As far as new skills and knowledge gained are concerned, there are two things I would list. First, I got the chance to work with an actual Baron Services television doppler weather radar, with Fastrac software (a.k.a. 4-Warn Live), and, a brand new piece of technology related to it called VIPIR. I have had a lot of experience interpreting doppler weather radar pictures over the years, but this marked my first hands-on exposure to working at an actual doppler workstation. The VIPIR system integrates doppler weather radar data from the National Weather Service, and creates a display for the television doppler. It allows a weathercaster to show 3-dimensional views of storms from all angles as seen by nearby NEXRAD sites. This allows a weathercaster the capability to show live displays of winds inside severe thunderstorms and alert the public to damaging straight line winds, tornadoes, and large hailstones. It allows viewers to see severe storms more clearly than was previously possible.

The second type of new skills and experience I gained was with the chromakey display. In fact, I have a tape containing a mock weathercast, that I can use for audition purposes. All the aforementioned weather information is translated into slides and notes that the weathercaster can use on the air. The slides are presented on a machine called a chromakey display where the weathercaster stands in front of a green wall which is not visible to viewers on the air. The chromakey display is overlayed with the image of the weathercaster pointing to the displayed maps. The maps and charts are also projected on monitors located on either side of the green wall, and in the camera so that the weathercaster can see the display and maintain eye contact with the camera.

Another part of the intern's job is to take phone calls when the weathercaster is busy or out of the office. Usually, viewers call in to talk about severe weather, comment on the weathercaster's wardrobe, or just ask weather related questions. Sometimes, people call in to complain about interruptions in programming due to severe weather, but mostly, the callers are just in need of someone to reassure them and to find out what is going on. Also, a weather intern might sometimes be called upon to help answer e-mail and other correspondance. Once, I got to help answer a viewer's question about the rain equivalent of snowfall amounts. Another fun part was helping to do research on things like Daylight Savings Time, and, taking notes at a meeting of the local American Meteorological Society - National Weather Association chapter meeting on tornadoes.

So, how does it all relate to my academic studies? This internship has allowed me the chance to put not only my mass communication, and geography studies, but also my meteorological background to work in a professional setting. It is one thing to take classes, and to do co-curricular work in student radio and television, but to have the opportunity to see what really goes on behind the scenes, and take part in helping create what goes on-air in a professional setting is priceless. This, I would say is the most valuable part of the overall experience for me. What was the least valuable part of the experience for me? That's a tough question, I don't really think there was one. There are so many positives with this past 16 weeks it's impossible to try and find one. As I said before, I've had a blast! Thanks a million to the News 4 Storm Team, for a great time!

My Journal -

Introduction - For the past 16 weeks, beginning Wednesday January, 26th and ending this past Wednesday, May 3, 2000, I have been working as a student weather intern with KARK-TV News 4. During the internship, my duties have included learning how to draw weather maps on a deadline, shadowing and observing Meteorologists Michelle Leigh and John Champion, answering telephone calls and occasional e-mail, assisting with gathering and analysis of weather data, and assisting with occasional research, as needed, for the 5 and 6 pm weathercasts, and providing other production assistance as needed.

As far as my expectations going into the internship class, I had always hoped and expected to do something related to broadcast meteorology. After applying with KATV, Channel 7, and going through what turned into a nightmarish run around which would only have resulted in a newsroom assignment, a most fortunate turn of events came to pass. My papers were lost in the shuffle at KATV. Well, about a week after I had just about given up on the whole thing, UCA Career Services called me up and told me that Channel 4 had been trying to contact me. I called them back, and within a week, everything was ready to go. During the last few weeks my expectations have been exceeded time and again. What you are about to read is a capsule log of my adventures at Channel 4.

Entry 1 - Wednesday, January 26, 2000. 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. I arrived early and checked in. Met several of the reporters and other staff. Toured the newsroom and set where weather office is located. Everyone here is very friendly, warm, and personable. Michelle Leigh had to cancel due to a promo shoot and an on-coming snowstorm which was due on the 28th. We rescheduled for Wednesday the 2nd of February.

Entry 2 - Wednesday, February 2, 2000. 2:00 - 7:00 p.m. Finally met Michelle Leigh. She is extremely nice. Most of the time is spent discussing weather operations at KARK. My first duties were answering an e-mail, regarding the water equivalency of snowfall amounts and how they are measured. Also began drawing weather maps on paper for Michelle to translate into the Genesis Weather Graphics computer. Watched 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts. All in all a very good start.

Entry 3 - Friday, February 4, 2000. 2:00 - 7:00 p.m. Assisted gathering and analysing numerical weather data from computer models and weather wire. Drew prognostic charts on worksheet for Michelle. Began learning about 4-Warn Live Doppler Weather Radar. Answered several phone calls. Explained to Michelle about Grenwich Mean Time and how it relates to Central Standard Time. We also discussed various aspects of weathercaster certification. Having a blast so far.

Entry 4 - Wednesday, February 9, and Friday, February 11, 2000. 2:00 - 7:00 p.m. Basically continued more of the same duties. Continued to observe, answer phone calls, and assist with basic forecasting work. Also became more familiar with 4-Warn Live Doppler Weather Radar. Whoever said time flies when you're having fun knew their stuff!

Entry 5 - Wednesday February 16, 2 p.m, - 7 p.m., and Thursday, February 17, 2000. 12:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Severe Weather looked likely for 2/17. Performed normal duties on Wednesday. Came in on Thursday instead of Friday to assist with possible Severe Weather. When I arrived, Mike Nicco, meteorologist for the Sunrise show, invited me to come in some morning and observe. The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center(SPC)'s outlooks, and computer model data indicated a late night or morning start on Friday the 18th over Western Arkansas. John Champion also came in to assist Michelle as well. He also went into the models and confirmed our suspicions. I stayed until 8:30 and answered phone calls from viewers who wanted to know when storms would strike.

Entry 6 - Wednesday, 2-23, and, Friday, 2-25, 2000. More severe weather this week. On Wednesday, I arrived at 1 p.m. Although the Storm Prediction Center had the western 2/3's of Arkansas outlooked for severe weather, the majority of the storms actually fired in the Southeast half of the state. The flow of Severe Thunderstorm Warnings was pretty steady between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. Around 4:30, John Champion and I watched one storm on 4-Warn Live doppler radar, as it produced a suspicious rotation in Lincoln County. We were both wondering when the National Weather Service would issue a TOR - (Tornado Warning), we continued to watch. In about 10 minutes time, the rotation, called a mesocyclone, developed a well defined hook echo, which looked like a backwards 9. Around 4:45 p.m., North Little Rock weather finally issued a Tornado Warning for Arkansas County. Michelle did a cut-in. The storms moved out and broke up around 5:30. I left around 6:00 p.m. for the day. Total hours for Wednesday, 5.

On Friday, 2-25, I arrived at 1:00 p.m.. Mike Nicco was working on hand creating a Tornado Watch map for the Omni-Alert warning system which had a minor glitch. Fortunately, with the help of Baron's Technical Support, the problem was quickly fixed. Once the watch map was taken care of, Michelle and I kept a watch on things. We mainly checked the Storm Prediction Center website, and National Weather Service websites in Little Rock and Tulsa, as well as the weather wire, and doppler radar and satellite photos. Additionally, Michelle had a few phone calls while she got her show ready. During this time, a few SVR's (Severe Thunderstorm Warnings) came out in Western Arkansas. Next, I helped Michelle prepare a paper map of the Tornado Watch, to go to the Graphics Department for preparation as an ESS graphic for the 5:00 show.

Around 5:30 p.m. a new severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Garland County. During the 6:00 show, I got coffee for Steve Barnes and Betsy Pilgrim. At 6:30 p.m. an SPS - (Special Weather Statement) was issued to cancel the Tornado Watch. I stayed until 7:00 p.m. and got a brief lesson on creating and deleting radar loops for 4-Warn Live.

Entry 7 - Week of March 1 to March 3, 2000. Michelle got sick on 3/1 and I worked with John Champion on 3/2 and 3/3. Continued normal duties on 3/01 and 3/03. Had severe weather threaten on 3/02. On 3/02 I arrived at 1:00 p.m. Scattered severe thunderstorms developed in Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana. A cell near Mena showed rotation with a Tornado Warning issued. Numerous severe thunderstorm warnings were issued between 3:00 and 9:00 p.m. when I left. Hours worked this week 19. Semester total to date - 65.

Entry 8 - Week of March 8 and 10, 2000. Normal duties and hours this Wednesday March 8. We began discussing the employment application process, and making a demo tape.

On Friday March 10, a Severe Thunderstorm Watch was in effect for extreme south Arkansas. No problems were reported in Arkansas, although a few warnings were issued in South Central and Southeast Arkansas. Most of the action went to Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. Otherwise, I assisted Michelle as needed. We tentatively scheduled a taping session for the week of March 15, if weather permitted.

Entry 9 - Week of March 15 and 17. Due to unforseen circumstances, taping did not occur this week. This week was primarily spent observing and getting acquainted with VIPIR, a doppler weather radar algorithm that takes incoming National Weather Service NEXRAD doppler weather radar products, and gets them ready to be displayed on the air. On Wednesday, Michelle was getting ready to leave on a much needed break out of town. I worked my normal 5 hours, 1-6 p.m. assisting her as best I could.

On Friday, John Champion and I worked with Jeremy Jewell, a reporesentative of Baron Services, who briefed us on the workings of VIPIR. My first impression with VIPIR is amazement. It was like a kid waiting on Christmas Eve waiting to attack the tree. The only problems were that the system froze from time to time, and, Jewell left no instruction booklet for VIPIR.

Entry 10 - Week of March 23 and March 25. This was the week when I shot my first audition tape at the chromakey. It began on Wednesday with normal duties and observation. I also spent Wednesday briefing Michelle on what I knew about VIPIR. The date was set for Friday March 24, to do a practice tape.

On Friday March 24, I arrived at 2:30 p.m. and observed until the 6:30 hour. At which time the chromakey was readied, the camera shot was established, and I took 66 1/2 minutes of takes. Some good, some bad, and some worse. My nerves were tight. So tight, I could've easily given Al Gore stiff lessons. (No pun intended.) The sensation of being on camera was like taking the driven part of the drivers license test with the cop sitting next to me waiting for a screw-up. However, as I went through it, the shear terror slowly evaporated. I was relieved that the first session was over. Now, I could sit down and work on improving techniques and developing my schtick. I finally left around 8:00.

Entry 11 - Week of Wednesday, March 29, and Friday, March 31. On Wednesday, I arrived around 2:00 p.m. This was a day spent observing and allowing my nerves to take a rest. It was also a day spent working severe weather with 4-Warn Live and VIPIR. Severe weather watches and warnings flying regularly for hailstorms in Arkansas. The worst weather was in Texas and Louisiana. About 4:30, I began tracking a tornadic supercell in Northeast Texas which, at first, appeared to be headed towards Texarkana. Rotation was very evident as VIPIR shear markers were numerous. Fortunately, the storm stayed south of the border. I left around 6:30 as the storms calmed down for the night, but not before setting aside time on Friday to view the tape.

On Friday, I arrived around 1:30, and started the day watching the DVC-PRO tape of my chromakey practice. The results weren't as bad as I originally thought, but there were still many miles of room left fot improvement. Eye contact was fine, but I listed what I called my 10 deadly sins, or items for improvement. My other duties included helping Michelle research daylight savings time, as this was the weekend it took affect. I finally left for the day at 6:30 p.m.

Entry 12 - Week of Wednesday April 5, and Friday April 7. On Wednesday, Michelle was getting ready to shoot a promo when I arrived. I observed this and also got a chance to take a look at the VIPIR operator's manual. Otherwise, I carried on my normal duties from 2-6 p.m. A very routine day, but Friday would be different!

Friday April 7 - Michelle went out of town for a couple of days. This meant I worked with John Champion today. Today would be very interesting for several reasons. To begin with, the day started with the first of 2 severe thunderstorm watches issued around 1:30 when I arrived. To add to the problem, the Storm Warn machine, which generates the watch and warning maps used on the air, had to be reset. As a result, John had to manually redraw the watch map twice. Naturally, he quite understandably was frustrated with this, but we got through the problem quickly. Another problem soon developed. This one was an outage of the NOAA Weather Wire system, which lasted a couple of hours (between 3:30 and 5:30). We first noticed it when a viewer called in to say that none of the tv stations (4, 7, or 11), had warnings displayed. In fact, the viewer reported that the only warnings that were going out were through the Emergency Alert System, on FOX 16 and UPN-38.

The EAS is activated by NOAA Weather Radio warning broadcasts which are carried live over participating stations. We called Renee Fair, Meteorologist In Charge of the National Weather Service in North Little Rock. She told us that there indeed was a problem, and that a backup system was being set-up, namely faxing the warnings to the newsroom. This system did work, but it was agonizingly slow since the newsroom fax machine was busy, and, the forecasters at North Little Rock were also busy. Enter our secondary backup - NOAA Weather Radio, via my pocket scanner.

Not only were the warnings faster, but they were more reliable. By 5:30, the Weather Wire was restored, and the latest warnings were quickly resent. Within the next hour, a new watch was issued further east and south of the original one, as a thin, but active squall line approached. 4-Warn Live and VIPIR continued to show occasional severe hail, and more warnings crossed the wire several times through 6:30 p.m. When I finally left around 7:p.m., the storm hit Little Rock. It brought a nice rainfall, and a beautiful lightning show for the drive home. Thus ending a hectic but fun 5 1/2 hour day.

Entry 13 - Week of Wednesday April 12, and Friday April 14. This Wednesday was rainy but quiet. We confirmed my 2nd taping date for Friday, April 14. I continued my normal duties and observed from 2 - 6 p.m. or for 4 hours. Grand Total 117 1/2 hours. On this Friday, it was taping day. I arrived at 2:00 p.m., prepared maps, and interpreted data as usual until 5:30, when I took a dinner break until 6:00 p.m.. Between 6:30 and 7:45, I taped. This time it was much easier and more comfortable. Even though there was some stumbling, it went much better this time. Michelle asked me to make notes at the AMS-NWA chapter meeting scheduled for Tuesday the 18th. Which I was glad to do.

Entry 14 - Week of Wednesday, April 19 and Friday April 21. Severe Weather was a threat this week of Easter Sunday. Once again Michelle took some comp time off, and I worked with John Champion. I delivered the notes I made for Michelle, and John asked for a copy, which I gladly allowed him to make. I also gave one to Mike Nicco. The day Wednesday was mainly spent assessing the severe weather risk for Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. The hours I worked Wednesday were 2:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. or (4 1/2 hours). On Friday, we monitored for severe weather from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Entry 15 - Week of Wednesday April 26, and Friday April 28. Michelle is back. On Wednesday I arrived at 2:00 and reviewed the second taping. The lengths were a minute and a half too-long. Instead of a 3:30 sec. maximum, my best one went 5:02 sec. After making some notes and observations, we scheduled another taping session for Friday the 28th. I left at 5:30.

On Friday, I arrived at 2:00. After going through the maps and normal preparations, we taped at 6:30. This time it went much more smoothly. In fact, we even got the first cut for my demo tape. The only problems with it were that I pointed to the extended outlook, and my head tilted to the left on occasion, but it worked, and it was a start. We scheduled another taping session for Wednesday the 3rd of May, and at 8:30 I left. It was a long 6 and 1/2 hours.

Entry 16 - Wednesday May 3. Arrived at 3:00 p.m. and observed until 5. Took a dinner break at 5:30. Arrived back at 6 and watched the news. Taping started at 6:45 and went to about 7:50. My poise and delivery were good, but the suit didn't want to cooperate. Had to repeatedly adjust my shirt sleeves. Despite all this, we got cut #2, a 3:02 sec cast. We scheduled a taping session for Tuesday May, 9th as I left at 8:30. Total Hours worked this final day was 5.5 hours. For the semester, I worked a total of 148 clock hours. And had a blast doing it! THE END.

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