Name: Mary Yoon

Age: 28

City: State College, PA

Company: Accuweather

Job title: Video broadcaster

 

What do you do?

I’m a video broadcaster for Accuweather. I’m responsible for providing local, regional and national forecasts for all the major cities in the United States and Canada.

 

How do you forecast the weather?  

First off, I am not a meteorologist. Although it looks like I “play” one on television or the Internet, I am just your friendly person giving you the weather. When I get into work, I have a briefing with a meteorologist, who will give me an overview of the national outlook and break it down regionally and sometimes even locally. So really, I do not “forecast” any weather. I am just told what to say by smarter and more knowledgeable people.

 

What does it take to be good at your job? 

A good weathercaster is a person who can take all the important weather information and break it down so that you or I can understand it easily. Weather information is what people want to know. Is it going to rain? How is the weekend shaping up to be? As long as that information is communicated clearly and simply, I think the job of a weathercaster is done. I could spew out all the information about cold/warm fronts and get technical, but the question I always have to answer is: How will the weather impact us and our world?

 

Have you had any weathercasting bloopers?

Of course! But I have been lucky enough to have generous video technicians who do not always save my bloopers.

 

What are weather-followers talking about these days? 

I think the climate change debate will continue to be a hot button issue for many. It seems like more people these days are really concerned about the environment and its future. It’s sparked a new movement for fuel-efficient cars like hybrids and more efforts for energy conservation.

 

Do people ever have the wrong idea about weathercasters, that they’re, well, not so smart?  

I think it’s easy for people to assume things about people on television. Just like we assume the lives of celebrities are perfect, which in so many cases we know