Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Newcomer Martucci is Old Hand
Dan Stillman @ 11:20 PM
THE FORECAST A weak cold front passing through the area today will kick up a nice breeze and give us a chance of showers through early afternoon. Look for highs in the mid-80s with clearing skies and drier air moving in later in the afternoon and evening. Tomorrow looks just gorgeous. Sunny and refreshingly dry with highs in the low 80s. The dry air should stick around for Friday as highs return to the mid-80s. The weekend is looking warmer and more humid, with highs in the upper 80s to around 90 and our typical chances of afternoon showers and thunderstorms returning. |
In a sea of veteran meteorologists, Kim Martucci is the new kid on the D.C. weather forecasting block. Don't be fooled by the freshness of her face, though. Martucci, who since January has been handling morning weather duties at Channel 9, has paid her dues in the world of broadcast meteorology. CapitalWeather.com recently talked with Martucci about her passion for weather, her previous on-air experiences, and her message for young girls interested in science ...
CapitalWeather: What's your favorite kind of weather?
Martucci: I'm a severe weather weenie. While I'm fascinated by all weather, nothing gets my heart thumping faster than a tornado watch box. I like the scale at which most severe weather occurs -- the mesoscale. It's just the right size and challenging to forecast.
CW: What do you remember about your first time on air?
Martucci: The first time I was on the air live was at a local cable outlet in Ithaca, N.Y. Our show was live at 5 p.m., and then it was rebroadcast every hour until midnight. I remember having to spend 45 seconds to a minute on each map -- I think I had a total of three -- because the graphics package we had was so rudimentary. We were very limited in how many maps I could show. In fact, I had to point out to a producer where I wanted various fronts to be drawn because I wasn't allowed to make my own maps.
CW: Any embarrassing moments you'd be willing to share?
Martucci: Once, in Huntsville, Ala., I had to do the weather on a "chroma ramp." Most TV stations have the meteorologist stand in front of a blank green or blue wall called a "chroma key." It's upon this blank wall where our weather maps appear on TV to be "hanging," even though in reality the wall is blank. In Huntsville we had the ability to "walk on the weather" via the chroma ramp. At the last second, during a commercial break before the main weather segment, one of the guys running camera spotted a piece of paper on the ramp that would have shown up on air if it had been left there. So, while I was standing on the ramp waiting for the commercial to end, he zipped out to grab the paper. But the commercial ended too soon, and when we came back from break the viewers were treated to me and some random guy bent over fetching a piece of paper. The best part, though, was his startled reaction when he caught himself on the TV set off to the side. He jumped up in the air and ran off, leaving me there speechless and laughing.CW: What do you like most about the TV weather business?
Read the rest of the interview
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