Mike Kurz

"Working in the National Weather Service isn't just about forecasting the weather. There is a lot of interaction with customers, whether it be the public, event organizers, or heads of other government agencies. Innovative Weather helped me learn how to concisely articulate the most important facets of a complex forecast scenario in order to meet a client's specific needs."

Mike Kurz can trace his interest in meteorology back to grade school and remembers being amazed at the destruction left behind by an F3 tornado that ravaged Wautoma in 1992. As a middle schooler, Mike resolved to become a meteorologist after repeatedly borrowing all of the library's tornado videos. His interest in weather grew exponentially through college, and he received both his Bachelors (2007) and Masters (2009) degrees in Atmospheric Science from UWM. Right out of high school and through graduate school, Mike interned at WTMJ, where he had the privilege of learning from Milwaukee meteorologist legends John Malan and Paul Joseph. Additionally, Mike was one of the original Innovative Weather forecasters when the operation began in May 2007, and he remained with IW until January 2010 when he accepted a position with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio. Aside from launching weather balloons and forecasting, one of his favorite aspects of his current position is venturing outside the office to interact with NWS customers at outreach events. In his spare time, Mike enjoys traveling to various historical and scenic sites and playing Celtic music on his fiddle.