We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jacob Lanier a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jacob, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
I was blessed with the most supportive parents in the world when it came to pursuing my dreams. From a young age, when I knew I wanted to study the weather in some capacity, they nurtured that curiosity instead of squashing it. I can’t count the times that adults have told me “I always wanted to study the weather growing up.” Then they often recount that their parents pushed them to study something more practical, like engineering, business, or agriculture. My number one message to parents is support the dreams of your children! Don’t overlook the power your words have on students and encourage them to pursue success in any area of studies if they truly have a driving passion!
My mom was the first one I became interested in the weather with, because she would always watch the evening news for the weather forecast. I’d always end up on the couch watching the weather radar, forecast maps, and long range forecast alongside her. When the weather turned stormy, we would turn on the local channels to watch where the storms were tracking and if we were in the path of severe weather. That seed at a young age inspired me to one day be the scientist who informed people about the weather and prioritized viewer’s safety when it turned dangerous. Later in my schooling, as a math major herself, my mom also encouraged and pushed me through difficult math courses required to study meteorology. She also sat down with me to help guide me through the decision about which meteorology school to attend, going over different requirements and opportunities each would provide – I certainly made the right choice attending Mississippi State University, which has trained over 60% of broadcast meteorologists on the air today.
My dad was more of the creative in our house growing up, a chemist turned piano composer. He encouraged me that anything was possible, and that I could have a future forecasting the weather if I worked hard at my craft! In the fourth grade, he took me down the street to visit the Weather Channel (headquartered less than three miles from my childhood home). It was that experience that I knew I would do this as a career one day, the dozens of computers filled with weather maps, a bustling newsroom, and a bright TV studio. Several more visits were made to the Weather Channel as a student where I slowly learned more about the process behind getting the weather forecast on the air. He continued to encourage me in all of my weather opportunities, reminding me of the thousands of hours I have put into refining my craft of forecasting and broadcasting. I try to thank both my mom and dad often for their encouragement, support, and inspiration in getting me where I am today broadcasting for the top station in Kansas City!
Jacob, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I feel like that tells the growing up part of my story of always wanting to study the weather! I’m currently a broadcast meteorologist at FOX4 Kansas City and have been forecasting the weather on TV for over five years from the Deep South to the Midwest. You can watch my forecasts every weekend evening, during the week at Noon and 4 PM, and on fox4kc.com! I am probably most proud to be a part of the FOX4 Weather Team because we are certified by WeatheRate (an independent organization) with the most accurate forecasts in Kansas City. Every piece of the forecast, from sky conditions to temperature to precipitation timing and amounts are verified each day from all of the weather teams in the city, and FOX4 is consistently the most accurate in all types of weather. We take forecasting very seriously and often have intense conversations in the weather office over a degree or two — which would appear silly to a casual bystander, but that just shows the detail we put into our job everyday.
In addition to forecasting the weather on TV every day, I also keep my fifty-thousand social media followers informed of weather across the Midwest and the country. I also love getting outside of the studio to inspire students to pursue meteorology, broadcasting, or journalism by speaking with school classes and Scout troops. If you have a group of students, scouts, or even adults that want to learn more about the weather, please let me know! I would be happy to fit you into my schedule – emailing [email protected] is the best way to set something up!
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Social media is a fickle thing, especially because every single platform has unique algorithms and features audiences with different needs. For me, my top two purposes of my social media presence is to 1) connect with my followers and weather geeks and 2) inform the general public of impactful weather. Those typically go hand in hand, but I do keep two separate groups in my mind when sharing content. If I appeal to both of these audiences well, then they are likely to turn to me and the FOX4 weather team first when wanting weather information via television.
My dedicated fans & weather watchers across Kansas, Missouri, and the entire country are looking to share storm pictures, weather reports, and see my expert opinion on different weather events. These are the folks I love connecting with, because they will send me content that I can share to my broader audience. Whether through direct messaging or the comment section, I can get detailed and instant updates from wherever they may live. Those help us with getting the most accurate weather message out when we’re talking about severe weather or winter weather on air/online. Some are more inclined to share sunset pictures while others send me their rain gauge reports. Typically, I become familiar with these followers and get to a point where I know when to expect photos from them and what general area they’re in. In my mind, that gives me a great network across the region to look to depending on where active weather may pop-up. These weather watcher relationships are critical because they keep my content diverse & accurate, while also becoming some of my top engagement on social media!
The second group is the larger, but more casual followers – the general public. These people are usually getting my posts suggested on their feeds, shared by one of their friends, or seeking out weather information during a storm on their preferred platform. My goal is to become a casual or active source of weather for them, that they can reach on whatever their preferred platform may be. Then that will hopefully lead them to join us on FOX4 when they need a more detailed weather forecast or a big storm is coming. The biggest thing with social media is to be consistent, so your followers get used to seeing your content every day, and be yourself!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I’ve already touched on this, but the most rewarding aspects of my job are keeping people safe during bad weather and inspiring younger students that weather, science, journalism, and broadcasting are all fields that they can succeed in!
I also get to enjoy my work at FOX4 because it is an amazing balance of science (I am a total nerd) forecasting the weather and creativity as I come up with innovative ways to share the weather story with our viewers. You don’t have to be an artist to be creative, we all can do that in some capacity in our workplace or activities! Being creative is such a great outlet for our brains, flexes new muscles, and rounds out our skills and abilities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fox4kc.com/author/jacob-lanier/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacoblanierwx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jacoblanierwx
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JacobLanierWx
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jacoblanierwx