The Great Plains is one of the wildest weather regions on the planet. From extreme blizzards to violent tornado outbreaks, those living in the middle of the country are used to weather extremes.
Ross Ellet will detail what makes this region such a unique climate zone, starting with the historic Schoolhouse Blizzard of 1888. The 2011 historic surprise snowstorm that shut down parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas will also be discussed. Ellet was working during this storm, and it was one of the highlights of his career.
A few months later, a series of violent tornado outbreaks struck the southern plains, including the Joplin tornado and subsequent tornadoes. Ellet will discuss what led to the Joplin tornado and the violent pattern in general. He will also talk about the historic tornado outbreak on May 3, 1999.
Ellet was awarded the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist designation, the highest seal of approval from the American Meteorological Society. He grew up in northeast Indiana, outside the small town of Albion, where he experienced lake-effect snow, blizzards, ice storms, tornadoes, floods and heat waves. The extreme weather sparked his deep passion for meteorology. Ellet later graduated from Purdue University with a degree in meteorology and minors in communications and sociology.
Ellet’s broadcast career began in 2005 at WLFI in West Lafayette, Indiana, as the weekend meteorologist. Two years later, he accepted a morning meteorologist position in southern West Virginia. After three months on the job, he was promoted to the station’s chief meteorologist.
The next chapter of his career took him into Tornado Alley, where he worked for KHBS/KHOG in Arkansas. Just two months after he arrived, a catastrophic ice storm coated the Ozark Mountains with 1-3 inches of ice. Power was out for three weeks in some areas. The spring season often brought flooding and violent tornadoes. While there, he won awards for his severe weather coverage and for a special report on Arkansas black bears, during which he got to hold a wild baby bear. Ellet worked for the Ohio News Network and WBNS in Columbus.
During the hot summer of 2012, Ross joined the 13abc weather team as a weekend meteorologist and weather reporter. In 2016, he moved to weekday mornings, where he has been ever since.
