Wes Wyatt
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Wes Wyatt is the Chief Meteorologist for WBRC 6 News. He joined WBRC in 2010 and prior to becoming Chief Meteorologist, served as Weekend Evening Meteorologist and Severe Weather Analyst. Wes is from Tuscaloosa, so he’s no stranger to Alabama’s changing weather. Prior to WBRC, he served as Chief Meteorologist for seven years at WVUA-TV in Tuscaloosa. Wes also served as an adjunct instructor of Broadcast Meteorology at the University of Alabama. Before WVUA, he served as a Chief Meteorologist for WTOK-TV in Meridian, MS. With over two decades of experience, Wes has covered some of the most significant severe weather events in Alabama’s history.
Wes will tell you that sharing his passion for weather is one thing he enjoys most. Throughout his career he’s visited schools and spoken to various organizations throughout the state. He’s also helped mentor many successful meteorologists in the weather business today. He recalls events like the Blizzard of 1993 and says such experiences while growing up in Alabama are the reason he’s a meteorologist today. Wes holds the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal by the American Meteorological Society and the Seal of Approval by the National Weather Association. He’s also an active member of both organizations. As a member of the National Weather Association Seal Committee, Wes participates in evaluating meteorologists throughout the nation. One of his proudest achievements is an honorary resolution from the State of Alabama for his severe weather coverage in West Alabama. He was also named best weather anchor by the Associated Press in 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2015. He's a proud graduate of Mississippi State University and has received a Master of Science from the University of Alabama. Affiliations: National Weather Association, American Meteorological Society, National Weather Association Local Chapter, Adjunct Instructor for the University of Alabama, Committee Member for Alabama Partners for Clean Air. Publications: A comparative analysis of warm season precipitation distribution and land cover in the greater Tuscaloosa area Book: Bread, Milk, and a Chance of Snow by Wes Wyatt |
Dr. Justin Sharpe
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Dr. Sharpe is a research scientist with the University of Oklahoma CIWRO Behavioral Insights Unit and served as the social science coordinator for VORTEX-USA (formerly VORTEX-SE). In this capacity, his research, outreach, and engagement efforts focused on improving understanding of the factors that influence tornado survivability. He has led stakeholder engagement activities, where co-production of knowledge and collaborative learning were central to the research process. His expertise is in projects that enhance self-efficacy and response efficacy in protective actions, with a focus on encouraging behavior change related to disaster risk and climate change adaptation and resilience. Dr. Sharpe also served as project coordinator for “Tornado Tales,” a citizen science initiative developed by NOAA NSSL(https://inside.nssl.noaa.gov/tornado-tales/). This web-based tool allows people to anonymously report their tornado experiences. Additionally, he conducted fieldwork following high-impact tornadoes to understand how individuals and communities prepare for, cope with, and recover from such events.
Dr. Sharpe’s broader research interests include disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and sustainable development. He has explored the role of social learning in building community resilience to disasters in Europe and has worked as a consultant for the United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) agency. Dr. Sharpe earned his Ph.D. in Geography from King’s College London in 2018, where his doctoral thesis focused on transformative learning in disaster risk reduction contexts. Dr. Sharpe is also the creator and maintainer of edu4drr.org, a social networking platform for educators and outreach specialists involved in disaster risk reduction. The site provides curriculum, resources, and communication tools to support its members in their work. |
Jennifer Valdez
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Jennifer Valdez is the Emmy award winning chief meteorologist for Atlanta News First. She has been at Atlanta News First since 2008. You can watch Jennifer weekdays on Atlanta News First at 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7p.m, and 11 p.m.
Jennifer has nearly two decades of experience at Atlanta News First. She was on the air after Fay produced nearly six tornadoes in Georgia in 2008. She provided continuous severe weather coverage during the epic floods of September 2009. In 2014, she was here during the disastrous ice storm that crippled the city. Jennifer led the coverage when more than a dozen tornadoes tore through North Georgia in January 2023. In January 2025 she issued a First Alert Weather Day 10 days ahead of the rare snow storm that produced more than two inches of snow at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. Before joining Atlanta News First, Jennifer worked as a meteorologist for WYFF in Greenville, SC. Jennifer is originally from Orlando, Florida, but both of her parents (and the rest of her extended family) are from Argentina. Jennifer is fluent in Spanish. Jennifer earned a Master’s Degree in Geosciences/Meteorology from Mississippi State University. Prior to attending graduate school, she receive a bachelor's degree in telecommunications and a minor in Spanish at the University of Florida. In 2005, she worked as the on-camera meteorology intern at The Weather Channel. Jennifer is married and has two children. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling with her family (especially if it’s tropical and warm), going out to eat, vegging out at the pool, watching Florida Gator football, cuddling her two Italian Greyhound dogs (appropriately named Nimbus and Sunny) and spending time with family and friends. |
Dr. Michael Farrar
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Dr. Mike Farrar is Chief Scientist, Weather and Climate for Booz Allen Hamilton, a premier U.S. consulting and technology company founded in 1914 that advances the nation’s highest civil, defense and national security priorities. In this role, he provides scientific and operational expertise, integrates weather and climate science across all of the company’s business sectors, and helps lead growth in weather and climate related business opportunities. In addition, Mike is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society, the primary U.S. professional society for meteorology, where he served as 2021 President and a member of the AMS Council and Executive Committee from 2020-2024.
Prior to Booz Allen, Dr. Farrar served as the Director of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), where he oversaw nine National Weather Service (NWS) national centers with 750+ staff and $200+ million annual budget for environmental prediction operations. These 9 centers provide the core of NWS’ mission to protect life and property for the nation: Aviation Weather Center, Climate Prediction Center, Environmental Modeling Center, National Hurricane Center, Ocean Prediction Center, Space Weather Prediction Center, Storm Prediction Center, Weather Prediction Center, and NCEP Central Operations. Just prior to his NCEP position, Dr. Farrar served as Chief Scientist for U.S. Air Force (USAF) Weather at the Pentagon where he functioned as the primary science adviser to the USAF Director of Weather, and coordinated science and technology activities related to weather operations with Department of Defense (DoD) stakeholders and with US interagency and international partners. Before that, he served as the Senior VP and Chief Operating Officer of the University Corporation of Atmospheric Research (UCAR), a nonprofit consortium of 115+ North American member universities focused on research and education in atmospheric and Earth system sciences, where he led strategic planning and business functions. Prior to joining UCAR, Dr. Farrar served for five years in three NWS leadership roles. He began as Chief of the Program Management Branch of the NWS Office of Science and Technology, where he oversaw a wide portfolio of programs for critical NWS observation, dissemination, and processing systems. Then as Director of the Meteorological Development Laboratory (MDL), he led a 75-person Lab that developed and enhanced critical applications, tools, techniques and products that enable NWS forecasters to perform their 24/7 weather forecast mission. He concluded his time in NWS as Director of the Environmental Modeling Center (EMC), where he led a 175-person Center that developed, transitioned and maintained 20+ environmental models that serve as fundamental forecast guidance for the NWS’ 24/7 operational mission. Prior to joining the NWS, Dr. Farrar spent two years as the Vice President of Strategic Development for Science and Technology Corporation (STC), a company focused on scientific and technical support services to federal government agencies, where led business development and strategic planning for the company. Prior to STC, Dr. Farrar served more than 24 years with the USAF as a career meteorologist where he achieved the rank of Colonel and served in several leadership positions, to include operational weather forecasting, scientific development, program management, systems acquisition, satellite processing, training, budgeting, strategic planning, policy, and collaboration with U.S. and international partners. Dr. Farrar holds Doctorate and Master of Science degrees in meteorology from Florida State University, where his research focused on satellite-based microwave radiometry. He is a distinguished graduate from the Eisenhower School of the National Defense University, with a Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Purdue University |
