As the summer winds to a close, we wanted to give a chance to have our weather intern extraordinaire Christine Gregory share some of the behind-the-scenes experiences during an active season of thunderstorms and tornado warnings across New York.

Being able to intern for a news station in your hometown may seem like just a dream for some, but for me it became a reality as I accepted the position of meteorology intern for Spectrum News in Syracuse, working alongside the likes of Your Morning on Spectrum News meteorologist Vanessa Richards.

Stepping into the building on the first day, I had no idea the amount of experience I would gain and connections I would make in just a matter of a few short months. Every day there was something different going on whether it involved the always-changing weather forecast, a breaking news story, or a new challenge to take on that made learning at a news station so exciting.

A typical day involved sitting down to forecast by checking current conditions and looking over weather models to decide my personal forecast. After discussing the main goals to accomplish for the day, I was off to my own studio to practice my storytelling skills using graphics in front of the green screen. Creating the graphics was one of the most fun things I got to do, because I was able to arrange them in the way I thought was best to tell the main weather story to the “public.” This made explaining the weather a lot easier since it was my own story, and I knew just how to tell it.

I also had the chance to feel a part of the team —interacting with the other meteorologists, production team, and the technical crew really helped me understand the ins and outs of running a show. I even got to control multiple sets of graphics on live television while Vanessa was out on the field. Talk about real life experience!

One of the most valuable things I gained from this experience was to have a meteorologist critique all the weather clips I created to help me get better. Each day I continued to improve, and now have dozens of examples that show my most improved skills. This is my ticket to applying for any job I want, and with the help from Vanessa, I have just the right tools with me to do so.

I’ve learned so many things from this experience, but some of the main ones included more ways to look at a weather forecast, and what was important to the viewer. Practice is key, especially for any on-air persona, but also to be confident, and be yourself. Not everyone will like what you present to the world, but take what you know and own it. This hands-on experience most of all helped me learn how to be a scientist for the community, and provide them with the information they need to plan out their daily lives.

Even though I didn’t always know I wanted to be a broadcast meteorologist, the opportunities I’ve been given including this one here at Spectrum News made me realize my passion for helping people through something I’ve always been fascinated with — weather.