I’m very excited to announce that Emmy Award-winning meteorologist Bernadette Woods has graciously accepted the invitation to write an introduction for GREAT STORMS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. Ms. Woods of Baltimore’s WJZ Channel 13 now has the (rough!) draft and is looking it over. I’m hoping she will share some of her own weather stories as we introduce readers to the legendary hurricanes, blizzards, fogs and freezes of the Chesapeake Bay region.

For me, as someone who has been delving strictly into weather history for this book, I think it’s going to be pretty cool to include the perspective of a professional meteorologist who presents the “here and now” of the weather on a daily basis. This is going to be a fun book for anyone who loves local history, and having a contemporary weather forecaster comment adds a great perspective.

It’s very kind of Ms. Woods to be so generous with her time. Writing an introduction isn’t always so easy. I know, because I’ve had some experience writing introductions. A few years ago I was asked to write one for Robert Hazel’s wonderful book, The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal: Chronicles of Early Life in Towns Along the Historic Waterway.

Writing that here, the title sounds a bit dry, but the book itself is actually full of lively first-person accounts. It’s a wonderful example of what I would call journalistic history … actually going out and capturing through interviews memories and events that might otherwise fade into the past.

I was honored to be asked to write the introduction, but also a bit daunted. Bob is a retired English teacher and great writer, a thorough researcher, and has lived almost within sight of the canal all his life. How could I possibly add anything of value to what he had written? Let’s just say I did the best I could in the shadow of Bob’s own words.

Here’s a bit about Bernadette Woods from the WJZ website: “Meteorologist Bernadette Woods graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. degree in meteorology. She furthered her studies at L’Universite des Sciences Humaines in Strasbourg, France.

Bernadette launched her career at AccuWeather, piloting a daily streaming weather video segment and forecasting for hundreds of media clients throughout the U.S.

Bernadette then moved into television, where she has been involved in some extreme weather, in particular, keeping viewers informed during record-breaking severe weather outbreaks in both Fayetteville, Arkansas and Lexington, Kentucky.

Bernadette received a 2006 Emmy Award for Best Weathercaster.

Community connection is important to Bernadette, who participates in several groups and causes, particularly Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland. She also visits numerous schools, speaking with kids about the world of weather.”

I’m sure whatever Ms. Woods writes will be a wonderful introduction to 400 years of “stormy” Chesapeake history!