About two years ago, Cindy Day became SaltWire Network’s chief meteorologist.
Day, who left CTV Atlantic to take the job, was a household name in the Maritimes at the time and has become a go-to source for weather followers in Newfoundland and Labrador as well.
Working with a company that has a big presence in newspapers, as well as online, fit right in with her diverse background in meteorology.
Included in that background was leaving the Ottawa Airport — where she had briefed pilots — to become Canada’s first meteorologist working full-time at radio station CFRA in 1988.
Day was also previously a newspaper weather columnist.
She spent nine years with Global television and a decade as CTV’s Halifax-based meteorologist before joining SaltWire.
“This job with SaltWire, what makes it ideal is I have more space to explain things and teach things in print and yet I still get the opportunity to do a video twice a day. ... It’s given me a great opportunity to express myself,” Day said.
Over the years, people’s curiosity has steadily revolved around looking ahead to the winter and summer and inquiring what’s in store.
But there’s been a shift.
“People comment on weather and right away they bring it into climate change. They make a comment on a storm and say, ‘You know, I have been here all these years and I have never seen wind like this or I have never seen this.’ In the last decade or so, it’s a common thing to see. I am glad people are taking notice of how the changes are happening and hopefully stepping up to do something.”
Children are also becoming more astute in their questions about the weather as they become aware of the significant events such as hurricanes racing up Atlantic coastlines, and learn of climate change through technology such as their smartphones, as well as classroom lessons, Day noted.
1. What is your full name?
Cindy Day.
2. Where and when were you born?
July 1964 in Glengarry County, Ont.
3. Where do you live today?
Dartmouth, N.S.
4. What’s your favourite place in the world?
My dad’s barn on Christmas Day at the family farm (in Ontario).
5. Who do you follow on social media?
A lot of reporters. Other meteorologists and hockey teams. I am a big hockey fan.
6. What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I play the tuba and I recently bought a valve trombone.
7. What’s been your favourite year and why?
Maybe the year I moved to Atlantic Canada. It was bittersweet because I hated to leave my family, but it just opened up so many great possibilities. I met so many wonderful people. The pace was so different from Ontario that it kind of gave me a new outlook on life. I moved in 1998.
8. What is the hardest thing you’ve ever done?
Saying goodbye to my little beagle. I had a beagle/pit bull mix. I had her for 16 years and that was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Bix, that was the name they gave her at the SPCA.
9. Can you describe one experience that changed your life?
In Grade 12, we had a career day where different speakers came in from different fields of work. At that point, I had decided and made it very clear that I was going to be a dairy farmer. I grew up on a dairy farm. There was a presenter from Transport Canada Training Institute, They had just built this new institute in Cornwall and they were going to be teaching basic meteorology and I thought I would just sign up and see what it was all about, and that opened up a whole new world — the wonderful world of weather.
10. What’s your greatest indulgence?
A nice big glass of wine at the end of the day, red wine.
11. What is your favourite movie or book?
I really enjoyed “Tuesdays with Morrie," the series of books. I cried and laughed. They make you think. I really enjoyed it.
12. How do you like to relax?
I like to work out. I find if I am having a really tough day, a quick workout is helpful, and (watching) a good hockey game. That really gets rid of the stress of the day.
13. What are you reading or watching right now?
I am reading a French book, a story set on Plateau of Montreal and it’s called “Mensonges sur le Plateau Mont-Royal.”
14. What’s your greatest fear?
I have fear of choking on food. I saw my mom choke on a fishbone (she was fine) and I think ever since then I am really careful to chew and I try not to eat too fast.
15. How would you describe your personal fashion statement?
Eclectic maybe. I don’t really go for one specific style. If I find something that seems to suit me, I go with it, regardless if it is fancy or casual. I love to shop (second-hand) — Frenchy’s and the consignment stores. It’s kind of fun to find stuff that nobody else has.
16. What is your most treasured possession?
A hand-knit quilt that my grandmother knit for me before she passed away.
17. What physical or personality trait are you most grateful to a parent for?
There’s a few, but I think my father has really given me the ability to be patient with things. If I need to fix something, I take a deep breath and work at it until it gets done instead of throwing a wrench or something.
18. What three people would join you for your dream dinner party?
One would be grandmother — my dad’s mother. I would like to sit with Pierre Trudeau and Larry Robinson, a hockey player who has been my hero since I was a little girl. I had pictures on my wall.
20. What’s your biggest regret?
I don’t know if I have a true regret, which is really a happy thing to say.
Twitter: @BarbSweetTweets
