A pair of meteorologists, Jon Nese and Marisa Ferger, from Penn State’s Department of Meteorology, recently garnered an Emmy award from the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). The 2015 Award Ceremony was held Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Philadelphia Hilton where 81 Emmys in 77 categories were presented to a sold-out audience.

The pair earned the regional Emmy in the “Weather -- News Single Story or Series” category for their work on “WeatherWhys.” This is the first Emmy award for the series which also received Emmy nominations in 2010 and 2012.

Nese, associate head for undergraduate programs in meteorology who serves as writer/producer, said, "What an honor and a thrill to win this Emmy.  We're meteorologists who do a TV show, and to be recognized for both our science and television production is very gratifying."

The educational series, officially named WxYz but more commonly known as and pronounced "WeatherWhys," is a series of weekly features on Weather World, the Penn State Department of Meteorology's 15-minute weekday weather magazine show that airs on Penn State Public Media (WPSU-TV) and statewide on the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN). Each feature is approximately 3 minutes long and tackles a topic of timely meteorological or environmental interest.

"It's flattering that two meteorologists were able to win an award for producing a news series. We work well together as a team to make this series happen," said Marisa Ferger, lecturer in meteorology and producer/editor for the show.

The “WeatherWhys” features, which air on Wednesdays, started in January 2006 as a regular part of Weather World. Nearly 400 features have been produced since 2006.

The series also provides meteorology students with real-life experiences."For most WeatherWhys features, an undergraduate student assists with graphics that appear in the feature. In this past year, current seniors Ryan Breton, Brad Guay, and Jillian Bohenek, and alum Tyler Jankoski (now at NBC Connecticut), all contributed their expertise to WeatherWhys," said Nese.

Archived “WeatherWhys” features are available online at http://www.meteo.psu.edu/~nese/WxYz.htm.

WPSU Penn State director of creative services Mindy McMahon and senior producer/director Kristian Berg also earned an Emmy in the Commercial – Single Spot category for “Connected for Life,” a national commercial for Penn State featuring an animated Nittany Lion shrine that comes to life. The production was the culmination of a five-year project that began with a 3-D laser scan of the lion shrine.

The Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards are a division of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The Mid-Atlantic chapter was founded in 1981 and includes Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and parts of both Ohio and West Virginia.