Jeff Mielcarz

Q: What is your most memorable weather moment?

A: My most memorable weather moment goes back a ways. I was about six years old at home with mom and dad in Bristol, CT minding my own business doing whatever it is that kids do. I'm sure you've heard of armchair quarterbacks before, well my dad was and always will be an armchair meteorologist (and still to this day claims he's more accurate than any meteorologist on TV, including Jim Cantore). Long story short, dad is seriously "weather engaged" and when I was younger he and I would watch summertime thunderstorms roll through from our front porch.
Since I now live in the southeast, I'm used to hot and humid summertime weather conditions, and Connecticut doesn't have ANYTHING on HOT-lanta, trust me. But on this particular day, it was extremely hot and humid and the forecast called for summer thunderstorms because a cold front was moving in.
The sky started to get dark so dad took his post on our porch and then seemingly out of nowhere he yelled 'Tornado'! To this day what I did next is one of my greatest regrets (even though I was the smarter of the two male Mielcarz's that day), I got up threw a deck of cards in the air and ran into the basement with my mom. Meanwhile, dad thought it would be a good idea to watch this thing from the front porch (not smart). Luckily, the tornado went down the road our house was off of while dad watched with amazement from afar. When it was over he couldn't stop talking about how spectacular it was. I listened intently as he told me about everything he saw and heard the sky turning a greenish hue, the way the clouds moved and of course the train sound.
So while I still claim I played my cards right that day, there's a part of me that wishes I could have seen it with my own eyes. Ever since that day I've grown more and more fascinated with the power of weather, and I'm still waiting to see my first tornado in person after all these years. I've been close, but no cigar!

Oct 23, 2008

Q: When you are not at work, what do you enjoy doing?

A: ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?! No matter what time of year you may be reading this, I'm the guy watching NFL Network (with The Weather Channel in a PIP window of course) ALL YEAR round! I love the game of golf, but I'm a horrible (and I mean horrible) golfer so I do what any adult man without ability would do... I play Tiger Woods golf on PS3. And I'll gladly take on any of you reading this (just sayin). I really love my job because I REALLY love the beach and I do miss the water from time to time. When I lived in Connecticut, I took being able to drive to the coast for granted. Here in Atlanta it's more than just an afternoon drive, so I appreciate the fact that I get sent to both coasts rather often for work. I love just bringing a good book and relaxing on the sand. As you may have read before, I'm a Pisces and still like long romantic walks on the beach. I love going to see live music. I'll go to see just about any concert of any genre if they put on a good show. (Generally a good show to me is one that has massive amounts of pyrotechnics and lasers. I started playing drums when I was in 4th grade. Yeah, the one little snare drum thing in school band. Any kid who can play that thing for more than three years without giving it up DESERVES a drum set because there's only so many times you can play "Hot Cross Buns" without losing a piece of your heart. I played through high school in various bands, and then in college I went on tour for a couple of years with a REALLY scary rock/metal band, but that's a story for a different day. I also enjoy going out to eat because my cooking ability is still that of a college student (and I just can't bear to eat Ramon Noodles at this stage of the game, I think I lived on the stuff for 365 straight days once upon a time).

Oct 27, 2008

Q: What are your favorite vacation spots?

A: Since I was born my family went to Cape Cod every year, so there's still a place in my heart for the area. But I think one of the best places to go on vacation domestically is Hawaii. I went there to shoot an episode of WeatherVentures a while back and I have to tell you from a weather standpoint you can find a little bit of everything all in one place (especially on the Big Island). It's one of the only places where you can hit the beach in the morning and then go play in the snow in the same afternoon (don't forget Mai Tai's for dinner). So seriously, does it get any cooler than that?

Oct 27, 2008

Q: What is your favorite season and why?

A: My favorite season without a doubt is spring. Growing up in Connecticut, spring was particularly amazing because by February I don't care who you are, you're ready for a taste of something different weather wise. By the end of winter people end up walking around with this tired lifeless look in their eyes. Enter from stage right that first 50-55 degree day and people just LIGHT up! It's almost like bears coming out of hibernation. You see more people jogging, biking or doing anything they can OUTSIDE! I won't lie, people seem to get just a wee bit more flirtatious when Mother Nature smiles down upon them as well, which is always a good thing.

Oct 27, 2008

Q: What were some of the jobs you held prior to starting your career in weather?

A: My first job right out of college was radio. I loved and still love the medium, just a guy in what feels like a 4X4 room and a microphone. The only problem with it was that there were people bagging groceries making more money, so I had to figure out a way to pay my student loans so I entered the glamorous world of television. First job out of high school.. ice cream scooper life was much simpler back then... free sundaes, I mean what's cooler than that when you are growing up? I used to bribe friends with free ice cream to get them to help me clean the place up at night... worked every time!

Oct 27, 2008

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