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Cheryl Lemke

Cheryl Lemke
Cheryl Lemke

Broadcasting the weather

Cheryl Lemke seen by millions on The Weather Channel

The self-described "shyest kid in class" now is seen on television by millions.

"When I was in school I always thought I would be working in a National Weather Service office or doing research somewhere," Cheryl Lemke says. "Either one would have been fulfilling to me."

But as Lemke was nearing graduation from Iowa State with a degree in meteorology, she started to hear a rumor about the National Weather Service.

"They were undergoing cutbacks back then," she remembers, "and jobs were hard to come by.

"I thought to myself 'I had better rethink this. Maybe broadcasting meteorology would be right for me.'"

The rest as they say is history.

As an Iowa State senior, Lemke worked as an intern at both WOI-TV and WHO-TV, gaining valuable experience as a broadcast meteorologist. She also took several broadcasting courses to learn more about her proposed profession.

But when it came time to get a job after graduation - now that was a different story.

"I sent out a lot of resumes and while I got a lot of positive feedback, I kept getting turned down because I didn't have any prior experience," she said.

Lemke gave herself six months after she graduated from Iowa State to find herself a job as a broadcast meteorologist. If after six months she wasn't successful in her job search, Lemke told herself she would go back to school and get a master's degree.

Days went day. Then weeks. Followed by months with no luck yet in landing a job.

"Then close to my self-imposed deadline I got a job at WTHI-TV, the CBS affiliate in Terre Haute," she said.

There she worked for almost three years, working her way up from the noon weather anchor up to the daily evening meteorologist.

Soon she caught the attention of a relatively new venture called The Weather Channel, a cable network that reported the weather, 24-7. In 1986 she joined the network and has worked there ever since.

While at the network, she has served as the co-host of the early morning program, "First Outlook." She holds both the American Meteorological Society's Seal of Approval and the National Weather Association's Seal of Approval for her on-air skills.

This past fall, Iowa State's Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences' Outstanding Meteorology Alumni Award also honored Lemke.

Although Lemke has had opportunities to move on to large market newscasts, she has stayed on at The Weather Station.

"It's a weathercasters dream," she says. "I work with 100 people with degrees in meteorology with the best high tech equipment.

"I'm still enjoying my job after all these years."