growing things. She volunteered at Penn State's Trial gardens and she was a board member of the Centre Hall Area Branch of the Centre County Library.Heidi now lives in central Virginia where she runs her own private weather firm and consults with television stations in nearby Charlottesville. She remains a big fan of Penn State women’s volleyball and frequently returns to the area to visit friends.

Jonathan Porter joined the on air Weather World Team in February of 2002, however he had been involved in many aspects of the show since September 2000. In addition, Jon worked as a forecaster with the New York Times Group and was heavily involved in the department's TV weather graphics system. Jon received a bachelors degree in meteorology as well as a minor in information technology in May, 2004. A New England native, Jon grew up in the small town of Killingly, CT where he developed a passion for snow and snow forecasting. Jon has always been interested in the weather and in fact his father has an undergraduate degree in meteorology. During his middle and high school years, Jon provided weather forecasts during winter storms to his local newspaper. Since 2004, Jon has been working at AccuWeather Inc. using his computer savvy to enhance forecasts.

In his free time, Jon likes to spend time with his friends and he can frequently be found riding his bicycle on the roads of State College. Jon also volunteers at a clinic that provides healthcare to those without health insurance.

Jay Searles

Jay was raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, land of 11,842 lakes. Outdoors is the place to be in MN, all year round. And winters there make it tough! Ice fishing is awesome too! So that is what Jay did growing up, fishing, cycling and otherwise always outdoors. When a person spends so much time in the wilderness there is no way you can get by in Minnesota without knowing what the weather is doing. Jay became hooked on trying to figure out how and why the weather was doing what it did. So becoming a meteorologist was only the natural course to take. He graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1990 with a BS in meteorology, and two years later from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology with an MS. After several years with the government, Jay then plunged into TV, First in Rapid City South Dakota, then Champaign Illinois. TV was something Jay always wanted to do, but still there were other things that he enjoyed. When the station in Champaign did not re-sign his contract, Jay took the opportunity to explore personal training and triathlon coaching. Physical fitness and triathlon racing are Jays other passions in life and had a home business and a position with Refinery, a fitness facility in Champaign. Jay loves to teach, meteorology is his true passion and teaching physical fitness and health as well as meteorology is like a dream come true. A position came open at Penn State where he could forecast the weather for very challenging locations, teach meteorology to students at the premier school in the nation and also pursue his other interests in physical fitness.

Joe Thompson

Joe has completed his senior year at Penn State, though he started on-air Weather World duties in December 2008. However, Joe has been apart of all the behind the scenes activities of Weather World, including making graphics, directing and producing the show, since he arrived as a freshman back in the fall of 2005. He also has been involved in other weather productions at Penn State, including making weekly football forecasts for Palestra.net during the fall, as well as Weather or Not, a weekly weather show developed and produced entirely by students. Joe is from Perrysburg, Ohio, a suburb of Toledo, and grew up experiencing the full spectrum of weather, from hot, stormy summers to cold, snowy winters. In the summer of 2008, Joe had the opportunity to intern at WTVG-TV in Toledo with meteorologist Stan Stachak, a fixture in the Toledo market. When Joe isn’t looking at weather models, he’s usually watching the news and sports. He’s a die hard fan of the Nittany Lions, as well as all the Detroit teams (yes, even the Detroit Lions…”they’ll turn it around…someday”).Upon graduation in May 2009, Joe headed out west to begin work at KREX (CBS affiliate) in Grand Junction, Colorado, where he is currently the weekend meteorologist and general assignment reporter during the week. Joe is excited to be living in such a beautiful landscape, and can't wait to hit the slopes of the Rockies during the winter.

Dan Tomaso

Dan has pursued his love for weather by studying meteorology at Penn State University as an undergraduate/ graduate student. During his career, he has been actively involved in the Campus Weather Service, serving as President and Vice President on the Executive Council. He has also led the Campus Weather Service's severe weather team, which informs clients across central Pennsylvania with up to the minute severe weather information. Besides taking the necessary undergraduate and graduate level classes in meteorology, Dan was a student teacher for a class that studies the computer applications of meteorology. His research interests include creating a hydrographic climatology and studying nutrient and chemical budgets for the east coast of the United States. Starting in August 2009, Dan began working on the abc27 Saturday and Sunday Morning shows with James Crummel. Dan enjoys working with the weekend morning crew and is thrilled to have the opportunity to work for the news station he grew up with. Dan is excited to work with the weather communications group here at Penn State and looks forward to forecasting and broadcasting for Weather World.

Steve Travis

Steve joined the Weather World family in May of 2010 after receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from Penn State that same month. A resident of West Chester, PA, Steve has had an interest in the intricacies of the weather since the Blizzard of '96 roared through his Long Island backyard when he was only 8. In-between, Steve has interned under a wonderful team of meteorologists at KYW-TV in Philadelphia and has always kept an eye to the sky. Aside from his love for the weather, Steve also has a strong love of theatre and has acted in productions for Penn State student run theatre troupes The Penn State Thespians and No Refund Theatre. In his spare time, Steve loves to listen and sing-along to all kinds of music and root hard for all the Philadelphia major sports teams, especially the Phillies who he witnessed clinch their second straight National League Championship in person at the ballpark in 2009.

Nick Vita

Nick Vita joined the Weather World team in October of 2009. He is currently finishing up his senior year in the Penn State is majoring Meteorology program with a concentration in Forecasting and Communications with a minor in GIS. As a student, Nick has interned at WTAJ-TV 10 in Altoona, PA and WBOC TV 16 in Salisbury, MD. He also is currently the Penn State Manger for the National Forecasting Challenge, WxChallenge, where during the 2009-2010 season he won four trophies.

Originally from Long Island, Nick has experienced a variety of weather such as Nor’easters, which sparked his interest in meteorology. After moving to the small town near the Chesapeake Bay, Easton, MD, Nick experienced Hurricane Isabel which brought a devastating storm surge to much of the region. However, his favorite weather to forecast for and to enjoy is the cold and snow. During his free time he enjoys skiing, hiking and just being in the outdoors. In addition, Nick makes sure to watch every Penn State football game along with the Baltimore Ravens and New York Yankees.

Jen Ziegenfus

Jen joined the Weather World team in December of 2007 while completing her B.S. degree in meteorology at Penn State. A resident of Kutztown, Pa she developed an interest for the weather at a young age. With an option in Weather Forecasting and Communications Jen has been seen on Palestra.Net, Weather Or Not, CNET, and The Weather Channel. She also interned at WETM-TV in Elmira, New York in the Summer of 2006. Upon graduating, Jen accepted a position at WBOC in Salisbury, Maryland as the weekend meteorologist. When not forecasting or attending classes, Jen enjoys participating in community events. In 2008, she held a position as the Penn State Relay For Life Overall Chair, the American Cancer Society’s signature event. In her time at Penn State, she has held over one dozen leadership positions within both the State College area and the Penn State community. Outside of school-related activities Jen enjoys spending time with her family. Although a local to the Philadelphia area, she enjoys cheering on Pittsburgh sports teams, Go Pens!

Matt Alto

Raised outside the Rubber City, Akron, Ohio, Matt Alto has always had a fascination with the weather. Unlike most children growing up, Matt did not watch cartoons; rather he had his eyes glued to The Weather Channel. Matt’s grandfather, Bob Alto, was a meteorologist in the National Weather Service for 34 years. His grandfather was also a meteorologist at TV stations in Akron and Cleveland following his retirement from the NWS. Matt remembers as a young child going to the Akron-Canton Airport where his grandfather worked and seeing what he did. He learned a lot about the weather at a young age from his grandfather and his experiences as a child may have had a large impact on why he is studying meteorology. Matt is currently a senior in meteorology at Penn State with a focus on weather forecasting and communications. He is active in several organizations at Penn State, including the Campus Weather Service (where he served as Head of Communications) and PSUBAMS (serving as Vice-President). Matt can be seen on other programs, including the weekly C-NET show Weather or Not and the Centre County Report. Matt has interned at WEWS News Channel 5 in Cleveland, OH as well as AccuWeather where he is currently working full-time. Matt’s favorite types of weather include lake-effect snow and severe weather. In his free time, Matt enjoys watching and playing sports, being with friends, and obviously monitoring the weather.

Paul Dorian

Paul received BS and MS degrees in meteorology (1981, 1983) from Penn State University and participated on Weather World in 1982 and 1983 while working as a grad student with Dr. Gregory Forbes and Dr. John Cahir. Paul began his professional career as a meteorologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland from 1983-1990. Since 1990, he has worked in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania with The SI Organization (formerly Lockheed Martin). Paul operates the company weather web site at thesiweather.com by providing his own daily forecasts for several company locations including Philly, DC and New York City. He also provides detailed video discussions on such topics as current weather, computer forecast model information, oceanic and solar cycles, global sea ice and long-term forecasting. In addition to the weather web site, Paul led an effort at The SI Organization to develop an app for mobile devices called “Home Run Weather” that determines if local weatherconditions are favorable for home runs at any big league park. “Home Run Weather” uses numerous parameters including temperatures, relative humidity, dew point, atmospheric pressure, wind direction, wind speed, drag coefficient of a baseball, field orientation and the time of day. The app has been featured on the MLB Network and just recently on the “Weather Whys” segment of Weather World. Paul comes from atrue Penn State family as his wife, Michele, (1982 Biology) and all three of their children (Pamela, 2012 Philosophy/Political Science/Communications Arts and Sciences; Tracey, 2012 Meteorology; Chris, 2014 Finance/Economics) are all part of the Penn State family.

Brian Walder

Brian Walder has always been fascinated by the weather. As a kid, however, this interest was in the form of fear. Lightning and thunderstorms were some of Brian's fears growing up, but this fear helped "spark" his interest in weather. From a young age, he could be seen watching the Weather Channel instead of cartoons and reading books about the weather. Brian is now currently a senior majoring in meteorology with a concentration in weather forecasting and communications at Penn State. Brian is an active member of Penn State's Campus Weather Service and is also a member of Season 10 of the show Weather or Not. Growing up in a suburb of Philadelphia, Brian is an avid Philadelphia and Penn State sports fan, specifically the Flyers, Eagles, Phillies, and Nittany Lion football. He enjoys spending time with family and friends, sailing, working out, and of course anything weather related. Brian interned this past summer at WWAY in Wilmington, North Carolina, and hopes to pursue a career in broadcast meteorology after graduation. Brian graduated in May 2012 and is currently the weekend meteorologist in Bluefield, WV.

Liz Cosgrove

Liz grew up liking tropical weather better than the snowy, cold winters she experienced in upstate New York. During the summer of 2004, Liz became fascinated with Hurricane Charley, a category 3 hurricane that ripped through central Florida. Instead of enjoying her summer vacation outside, Liz stayed inside with her eyes glued to The Weather Channel, learning about Hurricane Charley and the impacts the storm made on Florida. It was then that Liz realized she wanted to be a broadcast meteorologist. Soon after, Liz joined her high school’s broadcasting club and began her journey to be a broadcast meteorologist. One of Liz’s aspirations is to report onsite in a hurricane. Liz is currently a forecaster for the show Weather or Not, which is a student run television program that focuses on the weather and scientific news. In addition, she also forecasts the weather for the C-NET channel in Centre County and for the College of Communications show, The Centre County Report. Liz has also been the manager of the communications and forecasting shifts for the Campus Weather Service here at Penn State, in which she guided students to learn how to forecast and communicate the weather to the public. In addition, Liz has been the Treasurer of her dorm, the Vice President for West Halls at Penn State, and was an active member in Student Government for the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. In her free time, Liz likes to hang out with friends, dance, hike, run, and of course, forecast the weather. Liz graduated in May 2012 and has started as a weekend tv meteorologists at Idaho Falls, ID.

Jase Bernhardt

Hailing from the frozen tundra of Upstate New York, Jase Bernhardt grew up a stereotypical “weather weenie,” turning away from the Weather Channel only to run outside and check the latest snowfall amounts or other observations. Countless East Coast Winter Storms were what really piqued Jase’s interest in weather, although he has found them somewhat less exciting since acquiring his car and driver’s license. In addition to snowstorms, Jase enjoyed keeping tabs on the wide variety of weather phenomena to impact the Northeast during his youth, including severe thunderstorms and heat waves.

After this childhood of constantly watching the weather, Jase knew he wanted to study meteorology in college, and earned a B.S. in Atmospheric Science at Cornell University, while also honing his broadcasting skills as a sportscaster on campus radio station WVBR. Growing tired of derivations and triple integrals, he decided to switch gears for graduate school to focus more on his interests in longer term climate and its impact on society. Jase finished his PhD in the Department of Geography at Penn State, where his research focused on the climatology of jet contrails and their impacts on diurnal temperature range. When not searching the sky for contrails, or staring at weather forecast models, Jase enjoys playing and watching sports (unfortunately as a New York Mets fan), playing the keyboard, and going on road trips. Jase was a part of the show from 2013 to 2016.

Christopher Melhauser

Christopher joined the Weather World team in January of 2010 and is a native of Greeley, CO (50 miles northeast of Denver). Christopher has always had a fascination with the weather developed from an early age of anticipating the next big snow storm and the possibility it would close school (sadly it only happened twice in his 23 year stent in CO). Colorado weather is always so hard to predict, which motivated Christopher to learn the inner workings of weather prediction. He received his B.S. in mechanical engineering (minors in economics and atmospheric sciences) from the University of Colorado in Boulder and proceeded to pursue a M.S. and PhD in meteorology at Penn State. During his timef in State College, Christopher had the opportunity to TA a multitude of classes, be a participant in the VORTEX 2 field project, and complete research in the predictability and forecasting of severe storms. He had also been able to get involved in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Graduate Student Council (social chair) and Department of Meteorology Graduate Association (new graduate student orientation chair). When Christopher is not in the studio or doing research, he enjoys running, skiing, and traveling whenever possible. Christopher was part of the show from 2012 to 2016.

Simon Wachholz

Simon has been fascinated with the weather for as long as he can remember. Growing up in Nazareth, Pennsylvania Simon’s passion for extreme weather started at a young age and his love of snow is well known! He is always anticipating the next snowstorm – no matter what season it is. During his free time, Simon enjoys spending his time hiking and looking at clouds. Simon combines his passion for meteorology with photography and loves visually documenting all of the amazing weather phenomenon he sees.

Simon joined Weather World early in 2019 before graduating from Penn State in May of 2019. He is excited to begin his career as a meteorologist at WeatherWorks, a private company in New Jersey that provides forecasts to various clients. Simon looks forward to applying his knowledge he learned at Penn State and gaining more experience at WeatherWorks!

Jillian Bohenek

Jillian “hails” from northeastern Pennsylvania in a little town called Old Forge, the self-proclaimed pizza capital of the world. She was a “late bloomer” (as Bill Syrett likes to call her) when it comes to her interest in the weather. It was a combination of fifth grade science class and watching The Weather Channel with her grandfather that paved her pathway to becoming a weather weenie. She served as the Head of Business of Campus Weather Service for 2014. During the summer of 2014, Jillian interned at WTAJ-TV in Altoona with Chief Meteorologist Joe Murgo. She was one of two weekly meteorologists for the College of Communications’ Centre County Report. She was a member of the State College Community Theatre, with whom she performed in musicals. Her biggest aspiration is to be on Broadway someday. Jill was part of the show in 2014 and 2015.

John Banghoff

John was born in Atlanta, GA and grew up just outside of Columbus, OH. His interest in weather began as a result of multiple tornado warnings being issued while on camping trips with his family growing up. The swirling clouds, loud rumbles of thunder, frantic securing of loose items, and rush to the bath houses made him intrigued by the power of weather. John attended The Ohio State University where he was a 5-year member of The Ohio State University Marching Band and president of the Meteorology Club. During the summer of 2013, John volunteered at the National Weather Service in Wilmington, OH and interned at WSYX/WTTE in Columbus in the weather department. He spent the summer of 2014 in Peachtree City, GA interning at the National Weather Service office outside of Atlanta as a part of the Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship program. While there, he investigated tornado debris signatures on radar. John received his Bachelor's Degree in Atmospheric Sciences in December 2015 and spent the spring of 2016 working with Franklin County Emergency Management in Columbus during the day and as Meteorologist at MAPFRE Stadium, home of the Columbus Crew Major League Soccer Club, in the evening. John came to Penn State University in the Fall of 2016 to pursue his Master’s degree by investigating radar characteristics of horizontal convective rolls (HCRs). He completed his Master's degree in early 2019 and currently works for the National Weather Service in State College.

In his free time, John enjoys playing golf, watching Atlanta Braves baseball, cheering on the Buckeyes, and eating ice cream.

Paul Mykolajtchuk

Paul grew up near Princeton, New Jersey and has wanted to become a meteorologist since he was three years old. Paul’s interest in meteorology stemmed from his interest in geography, specifically when it came to maps of the United States. His interest was later solidified when his hometown received more than two feet of snow from the Blizzard of 2003. Wanting to learn more about meteorology, Paul attended Penn State as a meteorology undergraduate from 2014 to 2018, where he served as Head of the Forecasting Branch for the Penn State Campus Weather Service in 2016. The following year, Paul served as Vice President for both the Penn State Campus Weather Service, and the Penn State Storm Chase Team. Paul received his Bachelor’s Degree in Meteorology and Atmospheric Science in May 2018. Paul is currently pursuing graduate studies at Penn State as a Master’s Student in Meteorology and Atmospheric Science.

Paul joined the Weather World team in Spring 2018. In his free time, he enjoys going to Penn State football games, biking, and listening to symphonic metal bands.

Karl Schneider

Karl Schneider is a senior undergraduate student originally from Huntsville, AL. The frequent severe weather outbreaks in “Dixie Alley” sparked Karl’s interest in weather at a young age. Karl’s favorite weather, however, has always been winter weather, despite infrequent snowfalls in Alabama. In the second grade, Karl and his dad discovered how to make snow in their backyard to solve this problem. Whenever the temperature dropped low enough, Karl operated his home snow-making equipment, bringing the joy of snow to the South. Karl now calls State College home, but continues his snow-making hobby when time allows. When he’s not skiing or making snow, Karl enjoys spending time outdoors and watching St. Louis Cardinals baseball.

Matt Hoenig

Born and raised just outside of Boston, MA, Matt had an interest in meteorology as early as pre-school. Classic New England nor’easters and severe weather fueled his interest growing up. Matt is currently a senior undergraduate student, with a particular interest in weather forecasting and communications. He served as the Head of Communications of the Penn State Campus Weather Service in 2018, and the President in 2019. While in college, Matt interned at WCVB-TV, the ABC affiliate in Boston and the TV station he grew up watching.

Matt joined the Weather World team in Fall 2017 as a graphics producer for our WxYz segment. He began producing the full show in Fall 2018, then became an on-air host and forecaster in Winter 2019. When he’s not geeking out over the weather, Matt enjoys playing tennis, spending time with friends, relaxing by a particular New Hampshire lake, and cheering on his Boston sports teams.

Jimmy Wendolek

Jimmy is a native of Jackson, NJ and has been interested in weather since a young age. Snowstorms have always been his favorite weather events and tracking them sparked his interest in forecasting. Jimmy is currently a senior meteorology student at Penn State with a focus on forecasting and communications. He first helped with Weather World as a freshman in the Fall of 2018, giving time cues to on-air talent, and made his debut on the show during the summer of 2021, appearing on the Hashtag Headlines segment. Jimmy began forecasting for the show in the fall of 2021 and has enjoyed his time gaining more experience as a broadcast meteorologist. In his spare time, Jimmy loves attending Penn State sporting events and is an active member of the Penn State Curling and Pickleball clubs.

Hunter Donahoe

Hunter grew up in the small farming community of Jefferson, Maryland where he knew from a young age that he wanted to become a meteorologist. With agriculture having strong ties to the weather, it was a match made in heaven. As winter is Hunter’s favorite season, you can imagine that he is a big snow lover and gets excited for any snow-related event that will impact his home in Maryland or at Penn State. With his grandfather instilling within a dedicated work ethic, Hunter decided he would pursue his passion of becoming a meteorologist. Hunter is currently a senior meteorology student at Penn State with a focus in forecasting and communications. Hunter is an active member within the Penn State Campus Weather Service, where he issues weather forecasts on the Centre County Government C-NET channel and the Centre County Report live Friday newscasts.

During the summer of 2021, Hunter had the amazing opportunity of being hired as a Tower Worker for the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science at Penn State, which entails helping Weather World and taking daily weather observations. Over the course of the summer, he moved up the ladder from graphics maker and remote host, to director and producer, before joining the ranks of Weather World’s on-air talent in the fall of 2021. Hunter is excited to continue as an on-air forecaster on the show before his graduation in May of 2022. Besides being invested in meteorology, Hunter is always doing something outdoors. Whether it be hunting, fishing, kayaking, gardening, or competing in national archery competitions, Hunter is a very active person. He also enjoys rooting for his favorite sports teams; the Baltimore Orioles (yikes), Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Capitals.