William Gallus - Personal Background

I can't recall a time where I wasn't fascinated by meteorology. I was born and raised in a place known for infamous weather -- Johnstown, PA. Most Americans know that name because of its three famous floods. The area is very rugged (Laurel Mountains) and at a relatively high elevation, receives abundant rain and snow each year. I began keeping a weather diary at the end of first grade. Within two weeks of starting the diary, Hurricane Agnes brought its devastating rains to my state. At that time, Johnstown was known as the Flood Free City because of the flood control projects performed under FDR after the second of its devastating floods in 1936. True to its nickname, Johnstown escaped flooding during Agnes. However, an MCS dropping over 12 inches of rain on the night of July 19-20, 1977 treated me to my most memorable weather event as a kid -- a terrible flash flood that killed over 80 people and left the entire "Flood Free City" in shock (Pictures of 1977 flood courtesy of R. Davis, NWS-PBZ). The following years brought snowfalls of 120-150 inches to my home, cementing my desire to be a meteorologist.

Since those days, I've spent time in Colorado for graduate school, and in the Washington, D.C. area as a post-doc. I met my wife in Colorado and despite the fact neither of us has any family in the Midwest, we are very happy to now live in Ames, Iowa. We have three young boys who get to see a wide variety of our country visiting grandparents in energized, arid Las Vegas and in quiet, forested Johnstown. In Colorado, I also had the opportunity to chase tornadoes for the first time, and have been doing it now for over 17 years (weather pictures). As much as I love traveling and seeing the incredible variety and beauty of this Earth, I have to say that tornadoes are the most awe-inspiring phenomenon of all. Though many people are frightened by them, I cannot help but think of the awesome God whose organization and power are reflected in them and the entire atmosphere and the laws that govern it (click here for my personal testimony).