About us/Caitlin Connell
Education
University of North Dakota, Bachelor of Science in Atmospheric Science, Bachelor of Arts in Communication, and Minor in Mathematics
Q&A with Caitlin Connell
About Caitlin:
Caitlin grew up in sunny, Southern California, and that's where most of her family resides. She has one older brother and a nephew who was recently added to the family! Her love for weather is a real thing and once she decided to share her passion for it, she packed up and moved over 1,800 miles to Grand Forks, North Dakota to study it first-hand! While finishing her degree at the University of North Dakota, Caitlin started her broadcast career at WDAY in Fargo, ND. From working and living in ND, she gained hands-on experience with all things winter and cold weather. She even chased a few severe storms in the summers! After graduating in May 2021, she moved about 500 miles south to Omaha, Nebraska to continue her broadcast journey. She landed at KMTV and worked there over two years. During her time in Omaha, she covered blizzards, tornado outbreaks, severe wind events, derechos, and more. Caitlin couldn't be more excited to be a part of the WeatherNation team, and have the opportunity to cover all things weather, all across the country. If you're interested in following her on social media, you can find her with @CaitlinConnellTV on Facebook and Instagram, and @CaitlinCOnTV on Twitter/X.
What inspired you to become a meteorologist?
I wish I had a better answer to this, but I have always had an interest in the weather. Even my parents can't remember when it was that I started to show an interest in the weather. It seems like I was born with it; as cheesy as it sounds!
What is your most memorable weather experience?
It's hard to pick just one...It's probably a tie between the time I had to rescue colleagues from a DOW (Doppler On Wheels) during a blowing snow event in ND, and the tornado outbreak that tore through the Midwest on December 15, 2021. The first story comes from a research project I was a part of called "BLOWN-UNDER" during my undergraduate degree. We had a DOW come out to study blowing snow observations at a highly specific view, and we had a plan to all take shifts throughout the overnight hours to run the radar on the DOW. Well, my shift didn't start until 6AM and I woke up to one of the worst blizzards we had so far that winter. It was perfect for the research, but bad for me who had to figure out how to get myself to the open field where the DOW was at. The roads were terrible and they were getting worse. I messaged in the group chat to see if anyone was willing to go out there with me, in case we got stuck in the snow. Shortly after that discussion started, the DOW operator reached out and said the hydraulics on the truck froze, which meant the truck couldn't be lowered to get the tires put back on the road. The low temperature that morning was -25°F, and that's not including the wind chill. Now the conversation turned into someone needs to go out a rescue the student and operator who were there overnight. That landed on me, and I'll tell you, I nearly got stuck in multiple snow drifts, but the mission was successful in the end and everyone was safe!
The second story comes from my first December in Omaha. We had a very unseasonable severe weather threat the afternoon of December 15, but the morning shows that I was on went as scheduled. The SPC bumped up the risk from an enhanced to a moderate risk as we were live in the morning. This was the first time I was ever in a risk category that high. Despite my day starting around 2AM, I was working and covering this severe event with the rest of my team until about 6PM that night. Needless to say, it was a long and eventful day. The outbreak dropped over 20 tornadoes in my viewing area alone, and a total of 120 tornadoes were confirmed across 4 states. This set the record for the largest tornado outbreak in December, and it's one of the largest single-day outbreaks in recorded history.
Outside of weather, what are your hobbies and interests?
I'm a big traveler. That's probably my biggest hobby, right now, and what I do the most in my free time. Other than that, I love to ski, hike, camp, bake, paint, and rewatch some of my favorite shows. My go-to's are The Office, Ghost Adventures, and Friends.
Besides your parents, who as influenced you the most in your life?
I try to learn things from everyone who is in my life and from the people who I cross paths with. Everyone has a different life story, and I believe we can learn something new from just about everyone. But one person who has influenced my life greatly, and still continues to do so, is my boyfriend, Evan. He's my best friend and helps me strive to be a better version of myself every day.
What is a little-known fact about you?
I want to visit all 50 states. I've been to 34 states already, so I have 16 left!
What are your hopes and dreams for the profession of weather?
I'm very excited to see the science of forecasting, models, and weather as a whole, change and benefit from our expanding knowledge of technology. I hope that soon we'll be able to see and do brand new things with the help of new technology. On a more personal note, I love that I can share my passion for weather with so many people, on and off the air. It truly is a pleasure and honor to be able to do this as my job.