Tracy Beene never planned to be on TV. Now a meteorologist at THV11 in Little Rock, she was recently voted Best Weather Person in AY About You’s “Best of 2025” readers’ poll. However, her career in weather started when she joined the Air Force in 1996.
An enlisted weather specialist, she completed the weather observer apprentice course at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi and was then assigned to the operational weather squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville. As she progressed, she returned to Keesler to complete the weather journeyman course and, later, the weather craftsman course.
She also received specialized training in combat weather, which taught her how to apply weather knowledge to tactical and mission-critical situations. That experience not only shaped her forecasting skills, she said, but also gave her the ability to communicate weather information clearly and effectively in high-pressure environments.
“The Air Force taught me more than just weather,” she said. “It taught me grit, discipline and how to carry responsibility with care and under pressure.”…