They say if you don’t like the weather in Texas, wait five minutes and it’ll change.
And when it does, Christian James will be there to let you know.
The Cedar Hill Collegiate High School senior has been giving daily weather reports for the schools throughout the district for six years. It’s all part of his goal to someday be a meteorologist.
“Mr. Miller, my seventh-grade principal from Bessie Coleman Middle School, allowed me the opportunity to do the weather on the morning announcements, and that gave me the motivation I was looking for at a young age,” Christian said.
His report can be found on all CHISD social media pages and his personal weather page on Facebook entitled Texas Severe Weather.
“When I prep, I look for the best computer models that are in agreement with one another and I compare them to get the average weather outlooks,” he said.
Christian started his Facebook weather page in 2016 and uses it to practice his weather skills and abilities. It has steadily been growing in popularity since it was started.
“I would say that he has always been a driven young man. He is constantly trying to make sure he is doing all he can to be a successful person in that field,” Collegiate High School Dean Ben Hairgrove said. “He has interned with Fox 4 and has gotten a great deal of advice from that network. He has spoken to me countless times about college and doing meteorology and potentially broadcasting.”
Among the severe weather he has tracked was the tornado that hit the day after Christmas in 2015, he said.
“I realized this was my dream after the Christmas tornado struck because it was the most catastrophic in my lifetime,” Christian recalled. “I came back from a family vacation down in Houston and as I returned a tornado struck 1-45 near Fairfield. The tornadoes were everywhere, and as a child I didn’t know what to do.”
While he has no family connections in the field, Christian does have several adult friends who are weather reporters and storm chasers, he said. He wants to become a meteorologist to help keep people safe, he said.
“I want to help people that aren’t as prepared for the most dangerous weather events. I want to make a connection with people and make sure they feel as comfortable as possible when it comes to being up to date with the latest information,” he said.
Christian would like to attend Texas A&M-Corpus Christi after graduating, but he’ll gladly go to any college that will help further pursue his dream, he said. Being in the Collegiate High School, he is taking dual credits (both high school and college) and will have his associate degree (two years) upon high school graduation. He will enter college as a junior.
“Cedar Hill is helping to make my dream come true,” he said. “This has been the best experience of my life.”
