You probably have seen him doing the weather forecasts on CBS Detroit. You might have seen him around Canton, since he lives here. You may even have seen him here at the library last fall when he was doing live demonstrations, including levitating different things in the air with a leaf blower to show how hail and storms form.
He’s Ahmad Bajjey, Chief Meteorologist at CBS Detroit, and he took time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about how he came to love weather, forecasting and Canton.
Visiting the library was part of what inspired Ahmad to become fascinated with weather. “Growing up, I was terrified of storms,” he tells us. “I was like sleep in a sleeping bag on my parents’ floor kind of terrified. Then, when I was 8, a really nasty storm came through Southeast Michigan. The sky turned green. Lightning hit a tree near my house. And I was like, ‘This is kind of awesome.’”
“I wanted to know why, and my teacher suggested we go to the library and check out a couple of books. The more I learned, the less I was scared, and that really fueled me into wanting to do something with the weather.”
He grew up watching Chuck Gatica and Paul Gross and thought he’d love to do something like that. He went to Central Michigan University, which had one of only two meteorology programs in the state. It involved taking a lot of mathematics and physics along with chemistry, biology and astronomy, on top of the meteorology coursework.
“The information you learn is amazing,” says Ahmad, “but the best is the real-world experience. You’re going out with some of your classmates, chasing storms, or just going outside and watching how things evolve. That’s where you start to get experience that is second to none. And Michigan has it all, which makes it better to learn here than anywhere else.”
While in college, he began hosting the weather segment on the campus TV program. When the NBC affiliate in Flint needed a weekend fill-in over Christmas break, they contacted the CMU program, and Ahmad was their recommendation. On December 1, 2012, he went live for the first time. He kept filling in on weekends and doing more and more.
By May, they offered him a full-time job as a meteorologist and reporter. A decade later, he had the opportunity to return home and become the Chief Meteorologist at CBS Detroit.
Moving back to the area, Canton was his first choice. “When I was growing up in Dearborn, Tuesday nights we would go to the Zap Zone in Canton, and I actually fell in love with the area back then,” he explains. “So, when the CBS Detroit opportunity popped up, my wife and I started looking for houses and we found one we love in Canton. It’s a lovely neighborhood; it’s very diverse. The parks department does all kinds of stuff. The library does so many things. There’s never a moment when there isn’t something to do. I love Canton. I like the amount of stuff there is to do here and how it continues to evolve.”
Asked what he likes best about his job, Ahmad told us, “Every single day is different. I love working with computers. I love puzzles, and figuring out the forecast is a puzzle. No day is ever the same. My team and I do the forecast ourselves every single day. I love a challenge. It’s fun.”
He also loves getting out and talking to kids and adults about the weather. Spreading weather knowledge and conversing with people is part of his passion. He has also done extensive severe weather spotter training with fire and police departments. He finds it especially important with townships because they tend to pre-position on severe weather days.
“I love doing things like visits to the library,” says Ahmad, “because it gives me a chance to get out there and show that science can be cool, math can be cool. There’s a lot of neat stuff in there. It’s an awesome outreach opportunity.”
When it comes to climate change, some meteorologists are hesitant to discuss it because it has become so politicized. But Ahmad welcomes it, “Because of that, communicating how the climate evolves is probably the biggest challenge of this job. But I love a challenge. You meet somebody where they are and have a discussion with them. Don’t shut off somebody’s concerns, because a lot of times I think it comes from a place of wanting to know and a desire for knowledge. I like to find out why someone feels a certain way about this. You can see the differences in the weather from how it was when we were kids. So, seeing how it’s a gradual change and figuring out how to communicate that to people is actually a fun and challenging part of the job.”
Out of childhood fear, a love of weather bloomed. You can feel the passion when you talk to him or see him doing a presentation at the library or firehouse, or watch him on CBS Detroit. If you see him around town, feel free to ask him about the weather. Just make sure you have time to hear his answer!
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