![]() Her mother, Linda, is from Provo, and is the descendant of pioneers who crossed the plains. “I am a BYU baby!” Freeze said with a laugh. Then it was on to New York, where she was a meteorologist at ABC-owned WABC - and sometimes filled in on “Good Morning America.” Utah-born, Indiana-raised Then it was on to NBC-owned WCAU in Philadelphia, where she was both a meteorologist and co-host of a weekday entertainment show - and sometimes filled in on “The Today Show.” In Chicago, she was the first female chief meteorologist at WFLD. She earned a bachelor’s degree in geosciences from Mississippi State University in severe weather and forecasting, and a master’s degree in environmental sciences from the University of Pennsylvania.Īfter Portland, she moved to Denver, where she worked at both KWGN and KMGH. You’re going to get the opportunity.’ But I didn’t listen. You don’t need to keep taking the classes. “I really enjoyed it.” When she asked one of the KPTV executive producers if she could have some time off for midterms, “he said, ‘Amy, you have a nice smile. And a couple of months later, the station’s main meteorologist had to have heart surgery “and they said, ‘Amy Freeze, you should be doing the weather!’” Because of her name, and despite the fact that she “knew nothing about the weather.”įreeze quickly enrolled in an introduction to meteorology class at Portland State, and kept taking classes in the field. She was hired to be the entertainment reporter. One day, she was “goofing off” on stage, helping the tech staff check the lighting, when a consultant saw her and told the news director she should be on air. When her husband started grad school in Oregon, Freeze, then 21, got a part-time job at KPTV in Portland as a newswriter. Simpson trial,” she said, “and it was really a great experience. “We’re not perfect, but our goal is to live a rich family life and a life with balance,” she explains.Īnd that, she believes, is plenty to cheer about.Her then-husband took a job in Los Angeles, and she got an internship at KTLA’s morning news show. In 1999 she and Gary won the couples division in the national Body for Life fitness contest. She runs marathons, does strength training, and follows Bill Phillips’ Body for Life program, a family exercise, eating, and wellness approach. I’m supposed to be here.”ĭespite her other obligations, Freeze finds time to stay fit. My goal is to be the most accurate meteorologist in Chicago.”įreeze sees destiny at play in her Chicago assignment: “I was hired at age 32 channel 32, and 32 is the freezing point. “The station doesn’t pay someone to give me the forecast,” she says. Far less common than conventional Doppler radar systems, it “sees through” storms better by sending out microwaves in two pulses-rather than one. Her education and knowledge of new technology prepared her to work on Fox’s sophisticated dual-polarity radar unit. “They are almost twice my age and have been in the market a long time, so I have to work extra hard to learn the science and be aware of the geography.”īut Freeze is hardly outclassed. The changing nature of Chicago’s weather makes it an important weather center.” But she notes the tough competition she faces from the meteorologists on the other Chicago stations. “I love Chicago,” says Freeze, who grew up in the Midwest. Denver and Philadelphia has led to two regional Emmy awards for best weathercaster and outstanding host, she is acutely aware of the challenges and opportunities she faces in her current job as chief meteorologist for Fox News Chicago. Along the way, she has become one of few women to receive the American Meteorological Society’s Certified Broadcast Meteorologist accreditation. Turns out, she loved being “it.” She went on to earn a degree in meteorology from Mississippi State University and is currently finishing her master’s degree in environmental science with an emphasis in storm-water management from the University of Pennsylvania. But when a manager at the Portland, Ore., station where she worked after graduation needed a weather person, he said, “Freeze sounds like weather, so you’re it.” Now married to Gary, Amy finds plenty to cheer about as the mother of three young Arbuckles, but her professional reputation has come from being a Freeze.Īs a broadcast journalism major, she thought her work might include politics or international relations. (BS ’95), one of the school’s Cosmo mascots, and enjoyed a courtship when he became a yell leader to spend time with her. More athlete than dancer, she was the cheerleader others tossed in the air. Amy Freeze Arbuckle (BA ’95) spent a considerable part of her life, including her years at BYU, as a die-hard cheerleader.
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