Angela Buchman’s meteorology career continues on WTHR’s SkyTrak Weather Team
Like many college students, Angela Buchman abandoned her original major to study a topic she really loved. Little did she know it would put her on course to being one of Indianapolis’ most recognized meteorologists.
After spending two years studying business at Indiana University, she approached her parents with a conundrum: She did not enjoy what she was doing.
“I don’t know if I ever thought that weather could be a career,” she said.
Always being interested in the weather, Buchman said “a light bulb went off” when they asked what her true interests were. The answer was as clear as the blue sky.
Buchman, a Fishers resident and Hamilton Southeastern High School graduate, returned to the world of weather reporting at WTHR, channel 13, after a one-year, contractually-obligated hiatus earlier this month.
Her day starts at 6:15 a.m. when the kids get up. She’ll jump onto social media to get an early forecast out to the public. Shoots for promos start at 1:30 p.m., where she and the crew get to work figuring out the weather, crunching numbers, looking at computer models and assembling graphics. She reports on the weather at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. and gets back home at midnight.
Buchman’s husband, Mark Dubec, a freelance marketer and journalist, is around for all of the things their kids, Luke and Grace, need.
Ask him what it’s like to be married to one of Indy’s most recognizable news personalities, and he’ll tell you after being in a relationship with Buchman for 17 years and married for 15 years, “it’s cool” and that she is both modest and down-to-earth.
And then you ask Grace a few questions. As it turns out, she thinks it’s funny that other kids ask her for her mom’s autograph.
“It’s fun to see her on TV,” Grace said.
“I feel a big sense of responsibility to let people know bad weather is coming their way, because this is home for me,” Buchman said.
Local-grown talent
When Buchman traded in the business career path, she was picking up a field of study that ran her through classes that some may never imagine a weatherperson needing to have.
After transferring to Purdue University for a degree in atmospheric science, the course load burgeoned with calculus, physics, chemistry and thermodynamics. Buchman said the program prepares students to work for the National Weather Service or go on to grad school and do research. Nothing prepares pupils to dive into television.
A call came in from a local station to do Sunday-night weather for $50. She answered that call, working part time at the station during her college career and for one year after graduating from Purdue. Buchman followed that up with work in Sacramento, Calif.
Sean Ash, a member of WTHR’s SkyTrak Weather Team, worked with her for seven years at WISH-TV and remained a friend after moving to Detroit in 2008.
“I think the popular opinion might be that she must be a prima donna, which could not be further from the truth,” he stated in an e-mail. “She truly is a genuine, down-to-earth person.”
“Work and family brought me back (to Indiana),” Buchman said. She and her family have lived in Fishers for six years.
Home and back again
“I would say it’s just as good as when my parents picked it 25 years ago,” Buchman said. “It’s just as good as far as family values (and) local businesses.”
During her time off the air, Buchman had the flexibility at the station to put in valuable family time, and to get involved with the community and Red Cross. Buchman also serves on the advisory board of Heart Reach Carmel, a nonprofit that raises money for portable AEDs and donates them to organizations and places throughout Central Indiana, and she’ll play a role in one of the organization’s upcoming campaigns and events.
“Being involved in local charities or attending local events and businesses strengthens the community,” Buchman said.
Meet Angela Buchman
Age: 40
HSEHS class of: 1990
Family: Husband, Mark Dubec, 42; Son, Luke Dubec, 12; Daughter, Grace Dubec, 10
Years on TV: 17
Hobbies: spending time with family, water skiing, shopping
Strangest weather phenomenon covered: A winter storm that had every possible form of precipitation, covering the region in a thick, layered sheet of ice.