photo by Gray's Studio

José Garcia

Meteorologist in Charge and 18-year resident

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When Meteorologist in Charge, José Garcia, sat down to be interviewed, a crash of thunder roared in his office. Considering the clear skies outside, it could only mean one thing.

“It means I got an email,” he laughs, and appropriately so.

It was in middle school when José became fascinated by the weather and made an early decision to become a meteorologist. Born in San Antonio and raised all over the country, the military brat experienced a wide range of climates. When his father retired from the Air Force and settled in Austin, it was just in time for José to attend the University of Texas and begin his study of meteorology.

“When I graduated the government wasn’t hiring, so I decided I’d go into the Air Force and do the weather for them,” he says. “I was this close to going off to officer’s school when the national weather service called and offered me a position in Albuquerque.”

It was 1982 when José began his career as a meteorologist intern with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Four years later, he transferred to College Station to begin agricultural forecasting (specifically for farming) and continue his education at Texas A&M. Another three years passed and José, with his wife, Suzanne, moved to Washington DC for a two-year position. Finally, in 1991, the Garcia family arrived in Amarillo.

“The weather service is much like the military,” says José. “You move up the career progression and that means moving a lot. I thought we would be in Amarillo for only two or three years, but it’s been 18 years now. I’ve had opportunities to leave but we‘ve always chosen to stay. And even if we move at some point, this is where we’d like to retire.”

When José was hired as the Warning Coordination Meteorologist in Amarillo, he was one of the first three to hold that position in the weather service across the country. Six weeks after taking that position, José was selected to take the vacant spot of Meteorologist in Charge and he’s held the position ever since.

“We love the weather here. We have all four seasons,” he says. “Even in the summertime, the temperature may rise into the 90s or even 100, but when that sun goes down, it’s the best place in the world to be. You can sit on your porch, the heat goes away, and you get to see the beautiful sunset.”

As a husband, father to two daughters, choir member at church and weekend United States Soccer Federation referee, José has plenty to keep him busy. But when the Panhandle weather turns ugly, he quickly returns to the NOAA office off Highway 60. As for the wind, the dryness, and other weather bits that make Amarillo unique, José just laughs when people ask if he could do something about it.

by Jennie Treadway-Miller

Jennie was a columnist for the Chattanooga Times Free Press for eight years prior to moving to Amarillo in 2008. She is an avid reader, runner and writer.