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Veronica Johnson

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Johnson in 2015

Veronica Johnson is an American meteorologist who is the chief meteorologist at WJLA-TV. She was named a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society since 2011.

Biography

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As a child, at the age of 12, Johnson became interested in the weather,[1] an interest that grew while she was in Air Force ROTC training in high school.[2] Johnson earned her undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.[3] While in college she specialized in atmospheric sciences,[4][1] and worked at the National Climactic Data Center.[2] She started her career at The Weather Channel, and then moved to Baltimore where she worked at WBFF,[2] also known as Fox Channel 45.[5] She then moved to WABC-TV in New York, and WMAR in Baltimore.[6][7][2] Johnson left WMAR in 1999,[8] partially because she was unable to accept the magnitude of the pay cut offered at the time.[9] She joined News4 in 2000, and was appointed to the board of the American Meteorological Society in 2005.

When her colleague, chief meteorologist Doug Hill, announced that he was retiring in 2016, Johnson attempted to take the lead.[10][11] However, the network did not appoint her, despite her considerable expertise and experience.[10][12] She moved to WJLA-TV in 2016,[13] and was named chief meteorologist there in December 2022.[14]

Johnson also does outreach events introducing K-12 students to careers in STEM,[15] participated in a news story about public opinion of weather forecasters,[16] and brought Conan O'Brien onto her weathercast in 2009.[17]

Awards and honors

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In 2011, she was elected a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society.[18][19] In 2021, she was inducted in the Silver Circle of the National Capital Emmys for her contributions to meteorology.[20]

Personal life

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Johnson is married to Dwight Weems.[2] They have three children, and in 1999 she talked about how she adapted her clothing for on-air appearances while she was pregnant with her son.[7]

Selected publications

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  • Johnson, Veronica (April 2003). "The Weather Channel: The Improbable Rise of a Media Phenomenon". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society; Boston. 84 (4): 493–494.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Character Education". Baltimore Afro-American. February 1999. p. A16.
  2. ^ a b c d e Gray, Jacqueline (April 26, 1998). "Weather Mom". The Baltimore Sun. pp. [1], [2], [3], [4]. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  3. ^ "Veronica Johnson | Eye of the Storm - January 18, 2018 | National Association of Broadcasters". www.nab.org. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  4. ^ "Author: Veronica Johnson". WTOP News. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  5. ^ Hill, Michael (April 24, 1991). "Fox Channel 45 introduces its news team". The Evening Sun. p. 34. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  6. ^ Kaltenbach, Christ (July 21, 1996). "New face on Channel 2 should be a familiar one". The Baltimore Sun. p. 128. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Shapiro, Stephanie (February 4, 1999). "At sunrise, she'll be smart and stylish". The Baltimore Sun. p. 53. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  8. ^ Kaltenbach, Christ (August 27, 1999). "WMAR tries to boost sagging news shows". The Baltimore Sun. p. 56. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  9. ^ Kaltenbach, Chris (August 25, 1999). "Prell will be sleeping later". The Baltimore Sun. p. 58. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Women are being passed over for 'chief meteorologist' jobs at an alarming rate". The Lily. October 26, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  11. ^ "Reporting While Female: What It's Really Like". Media Report to Women; Coltons Point. Fall 2017. pp. 1–3 – via ProQuest.
  12. ^ Fritz, Angela (October 26, 2017). "Analysis | Women are being passed over for 'chief meteorologist' jobs at an alarming rate". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  13. ^ Fritz, Angela (June 1, 2016). "Veronica Johnson moves to ABC7 as Jacqui Jeras signs off — for now". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  14. ^ Ajasa, Amudalat (February 3, 2023). "These Black women are changing TV weather, a field long dominated by White men". Washington Post. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  15. ^ Abdelrahman, Nahed; Irby, Beverly; Ballenger, Julia; Polnick, Barbara (October 1, 2020). Girls and Women of Color In STEM: Their Journeys in Higher Education. IAP. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-64802-093-3.
  16. ^ Lester, Will (June 15, 2005). "Many people think weather forecasters are all wet, poll says". The Tribune. p. 8. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  17. ^ Henson, Robert (January 22, 2013). Weather on the Air: A History of Broadcast Meteorology. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-935704-00-3.
  18. ^ "Author: Veronica Johnson". WTOP News. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  19. ^ "List of Fellows". American Meteorological Society. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  20. ^ Staff, Capital Emmys (February 16, 2022). "2021 Gold & Silver Circles Announced!". Capitalemmys. Retrieved October 20, 2022.


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