13 fascinating facts:
- I’ve wanted to be a meteorologist for as long as I can remember. In second grade I was the “class weatherman” where I delivered the forecast in front of the class every morning.
- I’m a certified Scuba diver and have dived in the Caribbean and Hawaii.
- Speaking of Hawaii, it’s my favorite place to vacation, and I’ve been to all of the four major Hawaiian islands.
- My whole family is short–I’m 5’6″ and the tallest person in my immediate family (my mom is 4’11”)!
- Until working at WHO, I’ve lived in Indiana all my life.
- I started walking when I was nine months old.
- My favorite snack is popcorn—when I have some, I usually end up eating the entire bag.
- As I child, I was terrified of storms, which made me want to learn more about them.
- My favorite color has always been green; as a child I used to pick all the green crayons out of the box. Now, I ironically can’t wear green at work because of the green screen!
- When I’m having a hard time finding something to eat for dinner, I resort to a “weird” family meal—eating Ritz crackers in milk (like cereal). Everyone thinks it’s strange, but don’t knock it until you try it! Both my dad and grandpa like it too.
- When I lived at home, it was a family tradition to always have pizza on Friday nights.
- I’ve never received anything less than an “A” in a class, both in high school or college.
- Six members of my family share the same birth date as another member of the family (but I’m not one of them).
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Gabe Prough joined WHO 13 in October 2022 as a Meteorologist/Digital MMJ. You can see his forecasts on Today in Iowa Saturday and Sunday from 8-10 a.m., but you’ll also see him filling in throughout the week and reporting on weather, climate, and science-related stories. Born and raised in Bluffton, Indiana (just outside Fort Wayne), Gabe is no stranger to the wild weather found in the Midwest.
Before coming to WHO 13, Gabe worked at WPTA-TV in Fort Wayne, Indiana for three years as a meteorologist, reporter, producer, and fill-in anchor. While in Fort Wayne, Gabe covered historic snowstorms, tornado outbreaks, derechos, and both record-setting heat and cold. In 2022, he was honored with an Emmy award for his work as a producer, reporter, and host for the special report, Digging Deeper: Climate Matters. Gabe has extensively reported on the climate crisis, such as how the science points clearly to climate change and the ways it affects folks in the Midwest.
Gabe graduated from Ball State University in December 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology and Climatology. At Ball State, he served as the Chief Weather Forecaster for Ball State’s award-winning student news organization, NewsLink Indiana. He also took on the role of Executive Producer for the weather morning show Waking Up with Cardinal Weather.
In 2019, Gabe was honored with the prestigious Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, awarded to a little over 100 undergraduate students across the country each year. As a part of the scholarship, he interned with the National Weather Service and researched how to improve severe weather forecasts and better communicate them to the public.
Gabe has always been fascinated by the weather. For a time, thunderstorms and tornadoes terrified him, but his fear drove him to learn more about severe weather and how it can be predicted. To this day, he tells others that there is no need to fear severe weather if you empower yourself with information and have a severe weather plan.
