Mike Smith's fascination with weather began at the age of five when he witnessed a tornado with F5 damage tear through his home town of Kansas City. The tornado was one of the most damaging in history and Mike recalls thinking "If a tornado could do such damage, it must be interesting." He's been hooked on weather ever since.
After achieving a Bachelor of Science Degree in meteorology, with additional studies in engineering and mathematics, from the University of Oklahoma, Mike began his professional career in broadcasting. He worked for television stations in Oklahoma City, St. Louis and Wichita.
In 1981, Mike founded WeatherData, a company dedicated to the highest standards of customer service and meteorological science. Mike is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist and Fellow of the American Meteorological Society. He served as Chairman of the Commercial Weather Services Association, is a Charter Member of the National Weather Association, and served on the American Meteorological Society's Forecasting and Aviation Meteorology Committees.
In 1992, Mike won the American Meteorological Society's Award for Outstanding Contribution to Applied Meteorology and shared in WeatherData's 2000 Award for Outstanding Service to Meteorology by a Corporation. He is a recipient of five United States patents, with four other U.S. and foreign patents pending, and is a published author and photographer in the field of meteorology. |