Megan McClellan grew up in southeast Texas, and she saw first-hand how two different hurricanes created different damage on family property. “One, all the pine trees were cut off at the top, and nothing touched the plants on my grandmother’s porch, and the other one was the opposite: her plants were across the yard and the trees were fine. I thought that was really interesting.” That juxtaposition in damage was the first spark of interest in meteorology for McClellan.
From there, she became interested in the communication surrounding weather events, and how to increase and improve that communication about threats to the general public.
Once she figured out that meteorology was what she wanted to study, she knew where she wanted to go. She applied to OU and Texas A&M and followed her OU acceptance to Norman. She graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology, with minors in mathematics and general business.
After graduating, McClellan spent seven years working in the TV industry, delivering weather information right to the public, with six of those years on the morning shift. But around three years ago, she knew it was time for a change. “It was time for me to find my new adventure.”
She happened to talk with the owner of WeatherCall Services shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic began. They stayed in touch for a year, and in May 2021 she left TV and joined WeatherCall.
Now, she is a meteorologist and director of digital services at WeatherCall. WeatherCall harnesses the National Weather Services NOAA Weather Wire and the location of its clients to contact them directly in the event of severe weather. There, McClellan is able to merge her meteorology knowledge with the digital marketing experience from her business minor. That combo of education allows her to communicate in a unique way, and to continue making sure that people receive the critical information they need to stay safe in severe weather.
She credits her degree from OU with securing her current position. “Because of the education that I have, along with that business minor that I got because a meteorology professor suggested it, it helped me land the job that I have now.” The degree, she says, carries a lot of respect.
McClellan loved her time at the university, and it’s the extracurricular activities with other meteorology students that she remembers most fondly: her time as a Weather Friend, club movie nights, and the Mr. Meteorology Pageant of years past.
McClellan is married to another A&GS alum. She has two standard poodles. She volunteers with the NWA and AMS and is the secretary of the Route 66 AMS chapter. She is the Chair of Pennies for Pearls, a Parkinson’s fundraiser in Tulsa. She also handles social media and media relations for FIRST in Oklahoma, an international robotics competition organization, and she’s been a HAM radio operator since she was 12.
By Kathryn Gebauer
Article Published: Friday, April 29, 2023
