Meet a Met: Tanner Verstegen

Tanner Verstegen

@VerstegenWX

University of Wisconsin-Madison – Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

DTN Energy Meteorologist

Has been with DTN for 2.5 years

How did you end up working at DTN?

Heard about DTN at a conference and was thrilled with the variety of clients they serve, looked like an exciting place to spend my days.

What is your favorite part about being in MetOps?

Being able to chat with people who actually care about the weather, rather than just small talk at the grocery store. We (the mets) are all alarmingly similar.

What is the most challenging part of being in MetOps?

When the weather becomes active, our stakeholders become even more dependent on us. It is both rewarding and fast paced, yet can be hectic at times.

What is the craziest weather event you’ve experienced personally?

Chasing an EF-4 tornado with winds of 200 mph in northern Illinois with fellow atmospheric science majors in college. My cell phone video made morning national news.

What is the craziest weather event you’ve helped a client with?

Hurricane Harvey, an unmatched storm that produced a U.S. record-breaking 60″+ of rain over the course of several days.

What has been your most exciting day on the job?

The first time a large winter storm moved up the East Coast. With such a high population density, our communication avenues with clients were tapped to the max.

What is one weather myth you always correct people on?

That the forecast is usually pretty good – most of the confusion is with communicating the forecast effectively. That the chain word-of-mouth can sometime incorrectly shape the message.

Alright, now a fun fact about yourself!

I was a golf caddy for 6 years, carrying the clubs of prominent local golfers.