BEFORE THE STORMS: WKYC’s Weather Education Day Hits a Home Run at Progressive Field

By Frank Macek

WKYC's Weather Education Day

This morning, long before the first pitch was thrown and Take Me Out to the Ball Game echoed through the stands, Progressive Field was buzzing with excitement—not just for baseball, but for science. WKYC’s 3News meteorologists Betsy Kling, Matt Wintz, Anthony Copeland and Jessica Van Meter took the mound for a different kind of pitch, leading Weather Education Day for hundreds of local students from across Northeast Ohio.

🎓☁️ Science Meets Sports

Under the bright lights and looming clouds, our weather experts turned the ballpark into an open-air classroom. The team—armed with maps, models, and microphones—delivered fun, hands-on demonstrations, sparking curiosity and enthusiasm for meteorology. From how thunderstorms form to why Lake Erie can cause lake-effect snow, students got a crash course in atmospheric magic.

More than just facts and forecasts, the meteorologists showed how weather plays a big role in baseball. Whether it’s a gusty wind turning a home run into a warning-track flyout or a sudden storm delaying the game, Mother Nature can be the biggest wildcard in the lineup.

⚾🌦️ Weather and Baseball: A Perfect Pairing

WKYC's team broke down how players, coaches, and fans all rely on accurate weather information to prepare for gameday. Ever wonder why certain pitches break more on humid days? Or how radar helps grounds crews make the call to cover the infield? Our 3News pros connected the dots between Doppler radar and double plays.

It wasn’t just educational—it was entertaining. The students cheered as clouds formed in bottles, fog machines mimicked morning mist, and lightning machines flashed safely in the daylight. And let’s be honest, seeing meteorologists in Guardians gear on the field? That’s a forecast we can all get behind.

🌩️☀️ Speaking of Weather...

Though the skies threatened rain, the energy in the stadium was anything but gloomy. WKYC's Weather Education Day was another example of how learning can be loud, lively, and even a little stormy—in all the right ways.

As the Guardians prepared to take on their opponent, these young fans left with more than foam fingers and Cracker Jacks. They walked away with a newfound appreciation for the science swirling above them—and maybe, just maybe, a dream of becoming Northeast Ohio’s next great forecaster.

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PHOTOS FROM TODAY'S WEATHER EDUCATION DAY

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