Rising Stars: Meet Katie Nickolaou of Lansing, MI

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Nickolaou

Hi Katie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve lived in Michigan for most of my life, which is where my love of weather started. When I was 5 I was in a tornado and I thought it was amazing. Thankfully my parents didn’t think that was weird and they helped foster my love of weather. Then in 2010 a tornado hit my grandparent’s house and in 2011 a tornado hit my house! At that point, I took it as a sign that I was meant to go into meteorology. My love of studying tornadoes and lake effect snow led me to attend Valparaiso University, where I had phenomenal instructors who further expanded my love of weather. One of the most memorable classes I took in my time there was the Summer Convective Field Study, where a group of students, alongside our professor, chased storms around the United States for 10 days. I actually ended up taking that class 4 times because I loved it so much! While out on my last study, I received a phone call asking if I’d be interested in taking a Weekday Morning Meteorologist job at KMEG/KPTH in Sioux City, IA. I jumped on the opportunity and spent the next 3 years out in Siouxland. In October 2022 I moved back to Michigan to become the Weekday Morning Meteorologist at WLNS in Lansing. Being back home, forecasting for the area I know and love has been amazing, and I’m excited to see what the future holds!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My journey to becoming the person I am today has been a challenging one. In middle school I was relentlessly bullied for being a nerd. It got to the point that I developed severe anxiety, mostly stopped eating, and refused to go to school for weeks. Thankfully, at that point in my life, I was introduced to Star Trek. It’s incredible how TV shows can help you heal from the trauma’s you’ve experienced. Star Trek showed me how to think logically, which ultimately allowed me to get my anxiety under control. It also showed me, fiction or not, that there were adventures out there that I was missing out on, which helped push me to go out and explore the world around me. Throughout all of that, my love of weather remained, which shows just how deeply meteorology has been ingrained in my life.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Being a Weekday Morning Meteorologist is interesting because nothing about my job is normal. I start work at midnight, looking at the latest computer models and real-time data to put together my forecast every day. Then I make/edit all of the graphics you see me use on air. I also have to do my own hair and makeup as well as record daily weather updates for local radio stations. All of that happens before I even go on-air! We have a 2.5 hour morning show, which is like a marathon of meteorology every morning, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I also chase storms around the Midwest, especially in Michigan. This past summer I chased a tornado near Leonidas and found a 4″ hailstone!

The best part about working on the morning show is that I get to let my personality shine, which is what sets me apart from other meteorologists. I’m known for being fun, entertaining, and informative all at the same time. For example, last Halloween I dressed up in a full LEGO man cosplay that I’d built by hand over the past 2 years. It was a massive hit with my viewers and I still get comments about it! I’ve also been told that I explain complicated weather information in easy to understand ways while also making it entertaining, which many viewers have expressed they appreciate.

I’d say I’m most proud of the work I do with schools. I love doing school talks! Whether it’s a class of kindergarteners or a room full of high school seniors, I really enjoy showing them how amazing the world of weather is. I’ve had several students write to me and say that I inspired them to become meteorologists, which is an incredible thing to me.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
My parents deserve so much of the credit for me becoming a meteorologist. They fostered my love of all things weather throughout my childhood, taking me to the library to check out every book on weather imaginable and letting me watch The Weather Channel practically nonstop. They continue to support my journey in meteorology today, and it means the world to me.

One of my professors at Valparaiso University, Dr. Bart Wolf, quickly became my mentor in meteorology. His presentation style combined important information with fun facts and fascinating stories, which influenced my way of presenting the weather on-air. He created and led the Summer Convective Field Studies at my school, which were some of the best weeks of my life, and I’m forever grateful he chose me to go on the field studies for all 4 of my years at Valpo.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tiktok.com/@weather_katie
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weather_katie/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeteorologistKatieNickolaou
• Twitter: https://x.com/weather_katie
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@weather_katie