At weather base, ex-teacher reigns

Top meteorologist at NLR station long fascinated by storms

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN --04/20/2015--
Steve Drillette is the new Meteorologist in Charge at the National Weather Service's North Little Rock office. He is seen here with staff in the operations station where he is in charge of monitoring weather patterns.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN --04/20/2015-- Steve Drillette is the new Meteorologist in Charge at the National Weather Service's North Little Rock office. He is seen here with staff in the operations station where he is in charge of monitoring weather patterns.

Steve Drillette was a high school science teacher and a basketball coach before returning to his love of weather and eventually becoming the meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service's North Little Rock station.

Drillette took over the station that monitors weather in 45 of Arkansas' 75 counties on April 7, transferring from the same position he held at the Weather Service's station in Brownsville, Texas.

He replaced Renee Fair, who retired Jan. 2 after 17 years as the meteorologist-in-charge at North Little Rock.

Drillette is responsible for overseeing operations at the station and ensuring the state receives timely and accurate weather warnings, forecasts and climate information.

He also will work with emergency management officials and the media in providing weather awareness, preparedness and safety education, a news release issued by the Weather Service said.

"Steve Drillette, with his experience, leadership and communication skills, will continue to assure the best weather services for the residents of Arkansas," Michael Coyne, acting Southern regional director of the National Weather Service, said in the release.

Drillette, 54, earned a bachelor's degree in meteorology from Texas A&M University in 1983 and worked as a television meteorologist in Bryan, Texas.

He then taught science and math and coached basketball at several Texas high schools.

But his love for weather led him back to the Weather Service, Drillette said.

In 1993, he became an intern at the service's forecast center in Amarillo, Texas. He later served as a service hydrologist in Lubbock, Texas, and a senior forecaster in Midland, Texas, before returning to Amarillo in 1999 to become the warning coordination meteorologist.

In summer 2010, Drillette was named the meteorologist-in-charge at the Brownsville station.

"I always loved storms as a child," Drillette said. "I'd watch all three [television] stations we could get back then to see their weather coverage."

In high school, Drillette often drew his "dream weather maps," which included snowstorms and tornadoes.

"He's all about leadership, and his big thing is to have well-learned people around," said Barry Goldsmith, the acting meteorologist-in-charge at the Weather Service's Brownsville station who worked with Drillette since 2010.

"He's the best I've been around."

Goldsmith said Drillette took over in Brownsville when the former meteorologist-in-charge, who began implementing changes to help improve the office's community communications, left for another position.

Drillette's coaching experience paid off well, Goldsmith said.

"You can have strong players on the team, but in order to work together and move forward, you have to have a great coach," Goldsmith said. "He melded the people who were here and brought in new people.

"He was the perfect person at the time we needed this to happen."

Drillette said he mainly dealt with drought conditions and hurricane forecasts while at Brownsville, but also faced tornadoes and flash flooding -- weather events prevalent in Arkansas -- in western Texas.

He is a member of the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association.

State Desk on 04/21/2015

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