Cary Allen

I guess you could say I was born to be a weatherman!! I was born in Kingsville, Texas shortly after Hurricane Beulah hit the South Texas coast spawning over 100 tornadoes. All in all, I've seen Texas Weather from nearly every corner of the state. I've lived in Kingsville, El Paso, Kempner, Fredericksburg, Harlingen, Lexington, Lubbock, San Angelo and Kerrville. After graduating from high school, I spent one year at Angelo State University in San Angelo. I was there one year and transferred to Texas Tech University in Lubbock in 1987. I eventually pursued weather through Mississippi State University where I completed their Broadcast Meteorology Program in 1997. I am a certified Broadcast Meteorologist with a rich understanding, appreciation and respect for Texas weather. I am an official SKYWARN observer for the National Weather Service and have been stormchasing for many years across the South Plains, Hill Country, North Texas and West Central Texas area. I am also employed by the Hill Country Radio Network headquartered in Kerrville, Texas where I perform weather duties for KERV, KRVL, KMBL, KOOK, KHOS and KYXX which covers 250 miles of Interstate 10 from San Antonio to the Pecos River including Kerrville, Boerne, Fredericksburg, Junction, Sonora, Ozona and Eldorado. I also write daily weather columns for the Kerrville Daily Times in Kerrville, Texas. WHY I BECAME A WEATHERMAN: It all started for me when I was only 6 years old. My family was living in Kingsville, Texas. I was in Kindergarten at the time and a tornado ripped through the trailer park we lived in. It left our trailer unharmed although my bedroom windows were busted out. Our next door neighbor's trailer was lifted off the ground and carried out into the street where it landed upside down. Needless to say, that was a scary experience for a kid at the age of 6. I admit I was scared of the weather for some time after that! As time went on, my fear of the weather turned into a fascination. I had a science teacher in 8th grade who focused on weather for two weeks. We were required to keep weather records for two weeks. As it turned out, I kept weather records from my own home in Kerrville, Texas for the following 6 years! My broadcasting career began in Lubbock with an internship at KTXT-FM in 1987 as a sports reporter. In June 1989, I got my first break and became a Radio Personality at KRLB-FM. It was slow and steady in the beginning as I worked the overnight radio shift for nearly 3 years. In August 1992, I moved to KZII-FM in Lubbock where I moved to Middays as a DJ. My television career began in 1995 with an internship at KCBD-TV in Lubbock. While working radio at the same time, I would come in during the evenings on my free time to learn as much as possible and eventually became a weekend weatherman at KCBD. My first day on the air brought a major tornado outbreak that created two F5 tornadoes in our viewing area! One of them was the infamous 1995 Dimmitt Tornado!! Talk about trial by fire! I was promoted to Morning and Noon Meteorologist over the next year and I also became Severe Weather Coordinator. During this time, I was officially trained by the National Weather Service to stormchase even though I had been stormchasing on my own for years prior to that. In September 1999, I joined WACH-TV in Columbia, South Carolina where I became the Chief Meteorologist. I arrived as Hurricane Floyd pounded the Carolina coastline. My first day on the job placed me in Conway and Myrtle Beach as the floodwaters crept up along the Waccamaw River. HOBBIES: I'm still an active stormchaser! Every May, I hit the road in search of F5 tornadoes! I have seen many tornadoes over the years, but an F5 still eludes me. I enjoy speaking to schools, church and charity organizations and spend a great deal of time in the community, especially with organizations that encourage our youth. (Click here) to e-mail Cary.