So You Think You Know- WXII-12 Chief Meteorologist Lanie Pope

There are few things in life that affect us like the weather. We need to know the temperature, and the possibility of rain, snow or sun to get our families up and going each day. To that end, WXII-12 Chief Meteorologist Lanie Pope keeps an eye on the radar, maps and, in some cases, the window to make sure her weather forecasts are as accurate as they can be. And, more importantly, so the Triad and surrounding areas are aware when potentially dangerous weather approaches. But other than the knowledgeable and informative woman that you see each evening at 5 pm, 5:30 pm, 6 pm and 11 pm warning of a downpour or exciting school kids with the possibility of snow, what do you really know about Lanie Pope? Close to Being a Hometown Girl Lanie Pope grew up in Greenville, SC, in a family of Certified Public Accountants, with aspirations of being a disc jockey. “I have always loved music and playing ’Name That Tune’ so I really wanted to be a disc jockey. When I shared my thoughts on going into broadcast journalism, my family of business majors was wondering what I was thinking. I attended the University of South Carolina and majored in broadcast journalism and worked as a reporter for one year and absolutely hated it,” recalled Pope. It took a year for Pope to realize that she was not cut out to cover wrecks on the interstate, murders and drug busts. As she was thinking about leaving broadcasting, a good friend encouraged her to change directions. “I talked to a friend, who was a meteorologist at the TV station where I was working in Myrtle Beach, SC, and he encouraged me to go into meteorology, because he felt I had the ability to communicate and tell a story, which is what you do when sharing forecasts with the audience. A forecast has a beginning, a middle and end with the 5-day outlook,” stated Pope. While she worked as a meteorologist, she completed her education and training in Meteorology at Mississippi State University. “I had the opportunity to work while going to school and I found the study of weather really fit my personality: a focused, perfectionist,” commented Pope. Pope’s typical day is about 10 hours long, even though the audience only sees her for about 15 minutes. She spends hours studying weather charts online, the 24 hour weather channel and weather plus, along with preparing for her daily forecasts. “My job is to communicate the forecasts in an accurate and understandable manner. When you are dealing with weather, knowledge is power and understanding what warnings and watches mean can only help our community to know when and if a sense of urgency is needed. That’s why I enjoy visiting local schools and helping children understand weather,” stated Pope. The Meteorologist Mom Pope was hired as Chief Meteorologist at WXII-12 in September 2001, having just started her family with son, Keenan. “My schedule at WXII allows me to spend time with my family and I have a great support with my husband, Brian, who is a stay at home dad,” said Pope. Now Pope’s family also includes 5 year old son, Heath. “Beyond the time that I spend with my husband and kids, my mother was diagnosed with Pick’s Disease, a rare form of rapidly progressing frontal lobe dementia and I spend time with her. I have become very aware of how very little is known about dementia and I hope to get involved in the future with the Alzheimer Association to lend my help when and where needed,” said Pope. As her children have gotten older, now 8 and 5, Pope has re-discovered that she needs to take care of herself and has gotten back into a workout routine. “I have a very good friend whom I work out with in the mornings; I swim, run and have joined a yoga class. When you have children who are young, all moms know that a mom’s needs take a back seat, but there comes a time when you realize that you are better at all aspects of life and things fall into place when you feel good and are taking care of yourself,” commented Pope. Lanie Pope Has Connections This writer found her favorite meteorologist just as she  expected herto be: energetic and passionate about her family, her job and her community. The strangest thing, however, was in the time we spent chatting, the weather went from overcast, to sunny, to a light snow, and then the snow moved to the other side of the building that we were in, all at the snap of her finger. Lanie Pope can not only forecast the weather, but she has a strange effect on it too!