As a child growing up in Kansas, my father always told me there's no better place to live than in the middle of America. And he's right...especially in terms of weather!

The other night as storms fired up along an approaching cold front, I stood on my balcony in amazement. No, these storms weren't firing up near downtown KCMO...they were firing up hundreds of miles away in Nebraska and Iowa! Amazing how we can see for miles without any interruption on the Great Plains.

Sure, the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains have their glories, too. I lived in the mountains of West Virginia for 2 years. There are two things I will never forget as a meteorologist forecasting for this area. One was the deep reds and yellows of changing leaves in fall (a sight you should witness once in your lifetime). The other, upslope/lake effect snow showers! Hard to believe that a snow shower could affect one side of the hill, but the other would see full sunshine.

After leaving West Virginia, I discovered the Chesapeake Bay and beaches of Maryland. They were nice...and so were the tropical storms and Nor'easters (greatly intensified thanks to the Atlantic Ocean)! Tropical Storm Ernesto hit Baltimore last September. Several inches of horizontal rain were recorded with this storm. Tornado watches and warnings were plastered up and down the Mid-Atlantic. And I'll never forget one Nor'easter that really caused a problem for me. Driving home late from work one night, I came pretty close to getting smashed by a tree on the interstate. You see...back East, you'll find tall and slender trees...the kind that come crashing down very fast thanks to several inches of heavy snow and a stiff breeze.

Given all those memories...my heart has always been back West. Talk to anybody that I've worked with and they'll tell you that Kansas City is where I've always wanted to live. You have to love those relaxing Saturday afternoons when there isn't a cloud in the sky...or those nights when a breeze ushers in a thunderstorm. As the saying goes, "if you don't like the weather, then wait 15 minutes and it will change." It has to be that unpredictably that fascinates me.

I look forward to the many challenges that I will face as a member of the First Alert Weather Team. Summer has been unusual, to say the least, thus far! I wonder what the rest of the year holds for us? Hopefully, mild temperatures and a normal amount of rain.