TV Meteorologist

TV Meteorologist

Kevin Selle

Wichita Falls, TX

Male, 55

I've been a broadcast meteorologist on television since the early 1990's. Happy to answer any questions about the weather or local TV news. Yes, I often wear sneakers on set just out of view of the camera.

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326 Questions

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Last Answer on December 24, 2019

Best Rated

what does a person have to do to become a meteorologist?

Asked by randall about 8 years ago

Hi, Randall. There are a number of colleges that offer degrees in meteorology. It would be helpful to know what you are more interested in since schools lean differently. Research, operational forecasting, broadcasting and private consulting are all options. I highly recommend internships so you can get a feel for each area. Good luck!

How many weather models does a forecaster have to work with and where is the data for the weather models coming from?

Asked by Richard Ferstandig over 7 years ago

Complicated answer, Richard, but a good question. There are quite a few and I really can't give a number off the top of my head. Easily more than a dozen It is complicated because different models offer different solutions. Some are short range, some are longer range. Some are US based, others European and Canada and Japan. To further complicate the issue some models are run as "ensembles" meaning they are run from the basic initial data but small variations are introduced to give different solutions. The basic input data is collected twice a day from about 900 upper air sites, or weather balloons, launched twice a day, noon and midnight Greenwich mean time. The idea is to take a snapshot of the entire planet atmosphere at the same time. Also, more and more data, from satellites and radar for example, is now ingested into the models to varying degrees. A shorter answer is, on a regular day I'll look at three or four.

I heard somewhere about it but maybe I heard wrong. IDK but I guess it was a thing in the past but I have never heard of it recently. Like Tornado Alert. Sorry that I did not provide very much information on the last question.

Asked by Carlene over 6 years ago

No problem. Thanks for the information. It could be that a local weather source is using that term. “Officially” the term used by the National Weather Service is a tornado warning, and in some extreme situations a tornado emergency. Thanks again!

Do you ever get hate for wrong forecasts? (i.e emails, calls, texts, social media messages, letters, etc)

Asked by Afjafjeklafefj0923487323423423423423423423423432423 over 6 years ago

There is a lot of that out there these days, especially on social media. I’m pretty lucky, doesn’t happen too often. Busted snow forecasts seem to be the worst. I’m in Texas so not as big a problem. Thanks!

Why does a low pressure system take only a day or so to cross the Atlantic only to stall north west of Scotland. Why does the coralis affect not keep it going?

Asked by Jim almost 8 years ago

Hi, Jim Storm systems at that latitude are driven by what is usually called the jet stream, which is a river of faster moving air and a series of large scale waves in the atmosphere. It does not flow at a constant speed or wavelength and is changing all the time. Storms will approach Scotland at different intervals and can move faster/slower or stall based on many influences. The Coriolis Effect accounts for the influence the spinning earth has on motion, and while part of the system, less directly affects the speed of the systems. I think the more direct answers to your question is that the speed of the storms is affected by a number of factors, not just Coriolis. Thanks!

On the East Coast, specifically the Allegheny mountains, are the prevailing winds necessarily from the west? Which is to ask: Is the leeward size of those mountains generally on the east, or rather on the west, as the Atlantic ocean is so close?

Asked by Mrs. Mills over 6 years ago

Hello, Mrs. Mills. Broadly speaking the leeward side of the Allegheny Mountains would be the eastern side, closer to the coast. At any given moment the windward side of anything is that facing the wind. In general terms the broad atmospheric flow is west to east across the United States. Here is a good definition on Wikipedia. Thanks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windward_and_leeward

Hello. My boss has asked me to find out the amount of snowfall in a 5 day span in January 2016. Any idea on how can I get this info?

Asked by Erin over 7 years ago

Hi, Erin. I’d go to weather.gov (not .com). Click on your area of the map and it will take you to the local National Weather Service office and you’ll see phone and email on the bottom. Good luck.