Wicked Weather: Meteorology Alumna Reaches Final Four in Weather-Inspired Reality TV Show

When hundreds of seasoned and aspiring meteorologists submitted applications to compete in a reality television show featuring hilarious weather-related challenges, a SUNY Oswego alumna was among the 12 finalists chosen.

Christina Faraone ’11 of Walden, N.Y., was selected to join the latest charge in the reality TV movement as a contestant on “America’s Next Weatherman.” TBS teamed up with comedy website Funny or Die for the new series, produced by Mark Burnett and United Artists Media Group.

The grand prize: $100,000, an agent and an appearance forecasting the weather on CNN.

Contenders sparred through assignments about weather knowledge, while the show’s producers devised odd situations and weather-inspired snafus for them to navigate. Faraone, a marine meteor­ologist for the FleetWeather Group, made it to the Final Four before she was eliminated on Sept. 19.

“The most rewarding thing about doing the show was all the new friends I made along the way,” Faraone said. “I still keep in touch with the other contestants.”

The cast of “America’s Next Weatherman” included Christina Faraone ’11, second from right.

Faraone, whose most memorable moments on the show included dressing up as Tornado Terri to teach kids about tornadoes and creating a rap song about the weather, said the show was a fun way to teach others about meteorology—a passion she nurtured as a student at SUNY Oswego.

“SUNY Oswego is, in my opinion, the best place to get a meteorology degree,” Faraone said. “The professors are wonderful.”

Faraone, who just earned her Federal Aviation Administration Aircraft Dispatcher Certification, returns to campus once a year to attend the student-run Great Lakes Atmospheric Science Symposium. She will continue pursuing a career in aviation meteorology.

—Eileen Crandall

Read about other Oswego Alumni Meteorologists.