John Farley

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Chief Meteorologist

 

John Farley has worked as a Meteorologist for more than 20 years and is honored to be the Chief Meteorologist for ABC Columbia. He understands the challenges of forecasting the ever-changing weather of the Midlands. That was never more important than on Saturday night October 3rd, when the worst storm of a generation dropped up to 21 inches of rain right here in Columbia. During that storm, John spent the night and following day in continuous coverage, warning viewers of the perils of the flooding. He says, “It’s a period of 36 hours that has left an indelible imprint on me. Seeing our neighbors, whose lives are now changed forever because of the power of this storm, is very impacting.”

Before joining ABC Columbia, he was the Chief Meteorologist for NBC Affiliate in Columbia for 5 years. Prior to that he was at KNTV, the NBC affiliate in San Francisco, where he was the Chief Meteorologist for 9 years. John is an EMMY Award winning meteorologist, and is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) with the American Meteorological Society. He holds a Master of Science Degree in Meteorology from San Jose State University, in San Jose, California, where he received the honor of Graduate of the Last Decade from the College of Science in 2001.

While in Graduate School, John worked with a team to create mathematical models that forecast the fog at San Francisco International Airport. His team was given the Excellence in Aviation Award from the FAA in 2002. John Farley is happy to report that the FAA still uses those models today. While in California, John also worked as a consultant for a power company which provides gas & electricity to roughly 16 million people. His responsibilities included temperature, wind, snow, and severe weather forecasting, as well as providing long-term electricity generation forecasts for proposed wind farms.

John loves to talk weather and he has visited with thousands of students over the past 20 years. He lives in Lexington with his wife and three children. They are all thrilled to call the Midlands home.

John Farley

Articles

Daylight Saving Time Ends Saturday Night

Daylight Saving Time ends this Sunday at 2:00 AM. So don't forget to set your clocks back by an hour before you go to bed on Saturday night. Earthsky.org says: Benjamin Franklin was one of the first thinkers to endorse the…

Today’s Forecast

Fall is here and the next several days will feel every bit like November.

Halloween Weather Extremes/Trends

Wondering about weather extremes and trends on Halloween in Columbia? Coldest: 31° in 2008. Hottest: 88° in 1950. Wettest: 2.25 inches of rain in 1988. And the October lows have warmed roughly 4.5° since the early 1970's.

Extreme Fire Warning Issued for Parts of California

The Los Angeles National Weather Service Office issued the strongest language to warn of the fire danger from tonight's winds. I've never seen language this strong to describe the threat from these winds.

Thousands Evacuated From Path of California Wild Fires

Many parts of California are once again on fire. The warm, dry wind is fanning the flames with gusts over 80 mph. More than 200,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes. The two biggest fires are the Kincade…