Twin Cities' favorite TV meteorologists swap weather stories in Star Tribune forum

If you assumed a gathering of rival meteorologists would result in a lot of icy stares, you'd be mistaken. A Star Tribune forum last month featuring KARE's Belinda Jensen, KSTP's Chris Reece, KMSP's Ian Leonard and WCCO's Chris Shaffer was all sunshine. The formidable foursome teased, praised and hugged each other as they discussed the weather — and a whole lot more. This conversation was edited for clarity and space.

Q: When did each of you know that you had an unusual interest in the weather?

Shaffer: (WCCO's chief meteorologist; with the station since 2006) I grew up in Stillwater and everyone was like, "I want to be an astronaut. I want to be a firefighter." And I was like, "I want to do the weather." My grandma's brother was electrocuted while farming. She would tell that story all the time. I was like, "How does that happen?" So there was always intrigue. I saw a tornado when I was 7, and I was like, "That is so cool."

Jensen: (KARE's chief meteorologist; joined station in 1993) I wasn't someone who had a thermometer on my crib. But I did grow up on the St. Croix River, out in the elements all the time. I really enjoyed science. But meteorology became part of my thought process in high school when I had a physics teacher who was funny. He said, "Well, you're not as smart as your brother, but I really think you have a knack for earth science. Why don't you write a term paper on meteorology?" So in 10th grade, I called Paul Douglas on the phone and I interviewed him.

Leonard: (Fox's chief meteorologist; joined station in 2006) I grew up in Alberta, Canada, as the brat riding the hallways of a TV station where my dad worked. I loved the performance aspect first. I kind of fell into weather backwards.

Reece: (KSTP's newest meteorologist; moved to Twin Cities four months ago) It started with Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. It was making landfall in Houston. TV reporters were out in the storm covering it and I asked, "Why do they get to go outside and I can't?" My mom made the fatal mistake of saying, "That's their job." I thought, well, if that's true, that's the job I'm going to do.

Q: I'll bet a lot of people think all your tracks were more like Ian's, that being on TV came first, rather than your interest in science. I'm not sure viewers even realize you are scientists.

Jensen: I would argue that's not the case in this market. If you're going to do the weather in San Diego, you need to either be a model or a comedian. But here, you have to know your stuff. You can't pretend. Our relationship with the audience is a really interesting thing. I was at a volleyball tournament the other day and the coach's mom hugged me. Then she suddenly went, "Wait, I don't even know you. Why am I hugging you?" We have a connection with viewers, even more than the anchors do.

Leonard: We're also the ones who bring a little lighter fare to an otherwise heavy newscast. Even if our forecast is for bitter cold, we can talk about our dogs and our kids. We're a little less formal.

Q: The downside is that viewers may get angry when your forecast is wrong. What's your hate mail like?

Reece: I'll be honest. I don't get much, at least not yet. Most hate mail I get is like, "Your bow tie sucks." I'm the person that tells you that's not OK. You wouldn't say that to my face, don't say it over email. More times than not, they apologize.

Shaffer: I can only recall once that someone said something nasty to my face. I was at Target buying Christmas cards. I see someone standing there, staring. I finally turn and say, "Can I help you?" Guy goes, "I don't like you. You're too nice." Then we started talking and this guy, he's in a dark place, After five minutes he says, "I love you" and gave me a hug.

Jensen: You have to have thick skin. It comes to with the job. We care. We work seven days a week, man. I can remember a Father's Day about four years ago. It was not supposed to rain. I was at Target Field for a Twins game and I did the forecast on the Jumbotron. Then this storm came out of nowhere. It still haunts me.

Q: Do you think it's important to address climate change on the air? Or has it become too much of a political hot potato?

Jensen: My onus is on getting the seven-day forecast right, explaining what you're going to deal with when you drive to work tomorrow morning. We do cover climate change, but not during my three minutes. I have a lot to do.

Shaffer: We're going to give you the information. I'm not going to tell you how to react to it. I don't want a forecaster telling me how to feel about the climate. But there are general tips we can give on being better to the Earth. Recycle, don't pour oil down storm sewers. Be a good shepherd.

Q: Other than the Twin Cities, what's the best market to do weather in?

Jensen: I think somewhere in the mountains. Denver. Salt Lake City. It's fun to forecast 6 feet of snow in the mountains and 30-degree temps in the valley. Topography makes forecasting difficult, but interesting.

Shaffer: I'm a little biased because I went to school in Salt Lake City. That's where I met Belinda and honed my skills. My class went out with the Army once where they had to blow snow down so there wouldn't be an avalanche. That made it fun.

Reece: I was thinking Chicago. Just being in Madison for my last job, I could see how the lake affects things.

Leonard: I came from Iowa where you would go from crippling ice storms where I couldn't get out of my driveway to intense tornadoes, all within six months.

Jensen: And your clientele is farmers. They care so much. People are very savvy about the weather there.

Q: What's the one activity or item that's essential for you to survive the winter?

Jensen: Coffee. It's my only vice. Well, tequila, too, but that's a weekend thing.

Shaffer: When the storm brought down the Metrodome [roof], I was driving a Ford Explorer and I got stuck driving home. I immediately went out and bought a Jeep Wrangler. It's really cool. I'll never go back.

Leonard: If I don't have a chance to do a really hard workout on my stationary bike or treadmill, I'm not set up for the day. It's something that puts me in my right place. It's become a bit of a crutch.

Reece: Music is the big thing for me. There's a reason I live in Apple Valley. It gives me a 35-minute commute where I can listen to my music.

Shaffer: I have music going in my weather center constantly. People know what it's going to be like based on what I'm playing. If something big is coming, I'll play yacht rock to keep me calm. If it's a boring day, I'll have Guns N' Roses blaring to get me fired up.