Less than 24 hours after a crazy melted-snow-turned-into-black-ice-and-made-me-cancel-my-plans-for-the-Super-Bowl, on National Weatherperson’s Day, I found a meteorologist from New York willing to toss the ball with me.
A graduate of Cornell University, Elisa is the Daybreak Meteorologist for KOLR-10. Her passion for all-things-weather stems from watching stories of Hurricane Katrina as a 12-year old. Her dream for 2018 is to become a certified broadcast meteorologist like her mentor, Jim Cantore from The Weather Channel. Elisa once worked next to Cantore in the middle of a blizzard in Iowa.
“I had to wear goggles just to see which made for great TV,” Elisa said.
Growing up in New York, Elisa is a Yankees fan and has several stories of celebrity run-ins: Anne Hathaway, Lionel Ritchie, and her favorite player, Derek Jeter. Of course, she got a picture and autograph with The Captain, which makes the second Jeter autograph story of the year.
We met at Meador Field to play catch and I told Elisa about the massive hail storm I once experienced in KC. She taught me the science behind the storm which I found fascinating.
I asked her about her favorite part of living in Springfield, “Andy’s Frozen Custard.”
Spoken like a true Springfield native.
Not too long ago, I wrote a poem about the craziness of weather in Springfield.
Springstorms
Armchair meteorologists
like churches, like banks,
like Chinese restaurants.
Officially home of the greatest
variety in weather
in the United States —
“Wait five minutes
weather will change.”
All four seasons within a week
immune system shock treatment
wedding planning nightmare
gotta go mow my snow
a/c-to-furnace-to-a/c, oh my.
Spring storms flash
flooding pandemonium
sirens whirring Doppler effect lesson
neighbors gather on porches,
gawking at green clouds ground-reaching,
slow swirl and radar hook
tornado alley on the I-44 corridor
daring to collect whatever-sized
pieces of hail.
Blinding lightning,
immediatelyfollowedby
heart-rhythm affecting
thunderumble.
No seconds counted.
And I drift off,
comforted
by rooftop percussions.
Thank you Elisa for the game of catch! Best of luck during broadcast tests and trying to predict weather in Springfield!
