Villanova senior Maryland T.V. weatherman
Kevin Maher ’04

“It was something I always wanted to do, and not just be a meteorologist, but be an on-air meteorologist, on T.V., a weatherman,” said Brian Shields, Villanova senior geography major, on a Wednesday afternoon in the Connelly Center. Two days later he was headed down to Maryland for his weekend job of delivering the weather on ABC affiliate WMDT TV in Salisbury, Md.

Though something Shields long had in his head, the road to becoming a weatherman proved to be an unexpected one. Following his junior year, Shields obtained an internship at FOX Philadelphia where he worked under Rob Guarino in the Weather Center. Having gained hands on experience with forecasting computer programs and some on-air techniques, Shields was originally planning to continue his training with FOX throughout the school year. However, hearing of an opening in Maryland, he contacted WMDT TV. At first skeptical due to his age, WMDT TV agreed to interview with Shields after he offered to take the ride down to Maryland for a live audition though he had no actual on-air experience. Two days after the meeting he was offered the job a week before his senior year began, making him one of the, if not the, youngest on-air weathermen in the country.

When asked what set him apart in the competitive field Shields replied, “I knew I wanted it. I was going to go after it no matter what.” Never losing focus on what he wanted to do, it was through his persistence that he earned the position.
Shields forecasts the weather on the 11 p.m. news Friday nights and the 6 p.m. and 11 pm. news on Saturday and Sunday. His responsibilities continue into Monday when he becomes the environmental reporter out in the field. The weather staff also does a lot of community events.

A common misconception about weathermen is that they merely report weather events, but for Shields, forecasting and graphic designs are just as much a part of the job. While his friends might joke that as a weatherman he just puts on a suit and delivers the weather, Shields actually is there hours before to be sure all the information is accurate and prepared.

Crediting Villanova’s geography program for helping him along the way, Shields points to Steve MacLaughlin of Philadelphia’s WB17 and Rob Guarino of FOX Philadelphia as his mentors in the field and continues to consult with them in predicting the weather for the area.

Highlights so far for Shields include covering Hurricane Lilly from Louisiana as well as the most recent major snow storm. Without the chief meteorologist in the office, he was doing cut-ins every hour. Impressing many with his forecasting abilities, he predicted higher snows totals than many were calling for and was correct.

Said Shields, “It’s weird when there’s such a big snow storm, you think about how many people you’re effecting, school boards are watching you… if you mention snow five days out people are really depending on you.”

Following graduation, Shields will continue predicting the weather with WMDT TV.