view . spring 2012
9
David Phillips BA ’67, senior climatologist for Environment
Canada, is a weather geek.
“Windsor got 75 millimetres of rain – a month’s worth – in one
day? That’s unbelievable!”
That is Phillips, in the midst of a telephone interview, stopping
to excitedly check his computer to
confirm the amount of rainfall his
hometown received the previous day.
“Each year, I put together a list of the
top weather stories in Canada. Windsor’s
almost monsoonal rains will be one of
them,” he promises.
The self-described, “weather
ambassador for Canada,” employs that
very “gee wow” enthusiasm during the
approximately 50 speaking engagements
he gives each year to educate Canadians.
“I’ve given talks everywhere,”
says Phillips. “I’ve been across the
country and to the Canadian Arctic
with the Royal Canadian Geographical
Society. I’ve spoken to the vintners in
British Columbia, the Association of
Municipalities of Ontario, ski resort operators in Quebec, to Grade 4
students in New Brunswick, among others.
“The only place I’m not allowed to talk about the weather is at
home,” he adds wryly.
Hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, drought and the issues of
global warming and climate change have combined to throw the
weather into the forefront of news stories with increasing frequency.
Phillips refuses to preach an end-of-the-world scenario, though.
“I sometimes think that scientists are too pessimistic about the
future,” he says. “You have to give hope that it’s possible to change
things.” Climate change is a challenge but it’s doable, he adds,
noting, “There is clear evidence that, if we cut down on the fossil
fuels, we can slow it down.”
Phillips spent his early years in Windsor, moving to Alberta with
his family when he was in Grade 8. He returned to his hometown
for Grade 12 and eventually enrolled in the University of Windsor’s
geography program.
“It was a small program,” he recalls. “We had fun times and
field trips to places like Point Pelee and the Bruce Trail. One of my
dearest friends was my professor, Marie Sanderson, who passed
away in 2010. I returned to teach one of her classes in the fall of
1972, and it was a great thrill.”
Phillips recalls taking classes in Dillon Hall and Windsor (now
Chrysler) Hall. “I’m sure I wouldn’t recognize the campus today.”
Among his most vivid memories are
of his time with the University Players
theatre group, conjuring his inner
thespian.
“Diana Mady Kelly (former director
of the School of Dramatic Art) was in the
play with me,” says Phillips. “We had a
mad tango scene during which we had to
argue, and I am not a very good dancer.
I wanted the music up higher so I could
remember my steps, and she didn’t. It was
very complex, like rubbing your belly and
patting your head at the same time.”
Phillips’ theatrical aspirations faded
as his studies grew more involved. He
applied for and won a teaching position,
but just before graduation, noticed a
poster on campus recruiting for a weather
forecaster in Toronto.
Although not a science major, he impressed his interviewer:
“After I established that I was not qualified,” says Phillips, “I asked
him about a famous Canadian geographer that this fellow knew.
I had researched him, you see. He was impressed I would do
something like that.”
Phillips came to Toronto to work at the Meteorological Branch
of Transport Canada conducting research on the Great Lakes. The
work involved using climatological data to answer questions about
climatic records. Phillips published reports including an article
about a Climatic Severity Index, in which he ranked 150 locations in
Canada for their most extreme weather. After Southam News cited
the article in the 1980s, Phillips appeared in television interviews,
eventually becoming the spokesperson for Environment Canada
Meteorological Service.
In recognition for his work, Phillips has received the Patterson
Medal for Distinguished Service to Meteorology in Canada,
the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the
Confederation of Canada, two Public Service Merit Awards,
“I SOMETIMES THINK THAT
SCIENTISTS ARE TOO
PESSIMISTIC ABOUT THE
FUTURE. YOU HAVE TO GIVE HOPE
THAT IT’S POSSIBLE TO CHANGE
THINGS. CLIMATE CHANGE IS A
CHALLENGE BUT IT’S DOABLE”
DAVID PHILLIPS BA ’67
WEATHER GURU
Canada’s
Canadians have an insatiable interest in weather, says David Phillips, left.
BY JENNIFER AMMOSCATO
