The thunder rolls. Lightning crackles. A weather advisory beeps on the radio as students run for cover. But for sophomore Josh Duncan, this is sweet music to his ears. A night of storm chasing and weather watching is about to begin.
For Duncan (“Stormmaster J” to his fans), weather is life.
He says, “One day my dad showed me the radar and it blew my mind.”
Now it envelops every facet of his life.
During his free time Duncan can be seen with forecasts and wind patterns on his computer screen.
He can twist just about any class project into a weather discussion. During his English project over World War II, Duncan presented over the weather saying, “Alright so weather had a really huge impact on World War II, and I know you guys don’t know it so I’m just gonna explain it.”
First year English teacher Tatiana Schafer said about the presentation, “It was cool to see him take something that he is known for being passionate about and bring it into his project.”
In addition, he has a website dedicated to the weather. He has created weatherwatch365.com and updates it with forecasts and picks of the week. He even adds blogs when big systems or weather days are coming up. He tries to keep the website updated a few times a week.
He loves to share his passion for weather. Classmates can often hear him engaged in an enthusiast lesson that can range from identifying wall clouds to explaining the Bermuda high.
The desire to be a meteorologist prompted Duncan to attend a weather camp at The University of Oklahoma in the summer of 2015. During the camp they had the opportunity to stay in the dorms and spent the week visiting the National Weather Center. He keeps in close contact with some of those students and they video call back and forth about…you guessed it…weather.
After high school Duncan hopes to attend The University of Oklahoma to major in atmospheric science. He is interested in broadcasting and forecasting all types of weather….especially those Kansas thunderstorms.
So when the winds howl, the rains pour, and the rest of the world is ducking for cover, prepare to see “Stormmaster J” out in the midst of it all, always searching for that perfect storm.