Challenges of weather forecasting and current weather models

Dean is from Plainfield, Illinois, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago, although he’ll admit that Nebraska is home too.  “I've always considered Nebraska home,” Dean said upon his return to Lincoln.  Because of the close proximity to Chicago, Dean’s dad took him to the Cubs games at Wrigley Field.  Dean later was able to treat his dad to a private tour of Wrigley Field, including meeting the legendary and Hall of Fame announcer Harry Caray.  From the age of six, Dean was destined to become a meteorologist.  “The “Blizzard of 1979” in Chicago really peaked my interest in weather”, Dean recalls.

His passion to inform the public and teach about the weather is what led him to Northern Illinois University, where he graduated with a degree in Atmospheric Science.  He has worked at television stations in North Platte, Omaha, Waterloo, Minneapolis, Cincinnati and Phoenix during the course of his career, in addition to Channel 8 KLKN-TV.  In 1996, Dean became Channel 8 KLKN-TV’s first Chief Meteorologist.  He was at the forefront of the station’s weather coverage on countless occasions, including the Beatrice tornado in May 1996 and the freak snow storm in October 1997.  Dean came back to Channel 8 Eyewitness News in 2017 and is Lincoln’s Own Weather Experts’ Chief Meteorologist. “I loved Lincoln, my first “tour of duty”, so to get the opportunity to come back…I feel blessed”, says Dean. “I’ve been lucky because they say if you love your job, you never work a day in your life.”  Dean continues, “I love what I do and I think the enthusiasm comes across to the viewer.”

He’s always watching the weather, but when he’s not at work, you can find him working out, golfing, playing tennis, camping and/or biking.  If it’s outdoors, he’s up for it.  He is also a Big Red fan and fan of Chicago sports teams, except the White Sox, of course.  No true Cubs fan would ever cheer for the Sox.