I’m Michael W. McDougal, a retired Colonel of the United States Army and a weather enthusiast.

I became interested in the weatherwhen I was in the second grade in Mrs.Smith class at HowardElementary School in Gallatin, Tennessee.I remember looking out the classroom window one winter day and seeing it beginning to snow. I said to myself that I wanted to be the one who knows how to predict the weather. I then started checking out books and reading them in the library and I started paying more attention in my science classes as well. I became a regular student in Mrs. Baber’s libraryat Guild Middle Schoolduring the fifth and sixth grade in which I read every weather book she had on file. I rememberhaving the opportunity of providing the weather forecast for my classrooms during that time frame. One of my first weather mentors was Mr. Bob Lobertini who was the weatherman on WLAC-Channel 5 TV in Nashville, Tennessee. I was an avid watcher of his weather

forecast every morning and night. I remembervividly the Super Tornado Outbreak of April 3-4th of 1974. I personallyexperienced my first tornado (EF-0/65-85 mph) in my neighborhood. I was amazed at how the tornado damage was different from house to house. How it looked like the tornado would randomly jump from location to location causing no damage for some then light to moderate to others. This event cemented my journey into the study of weather.

After I graduated from Gallatin Senior High School in 1979 and enrolled at Volunteer State Community in the fall of 1979. Being a student DJ at WVCP 88.5 FM, one of my highlights was reading the weather forecast for the community. In the spring of 1981,I applied for and was accepted to do astudent volunteerbroadcasting position with the National Weather Service, Nashville, Tennessee. This program ran for the summer of 1981, working 3 days a week, 1100pm until 7am broadcasting the local and regionalweather forecast. This is one of my most cherished weather experiences. I achieved my Associates of Science Degree in Communications in the spring of 1982 then headed off to Western Kentucky University (WKU) to be enrolled in their Associates of Science Degreeprogram in MeteorologyTechnologyalong with a Bachelor of Sciencein Geography with emphasis in Meteorology and Climatology.

My professors were Mr. Willard Cockrill, a World War II Army Air Corps veteran and a member of the Meteorology Society of America. He was also the past Director of the College Heights Weather Station. I was truly amazed at his weather stories of him being stationed in Adak, Alaska. Doctor Michael Trapasso was the current Director of the College Heights Weather Station, and COL (Ret) Glen Conner, United States Air Force who was the founder of the Kentucky Climate Center. These gentlemen did the best they could to keep this old country boy from Tennessee in line while I was there from the fall of 1982 until the spring of 1987. Either in the spring or the fall of 1984 I was offered a position to be one of Meteorology Lab instructors for the University. What an honor to mentor other new meteorology students. I was notified by Dr. Trapasso in the fall of 1985 that I has been selected as the Head Meteorology Lad Instructor for the University and would continueserving in that capacity until I graduated the spring of 1987.

I had a change of mission take place in May of 1985 that would change my career path when I joined the United States Army. I attended ROTC Basic Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky and after graduation, I then attended theArmy Airborne School at Fort Benning Georgiaand graduated in July 85. I then came back to WKU and signed both an ROTC Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) contract and then joined the Kentucky National Guard in Bowling Green Kentucky as a Cadet M60A3 tank crewman. I graduated WKU in the spring of 1987 with both my BS degree and was Commissioned a 2nd LT in the United States Army as a Medical Service Corps Officer.

For the next 28 years I served in units of increasing responsibilityand accountability culminatingas Director, Regional Training Site Medical, Fort Gordon, Georgia. where I retired as Colonel, 1 September 2015. I served two combat tours; one in Desert Shield/Desert Storm with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and the other in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia Africa with the 86th Combat Support Hospital. During my time in service, I met my lovely wife Joanne who was a Flight Nurse with the United States Air Force while serving in Sagamihara, Japan during the Joint Medical Exercise 2000. We were married in August 2002 then welcomed our son Marshall into the world in June 2009 while I was attending my first summer training sessionat the US Army War College, Carlise Barracks, Pennsylvania. I have achieved two Master of Science Degrees, one with the University of Phoenix in Management of Information Systems 2007, and the other at The US Army War College in Strategic Studies in 2010.I also hold the Air Assault Badge, the Expert Field Medical Badge, a commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel, and the coveted Order of Military Medical Merit.

After retirement from the Army for over 30 years of service, my family and I came back to Gallatin Tennessee in July 2016. I now work part time with FCI Brands, one of the oldest printing companies in Nashville, Tennessee and continue to serve my Church family at Union Hill Missionary Baptist Church which I have been a member since 13 August 1977. While continuing my weather education I completed both theSkywarn Spotter Convective Basics and Role of the Skywarn Spotter coursesfrom the National Weather Service on March 6, 2020.Presently, I help to serve the community by providingdetailed and up to date weather forecasting on the Facebook page Gallatin and Sumner County Old and New in the event of severe weather.

My hope and major focus now, is to continue to be a coach and mentor to folks through my life experiences, to provide a service to the community through my forecasting abilities, and most importantly, to continue assisting my Church to grow in its outreach ministry of Jesus Christ through the word of God.