Q and A with Meteorologist Kirsty McCabe

Kirsty is an experienced broadcaster and Met Office qualified forecaster who has produced and presented the weather across the UK’s major television, radio and digital platforms. She currently works at Sky News, The Royal Meteorological Society and MetraWeather, and occasionally pops up on BBC Scotland.

You can follow Kirsty on Twitter or check out her Facebook page

What was your most memorable weather event?

While not strictly a weather event, the most memorable event I’ve covered would be the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow in November 2021. The sheer scale of the conference brought home the realities of climate change to a lot more people in the UK. On a more personal note, I once explained how rainbows form to my children and was extremely proud when they rushed outside to find one after a passing shower, making sure the sun was behind them.

What is your favourite and least favourite type of weather?

I love snow, there’s something so magical when the first flakes begin to fall (especially if you’ve been forecasting it and you’re under pressure from your children who want to build a snowman!). It transforms towns and cities, muffling the air and turning everything into a Christmas card. Of course, practically speaking snow is a nightmare. Tricky to forecast in the UK and it causes all kinds of disruption to transport.
There isn’t a least favourite, but there’s definitely a link with weather and mood and I find days of low grey cloud a bit depressing. Anticyclonic gloom [https://www.rmets.org/metmatters/under-cloud-or-walking-sunshine] is well named.

If you weren’t a meteorologist, what would you most like to be?

I occasionally do voiceovers and I love animated moves like Frozen and Encanto. I even sing in a choir so, who knows, maybe one day…

From a purely meteorological point of view, where would you most like to live?

Hmm, is it a cheat to say the International Space Station and then I could watch everything unfold beneath me? To be honest, I actually like the variability of British weather, so I’m happy living where I am as long as I can visit other places should I wish to chase storms, bask in the sun or spot the Northern Lights. I’m in the city, but I’d love to live near the coast and watch the weather coming in over the sea.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I love communicating about weather so I’m a STEM ambassador and do talks and presentations for schools and scout groups. I also write about a variety of topics from climate change to parenting for publications such as HuffPost, Junior and BritMums.