Getting the day’s weather report is an integral part of most people’s morning routine. Edina native Jonathan Yuhas has provided those weather forecasts as part of his own routine for more than 20 years. Twin Cities viewers woke up to weather with Yuhas on KARE 11 Sunrise until 2011, when Yuhas moved to KSTP. Now, as KSTP’s weekend meteorologist, he discusses the weather, with a bit of banter, alongside KSTP anchor Joy Lim Nakrin.
“My parents moved to Edina in 1975,” says Yuhas. “I remember wanting to be a train engineer because of the tracks that ran near our home. I remember acres of undeveloped land, fishing at Nine Mile Creek and sledding at Heights Park. Things change. Some change is good, like all the new businesses at 50th and France.”
Yuhas’s dream of becoming an engineer also changed after visiting relatives in Omaha when he was 7 years old. “There was a tornado nearby,” recalls Yuhas. “We all headed to the basement and I remember feeling pretty anxious. When we got home to Edina, I decided to learn as much as I could about severe weather. By 9 years old, I knew everything there was to know about tornadoes. But my interest in weather wasn’t considered particularly cool back then.”
No longer. Science and technology have gained greater appeal in this high-tech generation. Since graduating from Edina High School and earning a degree in aviation and atmospheric science from the University of North Dakota, Yuhas has ridden a technological wave of change. Technology has changed how meteorologists obtain their information as well as how consumers get their weather report.
“When I started out as a meteorologist in 1992, we used printed weather charts that cost the station thousands of dollars,” says Yuhas. “In the mid-1990s, we began to be able to access some data via computer. But it wasn’t reliable or fast. I could throw a load of laundry in while waiting for a map to load. Today, most of our information is available instantly online on mobile devices. I can now prepare my forecasts and graphics from virtually anywhere.”
Social media has also become an important 21st-century tool in a meteorologist’s toolbox. “I’m on KSTP on Thursday through Sunday, morning and evening,” Yuhas says, “But some people don’t watch TV. They prefer to get their weather online. So I utilize Facebook and Twitter as a weather resource for my followers. I’m constantly updating social media so that people can plan their day. Twitter is especially useful during severe weather.”
The abundant weather data that Yuhas continually researches is now available to nearly anyone. But few can precisely interpret it. This is an area where Yuhas has leveraged his expertise to serve the public beyond local television forecasting. He once developed a severe-weather action plan for the Edina Art Fair. That served as the prototype for what he continues to do, which is to train first responders how to establish severe-weather plans and identify risks of severe weather. As an experienced storm chaser, Yuhas also helps police and firefighters learn how to navigate around storms.
His consultation work has expanded to help hotels and other businesses assess weather risks. “When businesses or municipalities are planning events, having a severe weather plan and some working knowledge about how to predict severe weather can help prevent unnecessary cancellations, save money and protect people,” he says.
Part of the training Yuhas provides includes how to use smartphones to predict severe weather. Radar Scope, LightningFinder and iStrike are mobile applications that Yuhas employs when educating people about weather. Mobile technology also helps with storm chasing, something Yuhas still loves to do. “Before, if we were out of range while chasing a storm, we had no information,” he says. “Today, constant radar contact helps us know where to go so that we can continue to learn more about tornado activity.”
A boy from Edina who was once traumatized by a tornado grew up to chase them. But that’s just one layer of what motivates Yuhas. He is collaborating with KSTP anchor Nakrin and child psychologist Alan Goodell-Holmes on a children’s book to help kids feel less anxious during storms. Yuhas has also provided severe-weather training to non-English speaking communities to help immigrants better understand and prepare for Minnesota’s unpredictable weather.
Technology, like the weather, is constantly changing. Through it all, Yuhas still strives to get every forecast right.
