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- [00:01]
Emily Gracie
Father's Day often brings up stories of dads who shaped us in ways we didn't realize until much later. But what if your father's work didn't just shape you? It shaped history? What if he was breaking barriers you didn't quite see as a kid?
- [00:16]
Kelly Porter
You know, my dad being my hero, I just felt that he was, like, always super fantastic at everything and never had any type of hardship or any type of disappointment.
- [00:27]
Emily Gracie
As one of America's first black meteorologists, Alonzo Smith Jr. Was a trailblazer in the field, serving in the military while helping to revolutionize how we predict weather for aviation.
- [00:39]
Kelly Porter
I learned that, yeah, he had disappointments and he had failures. And there were times where I know he was probably very confused as to what direction he should take in his life and his career.
- [00:52]
Emily Gracie
Today we're going off the radar with his daughter, Kelly Porter, author of his book the Weather Officer.
- [00:58]
Kelly Porter
He was able to take that passion and turn it into an incredible career, and he leaves a wonderful legacy behind.
- [01:05]
Emily Gracie
This isn't just a story of one man's career. It's a father's life seen through his daughter's eyes. Untold history finally brought to light.
- [01:15]
Kelly Porter
I was determined. I knew that I had to keep this promise to my father more than anything else. That was my motivator and a promise.
- [01:23]
Emily Gracie
Kept that somehow fulfilled both their dreams.
- [01:27]
Kelly Porter
Foreign.
- [01:29]
Emily Gracie
Meteorologist Emily Gracie. And you're listening to off the Radar, a production of the National Weather Desk. On the show, we dig deep into topics about weather, climate, the ocean, space, and much more. Our goal is to help you better understand the weather and to love it as much as we do. We often think about weather as this neutral scientific field, but the truth is, meteorology has a complex history when it comes to who gets to be the voice of authority on our daily forecasts. Today's guest, Kelly Porter, has written a book that shines a light on a pioneer who helped change that landscape. Her father, the weather officer, tells the remarkable story of one of America's first black meteorologists. A man who not only broke professional barriers in the mid 20th century, but whose work had a pivotal impact on how we understand and predict weather today. But this isn't just a story about professional achievement. It's about how a daughter came to understand her father's legacy and how his groundbreaking career shaped their relationship in ways that she's still discovering. Kelly Porter joins us today to share her father's story, the research that went into uncovering his place in weather history and what it means to honor a Parent whose contributions were overlooked for far too long. Kelly Porter, thank you so much for coming on today to talk about an influential person in the weather community who also happens to be your father. We're so excited to have you on today.
- [02:56]
Kelly Porter
Isn't that something? I know, I know that's.
- [02:59]
Emily Gracie
That's a. A lot for you to carry. A lot responsibility for you to kind of carry pressure just a little. Okay, so you wrote a book about him as well. We're going to dig into some of these great stories that you wrote about in the book, but can you give me a brief overview of exactly who your father was?
- [03:18]
Kelly Porter
Absolutely. Well, my dad was one of America's first black meteorologists, and he was also an officer in the U.S. air Force. And this was, you know, the middle of the century, so it was somewhat unusual. You know, there weren't very many black Americans in either of those spaces during that time in the country. So it was very unusual that he was there. But his road wasn't easy either. So he had a lot of roadblocks. It wasn't just what was going on in society at the time, but he had a lot of family hardship as well. But the one thing that he did have was a lot of confidence, I believe, you know, he was raised by his grandmother, and she was a tough cookie. And I think that she instilled a lot of the competence in him that he carried throughout his life. So he had confidence. He was very smart. He was smart as, as a young child. He skipped a couple grades in school, so he really had the aptitude for math and science, and he loved science. So all of that, I think, just helped to catapult him into the positions that he ended up in.
- [04:32]
Emily Gracie
Okay, let's go back to the very beginning. And you. You mentioned kind of his upbringing. Where was he born and where did he grow up and when he was.
- [04:41]
Kelly Porter
Born in 1924, and he was born in Washington, D.C. and this was like, during the Depression, was just getting ready to roll in the Great Depression. And his family had, you know, other children. They were. They were struggling. They had migrated from South Carolina, and they lived, you know, in this poor community in Washington, D.C. so ultimately, his grandmother took him, which was not uncommon back then. You know, during those days, families just stepped in and. And did the child rearing where it made sense. So his grandmother took him. She also migrated from South Carolina, migrated up to Harlem. So that's where he was raised with her in Harlem. And this was during the. The 1930s. So while he was there, he developed an interest in science. He just loved science. And he became fascinated with clouds in science class one day when he learned that clouds have names. And so that just opened up this whole world for him. So fast forward. He ended up coming back to D.C. to live with his parents as a teenager, started attending Dunbar High School, which was one of the, if not the top high school in America at that time. And this is when schools were segregated. But Dunbar High School was really at the top of the. The. The list for black and white high schools in the country. And it just happened to be his neighborhood high school. Like, he could walk there. So he ended up going to Dunbar, had to drop out because of family hardship, ended up being drafted into World War II, where he served in the Navy in the South Pacific. And he comes back after the war. It's 1946, he picks back up at Dunbar. Graduates from Dunbar was able to go to Howard University on the GI Bill, which was another fascinating, just wonderful thing that he was able to do, because many black servicemen were not given their GI Bill benefits just based on, you know, there was just so much discrimination at that time. Many black servicemen were not. Were either not told about their benefits or they were denied those benefits, particularly when it came to home loans. But even with going to school, many white universities did not accept black students, or they put strict quotas on the number of black students that could go to college. So dad was very fortunate that he was able to use his benefits and go to Howard. And while he was there, he fell under the tutelage of members of the Tuskegee Airmen. And they are the ones who ushered him into this career of being a weather officer in the Air Force.
- [07:24]
Emily Gracie
Wow. Howard has had such a pivotal role in American history when it comes to meteorology, diversifying the field. And you were talking about his grandmother moving from South Carolina. And when you're talking about somebody born in the 20s, my first thought is, this is not many generations departed from slavery. We're not talking that long. So how do you go from that in the south to all of a sudden he's becoming a meteorologist? Like, that's a huge transition.
- [07:54]
Kelly Porter
It really is. And I think it just speaks to the determination and the resilience of so many black migrants from the South. They were. They were looking for opportunities, and they wanted to work and they wanted to excel, and they were so determined. Like, you know, when my dad ended up in Harlem, this was at the tail end of the Harlem Renaissance. So there was so much that was already there, so much rich culture. And literature. And I don't know if he was exposed to any of that directly, but certainly indirectly, there was a culture that had been established there, a culture of community and excellence and accomplishment. And so I think being in that, you know, just being immersed in that environment, I really think it. It helped him to see that he was capable of doing many things. And in fact, one of the things I wrote in the book, this is one scene where one of his teachers, when he was in elementary school, because even though Harlem had a predominantly black population, many of the teachers were white. And one day, one of his teachers in his class said, well, you know, Negroes, you don't need to be in class anyway, because you're just going to end up being janitors and bus drivers anyway, or something to that effect. And my dad went home and told his grandmother exactly what that teacher said, and she marched up to the school and gave the teacher a piece of her mind. So there was that determination there that, you know, the children in the black community were just as good, if not better. They had to work twice as hard, but they were just as capable of excelling. And so you're right. It's very interesting. I guess I'll never know why dad was interested in science. That was a question I was never able to ask him. But he was able to take that passion and turn it into an incredible career, and he leaves a wonderful legacy behind. So that is what is. That's what I'm so grateful for.
- [10:04]
Emily Gracie
You're kind of hinting at it here, but your father is no longer alive, correct?
- [10:08]
Kelly Porter
Right. Yes. He passed in 1999. November 1999.
- [10:13]
Emily Gracie
Is that what drove you to write this book?
- [10:15]
Kelly Porter
Well, my dad asked me to write this book. He asked me to write this book. And I want to say maybe 10 months. I know it was less than a year later, he passed away. So he knew that he was sick. At the time, I didn't know it, but ultimately he had been d. I learned that he had been diagnosed with stage four cancer. He had a very rare form of cancer, multiple myeloma. And back then, it wasn't very. You know, it wasn't. There wasn't very many ways to treat it, particularly if it was in its advanced stages. Today, it's a lot different. I actually have a friend who had multiple myeloma and was treated, and he's doing great now. But back then, in 1999, it was. It was very difficult to treat if you caught it late. So he knew that he was sick. I had no idea. And when he asked me to write the book, I was a stay at home mom with three little boys. I didn't have time to, to put on clean clothes. And I was like, why are you asking me to do this? But, you know, ultimately I realized that he was sick. Unfortunately, we didn't start right away. I felt like we had time. I didn't know that he was as, as sick as he was. So by the time I really felt, wow, we, we really have to get started on this. He was so advanced in his illness and he was hospitalized and we weren't able to really get going. But he had left me his handwritten notes that he had been writing over the years because I knew that he wanted to write his book at some point. And I think a lot of us do that. It's like, yeah, I'm going to write a book one day. And you know, we write notes and stash things away and we never get around to it. And, and that's what happened with him. So he passed all these notes on to me. After he passed away, I didn't know what to do with them. I was, you know, I felt guilty and you know, again, I had three little children. There were other aspirations that I had. So I just kind of tucked those notes away for about a decade and I finally got started one day. I just. It was always in the back of my mind. It was one of those things where I did not wake up one day and didn't think about the fact that my dad asked me to write this book. And one day, maybe like 10 years later, I was like, okay, I've got to figure out how to do this. And I opened up the envelope and started reading the notes and just went from there. I started asking my mom question, my uncle questions, found people I could talk to, did research in the military archives, had no idea how to write a book, so I had to figure that out. And it just came together, took a while, took about 15 years on and off. But I did a lot of research, got people who could really help me and just. And put it all together. And it wasn't easy. So I don't want to make it seem like it was a glamorous thing. It was really frustrating and I ran into a lot of roadblocks and there were days where I was just in tears. But I was determined. I knew that I had to keep this promise to my father more than anything else. That was my motivator. And so I was so grateful to finally publish the book this past January.
- [13:33]
Emily Gracie
Wow, what an Emotional weight to bear for so long, though. Did it feel like a huge weight lifted off of your shoulders when it came out?
- [13:41]
Kelly Porter
Yes, it really did. It really did. And actually, one of the first things I did when the book was published, my dad is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, and so I took a book to him, and I just. I laid it, you know, at his grave. And I was like, I did it. I did it, dad, finally. And I didn't know how it would feel. I really was like, am I going to cry? Am I going to be a hot mess? And, you know, I had my husband video. Videotape it because I wanted, you know, my sons to see that, you know, their mom did this thing, and I was really okay with it. I felt so much joy. And what's interesting is, a couple months later, I was asked to speak at the east coast chapter Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day in Arlington. They do it every year, and they asked me to be their speaker. And at first, I was like, I don't. I don't know if I want to do this. I was really nervous about it, but it was important to me. My dad was very involved with the Tuskegee Airmen, and I knew that he would want me to do it. And so I. I made this speech, and I. I spoke at the event, and I was okay up until the last, like, sentence of my speech. And I broke down. I broke down, and I started crying, and. And one of the gentlemen brought me his handkerchief, and I was just like, oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry. But that's when it hit me, when I was up at that podium speaking in front of the. These distinguished individuals who. Some of them even knew my dad, and he loved the Tuskegee Airmen so much, and he was so passionate about helping to keep their legacy and their story alive. And there was something about just being in that environment that just got to me. So that's when I lost it. That was when the weight was lifted, and now I'm good.
- [15:32]
Emily Gracie
Oh, okay. So doing all this research, you must have learned a lot about your dad that you didn't already know. What were some fun or maybe really surprising things that you learned in the process?
- [15:43]
Kelly Porter
Well, you know, it's interesting you ask that question, because I think for many of us, our. Our dads are our heroes. You know, dad was always my hero growing up. I did know a lot about his career in the military. So that was. That's a whole nother separate bucket of information that I learned. Just his whole military career and what he Did. I didn't know what a weather officer was, so that. That was something I learned. But, you know, my dad being my hero, I just felt that he was, like, always super fantastic at everything and never had any type of hardship or any type of disappointment. And going through his story, I learned that, yeah, he had disappointments and he had failures, and he. There were times where I know he was probably very confused as. As to what direction he should take in his life and his career. You know, he had family drama. I mean, I guess who doesn't? But you're not really thinking about that so much. So there were disappointments he faced in his own family with his. With his dad in particular. And, you know, there were a lot of things that he had to. To overcome. And so that was kind of interesting to understand. Was. Was like, okay, he wasn't perfect. Wow. My goodness. He. He really went through some things, and he was very imperfect, but he found ways to overcome those obstacles. And so that, for me, was very inspiring. Even learning that, you know, he did have those times in his life where he wasn't, you know, this one, this hero, but he was always very motivated and determined to get to where he wanted to be.
- [17:27]
Emily Gracie
That hits home for me. I had. I had a mother like that. As time goes on, you realize your parents aren't perfect and Exactly. Kind of makes you feel better about your own flaws. Doesn't.
- [17:40]
Kelly Porter
Really does. It's like, wow, okay, maybe I'm not bad.
- [17:43]
Emily Gracie
I'm allowed to mess up. That's right. You were talking about your dad's notes, and it made me think of kind of the lost art of writing things down and. And the importance of still remembering to do that now. And even, like, I was interviewing the hurricane center recently, and they were talking about how people don't remember that during power loss. You just don't have that convenience of your phone or looking online and how important it is to write information down, do you. Did you take that away from this whole process of, like, this family storytelling and continuing to write things down for future generations?
- [18:19]
Kelly Porter
Yes, I absolutely did. That's the biggest lesson I can give people out of this experience. It is to tell your family stories. And I know a lot of people don't like to think about that because, you know, family stories can be messy, they can be unpleasant, but there are always lessons to be learned. And every family story is worthy of being told. And, you know, especially now when we're in this climate of so much erasure for, you know, our history and. And our narratives, it's so important to know how we fit in the broader context of American history. We are all a part of this story. And if our stories are erased, future generations are not going to have those important lessons and those important stories that will be inspirational to them. And, in fact, there's a author that I. I heard, I guess was a podcast I was listening to, and she said that every time an elder dies, a library burns. I think her name. Her name is Jamila Minix, and she wrote a book a couple of. Maybe a year or so ago. And that really struck me because that's so true. We don't spend enough time talking to our grandparents and, and that. And they don't even have to be family members. They can just be our elderly neighbor or just somebody that we know who has been through some things because their stories are incredible and they're filled with. With, you know, narratives of resilience. And, you know, like you said, there's so many things we take for granted now, but it's so important to remember these struggles, but even the good times, because when things get bad, you want to be able to hold on to the joy that, you know, that your family had and that you have. And, you know, even now, you know, I'm. I'm 58, so, you know, I'm not a spring chicken. But I also think about, okay, what do I want to leave to my kids and my grandkids? You know, I'm glad that I wrote this book so they have them, but I also have a story to tell. And I haven't had the most interesting, fascinating life, but there are lessons in my life that I know I want to be able to pass down to my kids. So it's all about making sure that we are holding on to our memories, because memory is history. And history can also be a tool of resistance when we need to stand firm in our beliefs and we need to fight things that we don't like. So there's so much power in that.
- [20:55]
Emily Gracie
What about in the weather community? What can other meteorologists learn from hearing your father's story or future meteorologists?
- [21:03]
Kelly Porter
Wow, that's a great question. And I guess I hadn't really thought about that. But, you know, I will say that when I look at my dad's history, his career history, there was, I think, and I. I don't want to speak for any meteorologists, but these days, meteorologists have so many tools that my dad didn't have in his generation. Working in the weather community didn't have. There was no radar, you Know, there was no Doppler radar, there was no advanced commuter, advanced computer modeling. And there was so much that they did with, you know, high speed calculate, high speed adding machines. I think. I don't know that height, high speed electronic adding machines, I think that's what they were called. And so they had to do a lot of work manually. And when I think about everything that he was able to accomplish without all of the technology that they have now, it's really quite amazing. But I also know that when technology did evolve, he didn't skip a beat. Like he jumped on board with these first and second generation IBM mainframe computers. And he learned, he taught himself. He was in the library a lot learning, you know, just reading books and, you know, it kind of reminds me of that scene in Hidden Figures when at the end of the movie, the mainframe computer all of a sudden comes out of nowhere. And Octavia Spencer's character, she was like, I'm gonna learn how to use this thing. And she went to the library and she learned how to use this computer and she taught her staff. That really does resonate with me because I know that's exactly what my dad did. And toward the end of his career, he was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for his work in the advancement of computer flight planning because he was tasked with learning how to use this IBM mainframe computer to develop com. Computerized flight plans. Before they were not, you know, they were done manually. And so his detachment at the time and he was working, they were detailed to the U.S. weather Bureau at the time, and this is the mid-1960s. And the Weather Bureau, as you know, was the predecessor to the National Weather Service. And so his detachment was tasked with developing computer flight plans. And so that's what he was known for. That's his greatest legacy that he leaves behind with the National Weather Service. So I think the, the legacy is follow the technology or create the technology. I know AI is pretty big right now. Learn AI, learn how to master it, how to use it, because it, it is the future. And it's not perfect now, but at some point we are really going to need it to be accurate and, and help us to forecast the weather in many different ways. So I think it's a matter of staying on top of that technology, not feeling like we've got it all figure out figured out because there's always going to be something newer and better and faster and bigger and we've got to keep up with that. And I think that's going to be so, so important in the, in the weather forecasting community. Moving forward, did you learn more about.
- [24:28]
Emily Gracie
Weather and government work than you ever thought you would in writing this?
- [24:32]
Kelly Porter
Gosh, yeah. More than I ever wanted to know.
- [24:37]
Emily Gracie
But you want to be a meteorologist now? No.
- [24:40]
Kelly Porter
That's funny, because the interesting thing about this, Emily, is that I was not big on math or science growing up. I mean, that was for the birds. I didn't want any of that, you know, school to me, you know, I like school, but I really wasn't big on technology. I, you know, back then, whatever technology was. And, you know, I, I, I was always a writer. I always loved to write. But the whole math, science, weather, it, I, I could have taken it or, or left it. You know, I, it was always fascinating to me that my dad was a meteorologist because, you know, that would, you didn't just meet meteorologists every day. They were kind of this special breed of person. And even though, you know, back then, growing up, my dad worked, you know, for Noah, I, you know, like I mentioned, I don't have a lot of memory of him. In fact, no memory of him being an Air Force officer, a weather officer, but I do remember him working for Noah. That was the dad that I knew. He went to his 9 to 5 job Monday through Friday. He worked up in Rockville, Maryland, in the D.C. suburbs. And that was his job. I didn't know exactly what he did, but it was kind of cool that he was a meteorologist because, you know, my friends thought that was pretty interesting. So I grew up having a healthy respect for weather. Understanding that weather was fascinating, but it was, it could also be very dangerous. And, you know, my dad would do little things like he installed a rain gauge in our backyard and he brought the, the NOAA weather radio home so we could listen to it and get the alerts and, and that was pretty cool. So I, a way I was always a weather geek, but I was never really big into, you know, science and, and math, but his typical meteorologist kid.
- [26:34]
Emily Gracie
I mean, my kids know what to.
- [26:36]
Kelly Porter
Do in a warning, but exactly, you know, like, you know, what to do, what not to do. You understand what to, you know, hurt. Yeah, you know, tornado warning, run to the basement. You know, we did stuff like that. Other than that, I really didn't know what my dad did it at Noah until I started writing this book. So I know that he was very involved in research. And so I, toward the middle of the 70s, I think he worked in the oceanic and Atmospheric Research Office. And that was one of the things that he did. Towards the end of his career, he worked. He was a deputy director at, in the office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology. And I had no idea what that office did. And I don't think a lot of people at NOAA even know what that office does, even to this day. And I think it's called a different name now, but they are the office that basically coordinates all of the weather services across the federal government. And so I had to understand that myself because I had no idea. But a lot of people believe that all of the weather service comes out of the National Weather Service like that. That is the government weather office, the National Weather Service under NOAA and all the other offices within noaa. But you know, weather officials work across the government. Nih, cdc, Department of Agriculture, the, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, like they're all across the board. And so his particular office coordinated all of these different weather services and meteorologists for whatever needed to be done at any given time. So that's what he did. It kind of vague, secretive also. But I learned a lot about that. So that was interesting.
- [28:26]
Emily Gracie
Do you think part of why he handed this project to you was not just for his story to be written, but to make your dreams come true as his daughter having a book, becoming a published book author.
- [28:38]
Kelly Porter
Oh, wow. I never thought about that. First of all, I, I was the writer in the family. I went, I went to Howard as, as my dad did, and I majored in communication. So I studied journalism. So I had a, you know, I've always been a writer. Even when I was young, I was writing poems and that kind of thing. So I think my father just saw me as the writer in the family. But what's interesting is before I had come home to be a stay at home mom, I worked downtown. And one day at lunch, I went to see my dad do this presentation at the Air and Space Museum. And my boss at the time went also, and my dad did his presentation. You know, he talked about his war experience. And then after it was over, my supervisor at the time went up to my dad, said a few words to him, you know, and then just left. And when I got back to the office, my supervisor said to me, your father has a really interesting life. You should write his book. And I was like, what? That's like the weirdest thing I ever heard. Like, what? How'd you come up with that? You know that. That's so weird. And years later I thought about it and I was like, did my supervisor say something to my dad that day? And just Kind of plant that seed. I'll never know. I'll have to maybe track down my supervisor and ask him. But I've always wondered that. I always wondered, did my dad give me this project because I was the writer in the family or because my supervisor put that little, you know, was that little birdie in his ear? Or maybe was it a combination of both? I don't know, but that's the only answer I have.
- [30:20]
Emily Gracie
Well, regardless of the why it happened, it, it's done and it's released. Where can people find it who should read it?
- [30:27]
Kelly Porter
Wow. Well, you know, of course I want everyone to read the book, but people who have an interest in weather, weather history, military history, American history. The book really is at the intersection of all three of those topics and it's not all about weather and history. It really also is a tender family story. And I was able to under and uncover some really cool family narratives that I think a lot of people can relate to or might even be interested in. People have reached out to me with a lot of questions about the circumstances surrounding my oldest sister's adoption and how she became a part of our family. My parents adopted her in Germany in the 1950s. She was one of the 100,000 children that were born to American servicemen and German women during the post, you know, the decade post World War II. And she was among the 7,000 mixed race children who were born to black servicemen and German women. And a lot of these mixed race children were not accepted into German society. America kind of washed their hands of that situation. So these children ended up in orphanages. Many of them were operated by the Catholic Church and American called them brown babies and they were in need of families. And so my parents discussed, you know, it's a long story, it's in the book, you have to read it. But they discovered my sister in one of these Catholic orphanages and they ended up adopting her and bringing her back to the States. And that's how she became a part of our family. And there's so many other families like that and that, you know, it's not a well known story that's told, but it's a huge part of American history. Just the whole story of these brown babies. And so that is in the book. And people are like, wow, I never knew that. So.
- [32:27]
Emily Gracie
Yeah, I never knew that either. Yeah, it's like a very interesting club of probably. Were a lot of the children adopted.
- [32:36]
Kelly Porter
Back into the U.S. oh boy. Not as many as I wish could have been. There was a pioneer one. I don't want to call her Pioneer, but there was a woman named Mabel Grammar. Her husband was in the. In the army, and she, you know, so she was, you know, so a black woman. She was a military white. She was the one who actually discovered these children when she was stationed over in Germany herself. And when she found out about this, she put some systems in place to have these children adopted. She was also a columnist for many black newspapers at the time. So she got the story out there through the black press. She found black families that were stationed overseas at the time, and she was very instrumental in getting hundreds of children placed in homes. She actually adopted 12 of these brown babies herself. So she was very. She was a very huge advocate of this story and getting the word out. But other than that, there weren't a lot of people who knew about these children, and there were many others, unfortunately, that weren't adopted. And I don't know what their stories were. I know a lot of them became wars of the state when they got a little older and they were forced into factory work to help rebuild the country, you know, of Germany, you know, post war. So not everyone had a happy ending. But, you know, it's a very interesting story that a lot of people, I think, would be curious to know more about.
- [34:07]
Emily Gracie
Well, Kelly, is there anything else you want to share about the weather officer or your father in general?
- [34:14]
Kelly Porter
I know that he would be so excited to see how weather has evolved over the years, and he would also be, you know, not to. Not to end on a sad note, but he would also be very heartbroken to see what's going on with Noah and, you know, just the.
- [34:35]
Emily Gracie
The.
- [34:35]
Kelly Porter
The shuttering of. Of. Of different weather offices around the country because he knew the importance of weather forecasting, and he worked with so many dedicated meteorologists who, you know, I don't think people understand how dedicated meteorologists are and how many sacrifices they make. They work around the clock, they risk their lives, they fly into storms, and they do it because they have such a heart for public service, and they're so passionate about weather and climate in our environment, and they're really smart people that we need right now. And so he would be heartbreaking, heartbroken to see all of that happening right now. But I would. I think he would want us all to continue to fight. And, you know, I'm. I'm not a meteorologist. I'm just a writer. But I think I'm in the space for a reason right now. And so I definitely want to keep elevating my voice and talking about not just my dad's story, but just the story of Noah, the story of, of how important our weather forecasters are. So I want to be able to keep talking about that. I know my dad would want me to do that, and I know my dad would want the weather community to just stand firm and fight and do whatever they can to make sure that the weather community continues to be strong and continues to help people, because it is just a necessary industry that all of us benefit from.
- [36:02]
Emily Gracie
Off the Radar is a production of the National Weather Desk. Make sure you're following the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes publish every Tuesday. Thank you to Kelly Porter for joining me today. Make sure you check out her book, the Weather Officer to learn the full story of her Father, Alonzo Smith Jr. Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there, especially my own father, John Gracie. I love you, dad. Thanks to the National Weather Desk and Sinclair Broadcast Group for their ongoing support of the podcast, as well as my associate producer, Brian Petras for his help with today's episode. I'm meteorologist Emily Gracie. Make it a great day.