Singing Meteorology Student On Fox 5
“At first I was afraid, I was petrified,
Kept thinking how hot it will get – will it reach 99?
Then I turned on Fox 5 oh and Tucker Barnes was on,
My AC’s strong, he’ll tell me when to be alarmed.
The temps are up, but I’m not scared,
Oh the heatwave may be coming now I’ll know to be prepared”
So sang AOES Atmospheric Science major Hanna “Bell” Tucker on local TV show Fox 5 News this past June. Basing her song on the 1978 Gloria Gaynor hit “I Will Survive”, Bell had posted a clip on Instagram as an early summer heatwave was descending on the US east coast. Bell’s version of the song caught the attention of Gaynor herself, who gushed “Multi-talented, super intelligent, focused AND gorgeous? … You go girl!!!”
Hanna is a rising senior at George Mason and an intern on Fox 5 News. As she told Fox morning anchor Jacqueline Matter and meteorologist Taylor Grenda, “I got into weather at a very young age and got into the broadcast meteorology aspect when I started to work in media.” She’s also been writing songs since the third grade.
Bell “got inspired to write about the upcoming heat wave.” She told her news producers “I’d sing it live. So, yeah it was a shock to say the least to actually be able to do that. It was even more of a shock to be noticed and posted by an icon. The things she had to say brought me to tears.”
For more information about the range of temperatures in northern Virginia, from heat waves to cold snaps, see the Virginia Climate Center Climatology pages.
At least one faculty member is hoping this won’t be the last weather-themed song that Bell sings. Perhaps just change some of the lyrics to Garbage’s “Only Happy When it Rains”?
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