True stories about being married to a TV Meteorologist

Tag Archives: Wifeofameteorologist

For those who don’t live in tornado ally, or for those fortunate to have a basement, you have never had to experience the logistics of getting into a storm shelter. Having grown up in Illinois, I was fortunate enough to have a basement. I can count on one hand how many times my family and I had to go down to the basement for a tornado warning. The few times we went down to the basement (after looking outside for the tornado first) we had over 1,000 sq. ft. of space, plenty of room for my parents, brother, dog and me  to have personal space so we didn’t totally annoy each other for the 15-minutes we were down there.

In Oklahoma only 1% of the population has a basement. That’s right only 1%, that is CRAZY when you think about the number of tornadoes the state sees on an annual basis, why is that? Geologists say that basement walls will crack due to the red clay that absorbs moisture and drys out in the heat which creates a contraction and expansion of the concrete. That in addition to high water tables is a recipe for disaster, and your pocket-book, so Oklahoman’s just don’t bother with it. Instead, us Okies resort to life-saving storm shelters.

There are 3 types of storm shelters:

  1. Underground Shelters
  2. Concrete Shelters
  3. Safe Rooms

All 3 shelters have been proven to save people’s lives in an EF5 tornado and when it comes to surviving a natural disaster, you will get into one of those 3 options with no hesitancy. They aren’t cheap, they all start off at a few thousand dollars each, so while I’d love for every resident in Oklahoma to have one (and I think they should be mandatory in each structure built here), not everyone can afford them. For those who do not have a shelter, make sure you are educated on how to protect yourself at home, the office or at a shopping center.

What’s great about being an Okie, is that everyone comes together during severe weather. Tornadoes, hail, earthquakes are all a lifestyle. For those who don’t have a shelter, they know they are welcome to their neighbor’s home if s*it gets real, no questions asked. Adults, kids, pets…all of them will take shelter together in whatever storm shelter is available.

Personally speaking, I have an underground shelter in my garage. To give you a visual it looks like an oil lube pit, torture chamber, bomb shelter, a 4’7″ dark abyss and a claustrophobic’s worst nightmare. But remember, they are made for survival, not comfort. You won’t find anyone hanging out in a storm shelter for fun (unless changing their car oil, which we’ve done, don’t judge, it’s practical).

Now here is where being the wife of a meteorologist get’s exciting. My weatherman meteorologist husband will ALWAYS be working during a severe weather day, leaving me home alone with a baby and two 70-lb dogs who are absolutely petrified of getting into said abyss.

Logistically speaking, getting two huge, stubborn dogs into a dark abyss while having a toddler either walking, crying, screaming, running, back-bending, laying down, or anything else a toddler can think to do at the worst possible time, will be impossible. One solution Aaron and I came up with is putting the Pet Loader into the shelter which will hopefully give the dogs more stair-width  for me to shove, kick, hurl, throw, and/or wrestle them down into by myself.

We have done plenty of practice-runs with the dogs to prepare us for the inevitable, and while our fat lab has caught onto using the Pet Loader and trusting that we have a reason and purpose for her to be down in the dark abyss, our sensitive pit-boxer mix is just beside 1376486_10100874719152992_1751939248_nherself each time. She tucks her tail and retreats to the furthest corner of the garage and begins shaking like we are going to torture her. *she reminds me of the dog in Hyperbole and a Half, if you haven’t read this blog and have ever owned a dog, it’s amazing and you will crack up*

So, when you see a tornado warning in Oklahoma City, think of me, home…alone, with a toddler acting out in some way or another, and two 70-lb dogs (one is fat, one is shaking) trying to get into our underground storm shelter that is 4’7″ high, dark and loud. I will be that person that waits til the last-minute to get into the shelter because it will be traumatizing for all of us (also part of my diabolical plan to drive my husband crazy), but you bet your ass I’ll have each of them down there safe.There may be a few broken bones with the shoving and wrestling of the dogs, but I’d rather have a dog w a broken leg than no dog at all.

Hopefully I will never need to figure out the logistics of getting into a storm shelter, but if  I do, there is a plan.








6. A ‘selfie’ opportunity is a must.








  1. I don’t see my husband





google all the things









Baby went viral at 8-days old

The “what the heck did I get myself into” face















Step 1:

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Flashback to Austin Powers:

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The Weatherman Meteorologist is having a baby!

We found out in January 2015 that we are pregnant and expecting Baby Brackett in October! We are so excited to welcome little Brackett, but, we wanted to wait until after the first trimester to announce the news to the world.

When you become pregnant and make the announcement, it’s a wonderful feeling to hear all the ‘congratulations’ and excitement from friends and family. But when you have such a unique job, like a weatherman meteorologist, you get a lot of the same jokes, comments, and questions about your little one. So, to help answer all your questions, and to avoid hearing the same jokes over and over again, I thought I’d write down some of the things we’ve heard:

  1. Yes, he did make it rain that month.
  2. Yes, his ‘forecast’ was accurate as well.
  3. Yes I did expect a more than a few inches that night also.
  4. No, we won’t be naming our child after a weather term. There will be no: Summer, Autumn, April, Breeze, Bayou, Cloud, Frost, etc.
  5. Ok, you caught me I did consider one weather term for a middle name, I thought of the name Farrah for Fahrenheit, but then thought twice about it and decided, NO.
  6. Yes, we planned on not having a baby during a sweeps/ratings month.
  7. No, we won’t be shoving weather down the babe’s throat and force them to become a weatherman/or weatherwoman meteorologist.
  8. Yes, we think little baby weather books are adorable and Grandma Brackett may have hooked us up with one or two already 😉
  9. Yes, Aaron will be teaching the babe math and science, I will stay far away from both subjects and focus on teaching them other subjects (? TBD)
  10. Yes, our life insurance is good to go with Aaron storm chasing this season.
  11. I don’t know how I’m going to get down into our shelter if I need to take cover, I hoping the dogs will help me?
  12. Yes, I am expecting a onesie that says “My daddy is a weatherman meteorologist”
  13. No, Reed Timmer was nowhere to be found in his “Dominate-Her” vehicle, but if he was it’d look something like this:


We’ll keep you 4-warned about any new baby developments =) I look forward to all the new material you can come up with as these 13 are now off limits!

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