Dan
Bickford has been the meteorologist for
WSPA-TV News Channel 7
Daybreak and Noon shows since June of 2001. He is a member of the
AMS,
and is a former president and vice-president of its Upstate local chapter.
He also earned the
AMS
Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and Television Seal of Approval
certifications. Since first hearing the sounding of tornado sirens as a child,
Mr. Bickford has had a strong interest in weather, specifically strong storms.
This led him to study at the
University of Oklahoma,
where he received the
BS and
MS
degrees in meteorology. The interest in strong storms continued, as during his
college years he did some studying at
NSSL
and spent two spring seasons as a storm chaser for KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City.
While completing his studies, Mr. Bickford also spent a year and a half as the
weekend meteorologist for KSWO-TV in Lawton, OK/Wichita Falls, TX.
College also included a two-year captaincy of the
OU
water polo team. After graduating in December of 1993, he became the chief
meteorologist at KOAM-TV in Joplin, MO/Pittsburg, KS, a position he would hold
for seven years. During that time, he became heavily involved in severe weather
education, was a member of a local emergency management group, and became
involved in the
FEMA's
Project Impact campaign to mitigate severe weather losses.
In volunteering to serve on the
AMS
Ad Hoc Committee on Uncertainty in Forecasts in 2007, Mr. Bickman wrote:
Having read recent literature about forecast uncertainty and having worked
with the likes of emergency management in the past, I have seen first-hand how
a more complete way of discussing the possibilities within a forecast can
benefit many operations. Being in broadcast meteorology, I also see a
different side that we should not overlook. The single greatest users of
weather information are John and Jane Public, making decisions for themselves,
their family, and their events for the day or days ahead. Many of them will see
something like a POP in a forecast on a regular basis. Personal communication
has alerted me to the fact that very few people know what that actually
means—that yes, we can have a 30% chance of thunderstorms without expecting
30% of the area to pick up rain. This illuminates a key point: in any effort to
convey uncertainty in a forecast, great care should be used on all levels
(public forecasts, aviation, energy, and on and on) to try to keep that
information as simple and easily understood as possible...otherwise, we're
really not doing anyone a service.
As a hobby, Mr. Bickford worked for four years as a radio personality for
KXDG-FM in Joplin. He enjoys swimming, biking, watching Chicago and
OU
sports teams, and spending time with his wife.
