Meet Gary Woodall, the Meteorologist-In-Charge (MIC) at your National Weather Service in Phoenix.

Gary, what made you decide to come to Phoenix?

It was a combination of things which came together. The last few years that I was at the Fort Worth, TX NWS Office, I found myself moving into more of a coaching/mentoring role with our younger staff members. It was really rewarding to see the staff members grow and develop in their roles in the office, and I wanted to make that a larger part of my job. When I saw the announcement for the Meteorologist in Charge position here in Phoenix, I saw it as a great opportunity. I talked with Tony Haffer, the outgoing MIC, and he gave me some great insight regarding the office and the area. I'd gotten to tour the NWS facility about 10 years ago, and was quite impressed. The Phoenix area actually has some complex weather challenges, complex because of the varied terrain and the impact that small weather features can have. The combination of all of the opportunities and challenges seemed like a good fit for me, and I'm honored to be here.

What got you interested in weather?

As far back as I can remember, I was interested not only in weather, but in violent weather. When I was about 7, my parents got me a weather forecasting set for Christmas, which really set the stage. Growing up in central Florida, hurricanes were an annual possibility that we faced. Each June, my grandparents (who lived in the Miami and Tampa areas) would send me the big hurricane tracking charts. I’d tack them on my bedroom wall and track the storms as best I could (no Internet in those days!). I remember Agnes in 1972 and David in 1979. I was also always fascinated with tornadoes. Their destructive power along with their almost graceful appearance really impressed me. In elementary school, I’d always try to draw pictures of hurricanes and tornadoes in art class, no matter the activity.

Where did you go to school?

In 1977, my Dad took me to the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, which featured Florida State and Texas Tech. The Seminoles put a whipping on, the score was 40 to 17 if I remember (sorry Red Raiders!). That got me hooked into being an FSU fan. I found that FSU had a good meteorology program, so from 10th grade on, I knew where I was going to college. In my junior year at FSU, I stumbled across some University of Oklahoma/National Severe Storms Lab tornado projects of the early 1980s. That really intrigued me, and I wanted to go to OU for my graduate work. I was honored to be accepted as a student under Dr. Howard Bluestein, an internationally-renowned severe storms expert.

What jobs have you had in the NWS?

Preparedness and Outreach have been a focus of my NWS career, right from the beginning. I started at NWS Midland, TX as an intern in January 1988. At that time, the Meterologist in Charge (MIC) was handling all of the spotter training and most of the outreach. In February, 3 days into the “Skywarn Tour”, the MIC came down with laryngitis. I was able to stand in for him and delivered the next several programs. I took over spotter training duties in 1989 and 1990. I moved to NWS Lubbock in 1990, and was the Warning Preparedness Meteorologist from 1990 to 1993. In 1993, I moved to the Regional Headquarters in Fort Worth and served as the Regional Warning Coordination and External Affairs Meteorologist from 1993 to July 2000. From 2000 to just recently I was the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the Dallas-Fort Worth NWS office.

Gary, what is the role of the MIC?

My fundamental task is to oversee and manage all of the office's functions and operations. In reality, though, I see my job as being much deeper than that. I see my job as being that of a leader, allowing our staff members to apply their talents and creativity to best serve our partners and customers. I see me being a facilitator, overseeing efforts between our staff and our partners to develop new and innovative methods of monitoring and forecasting. We have a large and diverse group with whom we work, including local and state government officials, media outlets, the aviation community, academic institutions, and of course our gracious hosts, the Salt River Project. I see my job as ensuring that our office remains a valuable member of the weather and water team in Arizona and California.

What do you love about your job?

As someone with a life-long interest in storms, having a job where my main duty is to talk to people about storms is a dream come true. I enjoy helping people get better prepared to take on weather hazards that face us in south-central and southwest Arizona and southeast California. I enjoy working with all of our customers, and visiting with all of the terrific emergency managers, media members, and storm spotters in our area. I enjoy traveling around and seeing the wide geographic variation across our region.

Do you have any plans for the future of WFO Phoenix?

My first goal is to make sure I don't mess up what Tony has built here (laughs). Seriously, my primary vision for the office is that of an office which is evolving and growing with our agency. There are some subtle but exciting changes in store regarding how we gather data, make our decisions, and provide services to our partners and customers. With the team we have in place here at the office, I think we're poised to make those visions a reality. It's going to be a fun ride.