As students sit and stare out the window wishing for a snow day, one student calculates the probability with extensive research background and a passion for meteorology. Lucas Timpone, a senior at RHS, practices his interest in the weather by studying different natural phenomena.

Timpone discovered his interest in meteorology when he was a child and has practiced this interest since 2013. However, even before then, he was always teaching his family members and peers about facets of the weather that he gained from individual research.

Along with some courses he takes at RHS that will help him in college, Timpone also has extensive experience outside of the classroom and does loads of individual research to hone his craft.

Timpone explained how he became interested in meteorology, and how long it has been since he has had this passion.

“Honestly I’ve been interested in meteorology for as long as I can remember. My parents say when I was four I was obsessed with watching the news and weather reports on TV and my interest in weather hasn’t really gone away ever since,” Timpone said.

Timpone’s mother, Denise Timpone, remembers how this passion started, and how knowledgeable he was about meteorology. Denise Timpone Timpone explained in detail the beginning of this interest, and how Timpone showed it throughout his childhood.

“We would sit and watch the weather. And then it just gradually progressed from there. . . .  So when he was about nine, he could go back as far as into the 1970s and he could, from memorization, recite you the list of hurricane names, which ones they retired because of catastrophic monetary damages, and he could just tell us lists,” Denise Timpone said.

Timpone would not only educate his family on meteorology, but also other families in the community. Denise Timpone talked about  how he expanded his audience to provide forecasts for more people.

“When he was about eight or nine he [made] his own YouTube channel for our neighborhood and would put on there the radar and then what was forecasted for the week,” Denise Timpone said.

Since his childhood, Timpone’s passion for meteorology has only grown and become a more prominent part of his life. Timpone talked about his educational experience this past summer and his recent qualifications to forecast the weather.

“I took an online class to be a skywarn spotter for the national weather service in Cleveland’s area. . . . For instance, I know there was a storm last year, where I reported wind and hail and there was a really big storm. So I called the National Weather Service and not even five minutes later they updated the warning to account for my report and they increased the severe thunderstorm warning from sixty miles an hour to seventy because of my report,” Timpone said.

While Timpone loves all aspects of studying weather, he has always had a special interest in hurricanes. Timpone talked about his history with tracking hurricanes.

“I’ve been tracking hurricanes since 2013, every season since then pretty much. I feel like the weather events that might have inspired me were Hurricane Sandy from 2012 and the tornado outbreak from November 2013 because I know there were some pretty big tornadoes in Illinois that year and then we got the after effects of it,” Timpone said.

These conclusions about the weather require a vast amount of research and knowledge about many different aspects of the weather. Timpone talked about all of the sources that he consults when he predicts snow days.

“I try to go off an average of a bunch of models and a bunch of forecasts like the Weather Channel and the National Weather Service, the GFS in European models which are the main models . . .  and compare it with our school’s probability of issuing a snow day,” Timpone said.

While Timpone has already achieved a great deal of success throughout his life thus far, he is looking to take the next steps in his journey to become a meteorologist. Timpone provided his insight on which college he plans to attend in the fall and what his studies will entail.

“I concluded that Ohio State’s energy level and enthusiasm of the professors and their investment in their program was something that I would like to be a part of, so I plan to go there right now. I’m going to be majoring in what they call atmospheric sciences, which is kind of a broader scale of meteorology. . . .  And to supplement that I’m probably going to minor in mathematics and GIS, which is geographic information systems,” Timpone said.

Timpone is already ahead of schedule in terms of the courses to take at Ohio State. Timpone explained what he learned when he visited the campus.

“The adviser that I met with said that I am one of two to three people that he has known to have unlocked half the meteorology courses their freshman year. Because of this, I can take the Intro to Meteorology course in the fall and take some more meteorology classes next spring,” said Timpone

The process of choosing Ohio State University involved a tedious investigation to figure out which school would be best for Timpone. Denise Timpone expressed how she felt as she watched Timpone interact with the professors at different schools.

“It was so fun for his father and I to just sit there and listen to him talk to these professors and get excited. Just like these professors are excited about teaching, Lucas is excited about learning,” Timpone’s mother said.

Maggie Bowers, a science teacher at RHS, had Timpone in her Honors Chemistry class two years ago, and witnessed his devotion to his education. Bowers talked about the different traits that Timpone possesses, and how it will help him in his future.

“Lucas is an exceptional student. He works hard at every single thing he comes across. So his problem solving ability, that’s going to help him tremendously once he gets into the field and he has an opportunity to apply that grit that he has and curiosity that he has,” Bowers said.

Katie Nowakowski, a senior at RHS and close friend of Timpone’s since third grade, has seen this passion for meteorology grow throughout their friendship. Nowakowski talked about how his hard work over the years will coincide with his passion for meteorology and lead to success.

“He’s very focused and determined, like once he has a goal he will go after it and get it. Just again on the focus, he’s known that has been his path since he was young. He has put the time in, he knows where to find the data,” Nowakowski said.

Timpone has waited for the moment he can enter the field of meteorology, and all of his dedication will pay off. Timpone talked about how it feels to get closer to his dream.

“I’m thankful to be interested [in meteorology] because it’s been something that I’ve been passionate about, and I’ve been looking forward to college. I’m finally about to embark upon my dream, really. But it’s been something that’s been leading me towards a certain goal, and it’s going to propel me into a great career, and I just can’t wait to get started,” Timpone said.

Currently, Timpone is posting his forecasts on Snapchat and Instagram, and continuing to work with Cleveland’s National Weather Service. After attending Ohio State, he is open to any career that allows him to continue his passion of meteorology.

This story was originally published on Lantern on March 21, 2024.