Barbara Mayes Boustead is a meteorologist, climatologist, writer, and aficionado of historical weather events. Like many children in the Midwest, the Laura Ingalls Wilder book series was among the readings in her younger days. Barbara has sought throughout her career to unite her passions of weather and climate, communication and writing, and history, and she found a great unifying thread in Laura Ingalls Wilder.
The purpose of Wilder Weather is to make the connections between weather and climate concepts, events during Laura’s time and in her books, and present or future weather and climate concerns. Weather and climate affect our everyday lives, just as they did in Laura’s time; let’s talk about those wild weather happenings! Questions from readers about weather and climate (in Laura’s books and otherwise) are enthusiastically welcome!
Barbara earned a B.S. in meteorology and geography, minor in mathematics, as well as B.A. in English, minor in history, from Central Michigan University. She earned an M.S. in meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University, with a thesis research project involving the transition of hurricanes to their non-tropical cousins. She is pursuing her Ph.D. in Natural Resources with a specialization in Climate Assessment and Impacts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She works for a certain weather-related federal agency as a meteorologist (forecaster) and climate program manager in her office. She is married to “the one that got away” after playing hard to get for way too long!
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