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What is a "Weather Weenie"? Doesn't sound very complimentary, does it? Surprisingly, in the world of meteorologists, a weather weenie is generally a highly regarded person.
Weather weenie is a nickname used to describe a person who is deeply fascinated by weather. Variant terms are "weather nerd" and "weather geek." According to some of the UW meteorologists we interviewed, a weather weenie is distinguished by an interest in weather that borders on obsession. Weather weenies would rather talk about weather than anything else. Weather weenies watch the sky when outside or study satellite images of storms when inside. Weather weenies' favorite channel is The Weather Channel and they have their television tuned to it twenty-four hours a day. Whether weather weenie are adventurous storm chasers or studious mathematicians, they are united by their passion for weather.
While most weather weenies have jobs relating to weather, a person who has a job in another field can still be a weather weenie if their love and knowledge of weather is sufficiently enthusiastic and single-minded. The magazine Weatherwise is a popular periodical geared toward these type of weather lovers--non-professional and non-scientist weather weenies.
While the term "weather weenie" may have, at one time, had negative connotations, today the nickname is taken as a compliment. Weather weenies around the world have embraced the name and accept it as their own, just as Wisconsinites have embraced the somewhat derogatory term, "Cheesehead."
According to one weather scientist, to be called a weather weenie by another weather weenie is the highest compliment a weather weenie can receive. Having the nickname applied to you can be a type of rite of passage into this extreme group of meteorologists.
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