Everyone talks about the weather, but when the comments and complaints become watches and warnings, Judith Levan ’81 hopes everyone’s listening.
“We’re the ones that set off the tones on the radio. We’re the ones who send out those crawlers when you’re watching your favorite TV show,” says Levan, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
Her region covers the western third of New York and reaches up into the Thousand Islands, so her team’s warnings affect a lot of people.
“We really try to discern between a severe storm and a nuisance,” she says. “Things aren’t always black and white.”
Perhaps the tougher part of the job is determining the best ways to reach people. Judy preaches preparedness as a liaison to media, law enforcement, other officials and the general public in the form of outreach campaigns.
Her journey with the NWS started some 30 years ago as an intern. She credits the connections fostered by Oswego’s strong meteorology program, which has produced so many professionals. In fact, many of Levan’s colleagues and peers are alumni.
She’s stayed connected to the college by hosting the Oswego Weather Club in Buffalo for several years.
“I think the overall culture of the school is one of inclusion,” says Levan, one of only a few females in the meteorology program during her college experience. “In my four years at Oswego, it was like home to me.”
—Shane M. Liebler
Read more stories of Alumni in the Sciences
You might also like
More from Alumni Profiles
Alumna Discovers Career Where Dreams Really Do Come True
Alumna Discovers Career Where Dreams Really Do Come True Snorkeling along a beachside resort. Taking a three-night Disney Dream cruise. Spending …
Alumna Educator Inspires Student to Teach
Alumna Educator Inspires Student to Teach Anthony Regateiro ’20 M’21 still remembers a role-playing exercise in his sixth-grade social studies class. He …
Scholarship Solidifies Late Scientist’s Laker Legacy
Scholarship Solidifies Late Scientist's Laker Legacy The friendship between Colleen A. McHorney ’78 and Brett Connolly ’76 began in 1975 as students at SUNY Oswego. “Several …