Storm Chaser

words Dwain Hebda images courtesy Matt Standridge Matt Standridge

In the closing days of his collegiate training at Valparaiso University in Indiana, a professor asked Matt Standridge and his classmates a question that sets the meteorologist back on his heels to this day.

“We were getting close to graduating,” he says. “A professor sat down with us in class and posed the question, ‘Now that you know how the weather works, do you enjoy the weather more or do you enjoy it less?’”

“The reason he was asking was, when you come in as a freshman, you’re just so excited about the weather. You don’t know anything; you just think weather is cool! Then you get to the end of your senior year, and you still don’t know everything, but you’ve got a really good handle on how the atmosphere works.”

Matt remembers being intrigued by his classmates’ varied answers, especially the ones who, after four short years, had traded magic and wonder for understanding the science at work. But not Matt; the twenty-six-year-old Tulsa native said his field is as fascinating to him today as it was then.

“There’s still a magic to it because even in the most extreme events we’re still learning and we’re still understanding how the atmosphere works,” he says. “I’m excited that we still have those opportunities where we don’t completely understand everything.”

“Actually, I appreciate the weather more because I do know more about how the atmosphere works and how you can see it in action, step-by-step, of what is actually going on. I think I’ll always enjoy a little bit of that magic in weather because of its unpredictability, especially being in a state like Arkansas, which is so much fun.”

In fact, the challenge of calling Arkansas’s weather is a big reason Matt has returned to KFSM in Fort Smith. That, and the chance to step into the sizeable footsteps of his former mentor Garrett Lewis, who retired recently after two decades at the station. All in all, it’s a heady move for someone so young. “It’s a scary thought at times. They’re huge shoes to fill,” Matt says. “But during this whole process, Garrett and I got to talk some and he said he knew that he could believe in me. Having him say those words really helped give me the confidence and the excitement to be able to step into that role and follow him.”

“I mean, no one will be able to completely fill those shoes. Garrett will be remembered forever. His legacy is incredible. But I’ve learned from him, and I’ve worked every position underneath him and now there’s kind of a mix of excitement and a little fear to be able to jump in and to make him proud and make the people of Arkansas proud. It’s just cool to be able to come home.”

Arkansas is a land of varying topography, which is a prime element in shaping weather. Air moving over mountains or stalling in valleys behaves differently than, say, blowing across the flats of the Midwest. For weather junkies like Matt, the challenge of reading Mother Nature’s mind is an irresistible one.

“A lot of people go to easier places to live, like L.A. where the weather’s not as crazy,” he says. “But the whole reason I went into meteorology is I grew up in so many different places and got to see so many different types of weather from severe weather in the Great Plains to intense lake effect snow when I was living up in New York. I never lived in an area where it’s quiet.”

“Well, I’m coming from Cleveland and a sister station to KFSM where other than some lake effect snowstorms, it’s quiet. It’s quiet to the point where it’s boring, you know? I think I’ve heard three or four rumbles of thunder this year so far and that’s basically it. Well, we’ll probably get that in the first week whenever things start to warm up in Arkansas.”

Matt gets so much adrenaline from weather events he’s already racked up experiences that put him ahead of his colleagues and former classmates. Following college, he had a government meteorology job in North Dakota which let him get up close and personal with thunderstorms via aircraft.

Every station where he’s worked, including a college internship and full-time gig at KFSM from 2017 to 2020, he’s eagerly volunteered for storm-chaser duty, the kind of assignment where the anchor cuts away to him on the side of some highway with a wall cloud roiling in the background. “Whoever pulls the short stick, right? Actually, one of the reasons why I came to Arkansas on my first tour was Garrett let me do that. We got a new storm chase vehicle and that was every weatherman’s dream to be out in the elements like that. I think it’s fun getting blasted with snow or rain.”

“But at the same time, it really puts you in tune with what’s going on. A lot of times you’re in the studio in a soundproof room where it’s hard to hear even a rumble of thunder, even if the lightning strikes right above your head. For the viewer at home, that’s not what it’s like sitting in their living room. So, I think it’s important for meteorologists and even our newest reporters to get out in it. It’s kind of a tour of duty; you get to really feel why this is important and you get to see what everyone else is seeing. I think you connect better with them.”

Matt says that connection is a big part of the job. He said he likes being able to show a little personality in his work and while he’ll never forget everything Garrett taught him, he’s eager to establish himself in his own broadcasting style.

“I see myself as a weather tour guide,” he says. “You know how when you’re on a tour and you’re with a leader who is just so excited about what they’re talking about it makes it so much more fun? Well, I feel like that talking about the weather. I’m very passionate about the sky, the forecast, the atmosphere. It’s just amazing to get to work up there.”

“To be able to forecast is a huge honor. I think it’s exciting, it’s thrilling. But at the same time, in Arkansas it can be dangerous, so you rein that in, and you have to control it. I think people, especially when it comes to TV, want to be walked through the forecast with some extra nuggets of weather wisdom or some knowledge in there. You can get your weather information almost anywhere these days, but when the weather is intense you need someone, your tour guide, who’s going to keep you safe and who’s going to get you excited about what’s happening.”

Matt returns to Arkansas with his wife of one year, Raegan, a native Arkansan who serves in the Army National Guard.