NOAA Heritage Week: A Female African-American Weathercaster at the Top of her Profession
Ed Levy
NOAA Office of Communications
April 3, 2009 — Veronica Johnson, on-air meteorologist with NBC-4 in Washington, D.C., spoke to a large crowd as part of NOAA Heritage Week, which took place during African-American History Month. The presentation was co-sponsored by the NOAA chapter of Blacks in Government, NOAA Preserve America, and NOAA’s Office of Civil Rights.
Weathercaster Veronica Johnson says everyone should have a NOAA Weather Radio in their home and office. Photo credit: Reggie Pearman, DOC.
Johnson suggested that the black community should use African-American History Month “to celebrate both our strengths and our differences and to highlight the hard work of those who came before us.” She noted, for example, that in the 1950s, the first on-air female weathercaster was African-American, a trailblazer during a very challenging time.
Johnson gave the audience a tour of her life experiences that led to her current position. She recalled how an ROTC instructor in high school was the first to give her the “science bug.” A growing interest in science led her to major in atmospheric sciences at the University of North Carolina-Asheville. She was further inspired by watching African-American on-air meteorologist Spencer Christian on Good Morning America in the 1980s. Johnson was impressed by Christian’s talent, and began to think, “I can do that.”
Veronica Johnson told the crowd that mentors were essential to her career development and is committed to giving back to the next generation. Photo credit: Reggie Pearman, DOC.
Johnson’s first professional position was with NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. She worked alongside oceanographers and climatologists, and her interest in the environment continued to grow. Through her own work and the encouragement of various mentors, Johnson moved through a series of on-air weathercaster jobs at The Weather Channel, network affiliates in Baltimore, and WABC in New York (“the number one station in the number one market”) before going to NBC-4 in Washington.
Johnson said her job is to find the “whys” in an ever-changing world – a good formula for success in a wide range of disciplines. And she emphasized how helpful mentors were to her in inspiring, engaging, and supporting her, and is committed to giving back by working with the next generation.