 Congratulations
to WILL meteorologist Ed Kieser for receiving a
Campus Award for
Excellence in Public Engagement!
Ed also received the “Certified
Broadcast Meteorologist” award from the American
Meteorological Society (AMS). Ed is the 11th person in the
country and the first in Illinois to receive the award, which is the highest broadcast
certification from the AMS.
 Listen
to Ed's interview about tornadoes on All Things
Considered (11/8/05)
WILL meteorologist Ed Kieser has been marking up weather maps with a grease pencil since he was a 10-year-old preparing elaborate weather presentations for his family. “I was always interested in things outside and in geography,”
says Ed. “As many meteorologists do, I started taking weather observations,
marking a calendar with low and high temperatures each day. I first took the information from TV weather reports, then I got a maximum/minimum thermometer and started to do it on my own.”
Ed says his younger sister thought he was a bit strange, “but my parents were always encouraging. I still have my first thermometer at my mother's house in Ohio, and I still take the temperature every time I go home."
Growing up in the "snow belt" of northeast Ohio, Ed found plenty of weather phenomena to interest him. "I was always fascinated by the lake-effect snow that we received," he
says. "How did we get snow when other areas of the state didn't?"
He also remembers the April 3, 1974, outbreak of tornadoes in Ohio, including the Xenia tornado that killed more than 30 people, injured 1,100, and destroyed more than 1,000 homes. Other tornadoes hit the Cincinnati and Columbus areas, along with Northern Kentucky and Eastern Indiana. "I had just received a weather radio about a week earlier,"
says Ed. "I followed all the severe weather bulletins very closely."
His interest in weather led to a bachelor's degree (1983) and then a master's (1987) in meteorology from Pennsylvania State University. While at Penn State,
Ed took a few classes in broadcasting and worked as television weather anchor for WNEP-TV in Scranton, and as a country music deejay for WGMR-FM in State College.
In 1987, Ed joined the staff at WILL, which has a continuing commitment to in-depth weather reporting.
“Working in public broadcasting allows me to take time to explain things,” he
says. “I have the flexibility to be creative in how I approach my broadcasts and have the time to go in depth into some of the forecasts."
Ed’s job as WILL meteorologist goes beyond forecasting the central Illinois weather. Every Friday, Kieser or WILL-AM weather producer Mike Sola hosts the popular
Talk to Ed and Talk to Mike segments that air at 7:50 am and 12:40 pm. Listeners call 333-9455 or (800) 222-9455 to get forecasts for travel destinations around the country and answers to weather-related questions.
Ed holds the American Meteorological Society's Seal of
Approval for weathercasting on both radio and television. He was named 2001 Best Media Personality by readers of the Champaign-Urbana weekly, The Octopus. Many people in the communities served by WILL say they’ve learned about what to do in a tornado by listening to
Ed on the radio or by attending one of his free yearly tornado safety seminars.
Ed’s multimedia programs examine the conditions that favor severe weather such as tornadoes, and provide advice about what do when one heads your way. "I've met people who told me when their area was hit by a tornado, they knew what to do because of my show,"
he says.
In addition, a television special that airs yearly on WILL-TV,
Tornadoes with Ed Kieser, has been distributed to schools and libraries in the WILL-TV viewing area.
Ed also teaches "Introduction to Weather," a 4-credit laboratory course, at Parkland College in Champaign.
Ed presents a free seminar, Tornado Safety with Ed Kieser
every year. This multimedia program examines the conditions that favor severe weather such as tornadoes, and gives advice about what do when one heads your way. "I've met people who told me when their area was hit by a tornado, they knew what to do because of my show,"
says Ed.
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