Page 91 - Winterling's Chasing the Wind

and we were forced to return to Jacksonville. It was a great disappointment to have
such an exciting experience cut short.

On September 10, 1960, all eyes were on Hurricane Donna as it moved into the Florida
Keys. As it was turning northward over Everglades City, it seemed to be headed
towards northern Florida. Additional personnel were called into the weather office to
handle the many inquiries about the storm and what to expect here. As we monitored
the storm, we frequently conversed with other broadcast media. Speed Veal was at
WJHP. Robert Nichols was the designated meteorologist at the WJAX radio
microphone as were the other commentators, Tommy Tucker and Sel Mann.

At the time we couldn’t decide if the storm would go to Lake City to our west or right
here to Jacksonville. Thirty-six hours later we watched it go east of us into the Atlantic
after passing over Flagler Beach to our south.

The highest winds in Jacksonville reached 67 mph, while Jacksonville Beach had 75
mph. Damage in the city was mainly limited to billboards, trees, poles, and wires. Some
100 homes showed minor damage, mostly from roof shingles blown off.

Channel 4 had employed a meteorologist, Frank Forester, prior to this storm. He had
come to the weather office several times inquiring about the weather. In addition to
being a broadcast meteorologist, he taught a meteorology class at Jacksonville
University. It was at this time that I started thinking about taking a similar career path.
In those days, most meteorologists worked with the government, the Weather Bureau,
and military, or for the airlines.

Colleges taught the science, but very little that would help in television broadcasting.
Most TV stations were concerned with appearance and speaking ability. When the
weather became life-threatening, looks was not enough. I inquired about positions at
two television stations, WJXT Jacksonville and WFLA in Tampa. After doing an
audition at each station, I was told: “Don’t call us, we’ll call you!” It was then that I
realized that this was the time to prepare myself for TV.

In the weather office at Imeson, we took turns reporting the live weather reports on
radio station WJAX, Jacksonville’s Municipal Station. For several years, I had heard
Gerald Davis do these reports. I watched my fellow meteorologist Rex Rhoten’s unique
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