Growing up in Prior Lake, Minnesota, Jesse has always been fascinated by storms. Whether it’s a massive snow storm like the Halloween Blizzard of 1991 or just a regular thunderstorm, she would sit on the family’s front steps and watch the weather play out in front of her eyes.
Knowing in middle school that meteorology was the subject she wanted to study for the rest of her life, she received a mentorship with the National Weather Service in high school. She continued her studies at Iowa State University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in meteorology with a minor in journalism. She was an active student member of the American Meteorological Society and fell in love with giving weather talks to elementary school children.
During college Jesse worked for a private forecasting firm, predicting the weather for companies in Iowa, Europe and Japan. That perhaps gave her the idea to study meteorology abroad in Australia. But it wasn’t until Jesse interned at WHO-TV in Des Moines, Iowa that she finally decided broadcast meteorology was the route she wanted to pursue.
After graduating from Iowa State, Jesse was offered a position at KDLT-TV in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She learned to not only do the weather, but to report, be a photojournalist, edit stories and anchor the news. After nearly four years in South Dakota, Jesse was elated to land a job in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with TMJ4 News. She was often live on the newscasts in the middle of snowstorms or out chasing severe weather.
Almost ten years after moving away from one Dakota, Jesse moved to the other, coming to WDAY with her husband and two boys. She is thrilled to be closer to family and friends in the region and happy to be a part of the StormTracker team.
Jesse loves spending time with her family, whether that's in the garden, out exploring local parks or trying new foods. She enjoys live theater as well as watching movies on the silver screen. And when the weather cooperates, you most likely will find her outdoors taking advantage of it.