Veronica Johnson Explained

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

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] and worked at the National Climactic Data Center. She started her career at The Weather Channel, and then moved to Baltimore where she worked at WBFF, also known as Fox Channel 45.[5] She then moved to WABC-TV in New York, and WMAR in Baltimore.[6] [7] 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.[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

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

Johnson is married to Dwight Weems. 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.

Selected publications

Notes and References

  1. News: February 1999 . Character Education . en . A16 . Baltimore Afro-American .
  2. News: Gray . Jacqueline . 1998-04-26 . Weather Mom . https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112186401/weather-mom/,https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112186401/weather-mom/,https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112186468/,https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112186897/ . The Baltimore Sun . 2022-10-29.
  3. Web site: Veronica Johnson Eye of the Storm - January 18, 2018 National Association of Broadcasters . 2022-10-20 . www.nab.org.
  4. Web site: Author: Veronica Johnson . 2022-10-20 . WTOP News.
  5. News: Hill . Michael . 1991-04-24 . Fox Channel 45 introduces its news team . 34 . The Evening Sun . 2022-10-28.
  6. News: Kaltenbach . Christ . 1996-07-21 . New face on Channel 2 should be a familiar one . 128 . The Baltimore Sun . 2022-10-28.
  7. News: Shapiro . Stephanie . 1999-02-04 . At sunrise, she'll be smart and stylish . 53 . The Baltimore Sun . 2022-10-28.
  8. News: Kaltenbach . Christ . 1999-08-27 . WMAR tries to boost sagging news shows . 56 . The Baltimore Sun . 2022-10-28.
  9. News: Kaltenbach . Chris . 1999-08-25 . Prell will be sleeping later . 58 . The Baltimore Sun . 2022-10-29.
  10. Web site: 2017-10-26 . Women are being passed over for 'chief meteorologist' jobs at an alarming rate . 2022-10-20 . The Lily . en.
  11. News: Fall 2017 . Reporting While Female: What It's Really Like . 1–3 . Media Report to Women; Coltons Point . ProQuest.
  12. News: Fritz . Angela . October 26, 2017 . Analysis Women are being passed over for 'chief meteorologist' jobs at an alarming rate . Washington Post . 2022-10-20 . 0190-8286.
  13. News: Fritz . Angela . June 1, 2016 . Veronica Johnson moves to ABC7 as Jacqui Jeras signs off — for now . en-US . Washington Post . 2022-10-20 . 0190-8286.
  14. News: Ajasa . Amudalat . 2023-02-03 . These Black women are changing TV weather, a field long dominated by White men . 2023-02-06 . Washington Post . en.
  15. Book: Abdelrahman . Nahed . Girls and Women of Color In STEM: Their Journeys in Higher Education . Irby . Beverly . Ballenger . Julia . Polnick . Barbara . 2020-10-01 . IAP . 978-1-64802-093-3 . 46 . en.
  16. News: Lester . Will . 2005-06-15 . Many people think weather forecasters are all wet, poll says . 8 . The Tribune . 2022-10-25.
  17. Book: Henson, Robert . Weather on the Air: A History of Broadcast Meteorology . 2013-01-22 . Springer Science & Business Media . 978-1-935704-00-3 . 27 . en.
  18. Web site: Author: Veronica Johnson . 2022-10-20 . WTOP News . en.
  19. Web site: List of Fellows . 2022-10-20 . American Meteorological Society.
  20. Web site: Staff . Capital Emmys . 2022-02-16 . 2021 Gold & Silver Circles Announced! . 2022-10-20 . Capitalemmys.