CBS2 meteorologist tells Naperville students to follow passion

She's made a career forecasting the weather, but Mary Kay Kleist used to fear the clap and flash of thunder and lightning, shy away from the splash and roar of a hurricane.

The CBS2 meteorologist told students at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic School in Naperville that it's OK to feel fear - but, then, take action.

In her case, action led to knowledge, which led to sharing that knowledge on television as she explains Windy City weather predictions to CBS viewers across the city, suburbs, southern Wisconsin and northwest Indiana.

"Now I'm not afraid because I learned all about it," Kleist said about the science behind the weather forces she once found spooky. "I don't need to be afraid. I can be smart."

Speaking at the school where she sent her children, now a sophomore in college and a senior at Benet Academy in Lisle, Kleist hit all of the major themes of her career: meteorology, severe weather survival, forecasting, broadcasting and women in science.

Ss. Peter and Paul Principal Karen Meskill said the multifaceted talk to students in kindergarten through fifth grade helped augment the meteorological lessons in their science classes, introduce a few science-related careers and set a good example.

"I like that she stressed taking risks, trying something different and seeking those opportunities," Meskill said. "Share your ideas and follow your passion."

Meskill was especially impressed with the story of how Kleist decided to become a meteorologist.

Kleist said she was a 19-year-old Wisconsin native studying education at the University of Central Florida in 1989 when Hurricane Hugo was bearing down. Afraid to ride out the storm alone in her "wooden apartment," she volunteered at a Red Cross shelter, answering calls about the impending storm.

Hugo ended up turning, as hurricanes often do, but Kleist was fascinated by the source of the weather knowledge she shared with callers: a 26-year-old woman who was the chief meteorologist at an Orlando television station. This gal was nothing like the forecasters Kleist remembered from home.

"Old men did the weather," she said. "In my eyes, that's what I thought."

Seeing a young woman instead was an awakening for Kleist's career. When the meteorologist thanked volunteers for their help, Kleist asked whether her station offered an internship. It didn't, but the meteorologist created one and gave Kleist her start.

"There's a lot of jobs women can do as scientists," Kleist told the students, especially a girl who said she hopes to be a scientist when she grows up.

Kleist also served as a career role model for fifth-grader Cade Rosenthal, who said he wants to be a meteorologist because he's long been fascinated by tornadoes.

Cade and nine of his peers got to make brief appearances on-air as Kleist broadcast three live segments from the mobile weather lab, an SUV with a large TV screen in the trunk displaying temperature and wind readings.

Fourth-grader Juliet Parrott read out the temp, then fifth-grader Maggie Flavin told viewers the wind speed. Fourth-grader Alex Dentice put on his best anchor voice when he explained the difference between a severe weather watch and a warning.

"A watch means it could happen," Alex said. "A warning means it is happening."

As the students made their on-air debuts, a cold front blew in, winds picked up and temperatures fell from 50 to 48 degrees in minutes.

"Mother nature doesn't follow rules," Kleist said. "We follow her."

Throughout her career, Kleist said, she's learned to puzzle together forecasts, create weather graphics for the television screen, point out storm patterns in front of a green screen, ad-lib her words to fit the allotted time - and do it all with a producer talking in her earpiece.

"I always have to think, 'What's the most important part of the weather story,'" she said.

Sometimes, the most important part is a safety tip, like a few she shared at the school. Starting with a catchphrase about her own childhood nemesis, thunderstorms, she reminded students there's no need to be scared - just smart.

"When thunder roars, go indoors," she said. "Because that means lightning's coming next."