For the past year, meteorologist Katy Kramer has provided NewsChannel 8 viewers with weather coverage — a challenging task in Tornado Alley.
From Kramer’s perspective, weather reporting in Tornado Alley is a plum job. “It’s a meteorologist’s dream to come down and work here in the plains,” says the Indianapolis native, who has been at Tulsa’s ABC affiliate, NewsChannel 8, since June 2018. Kramer has been a meteorologist for about nine years, first in Columbia, South Carolina, then Champaign, Illinois, and Green Bay, Wisconsin. In Tulsa, the weather is unpredictable and more interesting. “It’s very active,” she says. “For some people, their meteorology focus is more hurricane-based, so they want to be on the East Coast. Others, it’s winter stuff, so they want to be up north. “But for most, you’ll find they are most curious about thunderstorms, tornadoes — stuff that you get here in the heartland and the central portion of the country. And Oklahoma is the prime area for that.” Kramer loves the job’s challenging qualities, such as forecasting. “Constantly, things change — you’re always going to see something different. And that makes it difficult, too; it’s a very challenging job. The challenge, the volatility of it, the variety of things that I get to look for and look at, that’s fun.” 44
TulsaPeople JULY 2019
Her shift runs from the wee hours to mid-morning. When severe weather occurs Chief Meterorologist Dan Threlkeld calls on the weather team to assist with coverage, but Kramer says everyone is dedicated to keeping viewers informed. Here is a breakdown of Kramer’s typical work day: 1 A.M.: Alarm goes off. “The most difficult part of my day is probably rolling out of bed,” she says. 2:30 A.M.: With makeup in tow, she arrives at the station in sweatpants. For the next hour and a half, she will “forecast, look at models, look at numbers, update websites, do radio. We record a radio segment in the morning,” she says. 4 A.M.: Dons her on-air look. 4:30 A.M.: On air with “Good Morning Oklahoma” until 7. “Throughout the show I’m constantly updating stuff, doing Twitter, doing Facebook, changing out graphics because I don’t want to use the same forecast every time because that’s boring.”
7 A.M.: After the show is over, records a couple of “weather hits” that will run during the national “Good Morning America” broadcast. 7:30 A.M.: A little break in the day for lunch. 8 A.M.: Reviews the new weather models that usually come out at this time, “just to see if anything dramatic changes.” She also prepares for the guest interviews that she will conduct during the upcoming “Good Day Tulsa” show. 8:30 A.M.: Show meeting for “Good Day Tulsa.” 9 A.M.: On the air again as “Good Day Tulsa” begins. 10 A.M.: Show wraps; Kramer updates Facebook, Twitter and changes a few graphics if necessary, and her shift is pretty much done. 10:30 A.M.: Go home. Any station-sponsored duties or community event opportunities, such as public appearances or severe weather education workshops, tend to occur after her shift is over.
VALERIE WEI-HAAS
Katy Kramer
KTUL NEWSCHANNEL 8 METEOROLOGIST