Kate Thornton
Background
Kate Thornton, a self proclaimed weather weenie, is a Broadcast Meteorologist who has made her passion for forecasting and telling stories into a career. Her love for weather started at just 10 years old. One spring day, she learned about tornadoes in science class, and that very evening a tornado warning was issued for her small town along the Hudson River called Saugerties. It was just too much of coincidence, and as the saying goes, the rest is history.
Kate has lived in New York State her whole life, having lived in Albany for five years while she attended the University at Albany and the New School of Radio and Television. Kate graduated UA in 2009 with a Bachelor of Art's Degree in Broadcast Meteorology and two minors in Geography and Business. Kate also earned her GIS Certificate. She had the honor of interning at YNN in Albany and learn the ins and out of being a broadcast meteorologist. She then pursued her post-graduate studies at the New School and completed their broadcast journalism program the summer of 2010 with top honors. Kate was hired to be the Weekend Meteorologist at Fox40 WICZ-TV in Binghamton in July 2010. Since then, she proved herself with her reporting skills and was bumped to full-time as a Multi-Media Journalist three days a week February of 2011.
Experience
With more than 6 years of weather forecasting experience, Kate's priority is to inform the public on the issues that matter most to them, especially if they need an umbrella or not. Kate loves all the little quirks the Northeast has when it comes to forecasting. Each season has its challenges, from the violent storms of Spring, Summer and Fall's tropical weather, and the bitter cold snow storms of Winter. There isn't much Kate hasn't seen. One of Kate's most challenging and exciting experiences of her career was Tropical Storm Lee in September of 2011. Kate spent countless hours tracking the storm that would dump record rainfall on the Southern Tier and cause catastrophic flooding of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers; doing commercial live cut-ins every half hour with updates on the grave situation-- completely solo. (The weekday weatherman picked a perfect week to go on vacation) It was no different just 10 months later when the Southern Tier experienced several tornadoes and microbursts. Kate was reporting live on the impending threat as tornado watches and warnings were being issued, showing local radar and describing in a calm and informative manner about the situation to keep the viewers safe. In the wake of the storms, she was on the scene at one of the hardest hit areas as the clean-up was underway. Let's not forget snowstorms... Kate has seen her fair share of lake effect snow, anywhere from a dusting to 2 feet with white-out conditions. O, the joys of forecasting in the Northeast.
But, Kate does enjoy stepping away from the green screen to share stories that will impact people's daily lives. She's reported on wide range of topics such as the ongoing debate over hydraulic fracturing, several murder trials, countless town and city government issues in Broome County, and of course, can't leave out the stories about current weather patterns or phenomena and their impact.
Interests and Activities
When Kate is not busy tracking storms or catching up on the latest breaking news, she likes to give back by helping the furry members of the community. As a proud mama of a rescue dog, a Shih Tzu named Franzén, Kate spends time at the local shelter and profiles a "Pet of the Week" each Sunday before her weather forecast to help find these dogs a forever home. Kate is also active in the community, participating in the Cupid's Chase 5k each year (yes, that means running 3.2 miles in the freezing cold, but for a good cause). She's also been involved with Sista's Uplifting Sista's and their production of the annual Ms. Big, Beautiful, and Bold Pageant. It's a pageant where real women, not a size 2 or 4, strut their stuff on the runway and show the world who they are, and why they are beautiful. Kate has also been an avid volleyball player since 8th grade, and still plays competitively in adult leagues.
Kate Thornton, a self proclaimed weather weenie, is a Broadcast Meteorologist who has made her passion for forecasting and telling stories into a career. Her love for weather started at just 10 years old. One spring day, she learned about tornadoes in science class, and that very evening a tornado warning was issued for her small town along the Hudson River called Saugerties. It was just too much of coincidence, and as the saying goes, the rest is history.
Kate has lived in New York State her whole life, having lived in Albany for five years while she attended the University at Albany and the New School of Radio and Television. Kate graduated UA in 2009 with a Bachelor of Art's Degree in Broadcast Meteorology and two minors in Geography and Business. Kate also earned her GIS Certificate. She had the honor of interning at YNN in Albany and learn the ins and out of being a broadcast meteorologist. She then pursued her post-graduate studies at the New School and completed their broadcast journalism program the summer of 2010 with top honors. Kate was hired to be the Weekend Meteorologist at Fox40 WICZ-TV in Binghamton in July 2010. Since then, she proved herself with her reporting skills and was bumped to full-time as a Multi-Media Journalist three days a week February of 2011.
Experience
With more than 6 years of weather forecasting experience, Kate's priority is to inform the public on the issues that matter most to them, especially if they need an umbrella or not. Kate loves all the little quirks the Northeast has when it comes to forecasting. Each season has its challenges, from the violent storms of Spring, Summer and Fall's tropical weather, and the bitter cold snow storms of Winter. There isn't much Kate hasn't seen. One of Kate's most challenging and exciting experiences of her career was Tropical Storm Lee in September of 2011. Kate spent countless hours tracking the storm that would dump record rainfall on the Southern Tier and cause catastrophic flooding of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers; doing commercial live cut-ins every half hour with updates on the grave situation-- completely solo. (The weekday weatherman picked a perfect week to go on vacation) It was no different just 10 months later when the Southern Tier experienced several tornadoes and microbursts. Kate was reporting live on the impending threat as tornado watches and warnings were being issued, showing local radar and describing in a calm and informative manner about the situation to keep the viewers safe. In the wake of the storms, she was on the scene at one of the hardest hit areas as the clean-up was underway. Let's not forget snowstorms... Kate has seen her fair share of lake effect snow, anywhere from a dusting to 2 feet with white-out conditions. O, the joys of forecasting in the Northeast.
But, Kate does enjoy stepping away from the green screen to share stories that will impact people's daily lives. She's reported on wide range of topics such as the ongoing debate over hydraulic fracturing, several murder trials, countless town and city government issues in Broome County, and of course, can't leave out the stories about current weather patterns or phenomena and their impact.
Interests and Activities
When Kate is not busy tracking storms or catching up on the latest breaking news, she likes to give back by helping the furry members of the community. As a proud mama of a rescue dog, a Shih Tzu named Franzén, Kate spends time at the local shelter and profiles a "Pet of the Week" each Sunday before her weather forecast to help find these dogs a forever home. Kate is also active in the community, participating in the Cupid's Chase 5k each year (yes, that means running 3.2 miles in the freezing cold, but for a good cause). She's also been involved with Sista's Uplifting Sista's and their production of the annual Ms. Big, Beautiful, and Bold Pageant. It's a pageant where real women, not a size 2 or 4, strut their stuff on the runway and show the world who they are, and why they are beautiful. Kate has also been an avid volleyball player since 8th grade, and still plays competitively in adult leagues.