My name is Monique Palmisano, and I am a weather enthusiast from The Bahamas. I am not a scientist or meteorologist but I am an amateur professional known as a citizen scientist. 

In August 1992, I was living on an island called Harbour Island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas when hurricane Andrew hit. Every building except the one that I was in was damaged by the storm. No church or school that was used as shelters had their roof still attached. The roads were all dug up and you had to walk where you wanted to go because you couldn't even ride a bicycle. Being there during the storm I can say was one of the worst storms I have ever experienced. From that day I have watched the weather channel just to keep up with different storms. 

When the country closed down because of Covid 19, my job as a taxi driver was shut down. No tourists could come in or go out. So I decided in 2020 during the pandemic to do some online studies and back yard gardening. I learned about meteorology by completing a few online classes in Backyard Meteorology,  Tsunami and Storm Surge, Natural Disasters, One Ocean One Planet, Climate Change, and Climate Solutions. I joined the Rotary club so I can help others. I created Bahamas Storm Chasers and the Weather Enthusiasts Rotary Fellowship.  

          
Left, Monique demonstrates a rain gauge to children. Right, convective clouds gather over The Bahamas in September 2024 in this photo submitted through GLOBE Observer. 

My passion for storm chasing allows me to collect data that is truly needed for forecasters. My occupation is mobile so I can see and report more weather events as I travel along the coastal shores. Because I reported waterspouts to the International Center for Waterspout Research (ICWR), I became one of the top 10 waterspout hunters in the world for ICWR 2023-2024. I get super excited when I see thunderstorm clouds or convergence clouds building up in the sky. I especially watch for convergence clouds because I look for funnel or waterspout activities from them. 

I have been a part of the GLOBE Program through GLOBE Observer since 2021, but I started to get more active in 2023. My passion is monitoring mosquitos and clouds with the GLOBE Observer app. I took my team members from The Bahamas Storm Chasers to a beach to create and distribute mosquito traps. Everyone was super excited about this project.

Monique, third from the left, leads a group of volunteers from The Bahamas Storm Chasers in creating mosquito traps in order to track mosquitoes. 

Recently I have been participating in various weather events like the St. Andrews International School sustainability eco fair, and the Ministry of Health for Disaster Preparedness. At these expos, I introduce  GLOBE Observer so that others can get involved.

I hope that one day that I will become a lecturer to teach kids about why it is so important for us to help with data collection for citizen science, including the GLOBE Program. Every time I send in my cloud reports, I get an email from NASA saying my cloud observations match NASA's observations. Now I have a passion for weather even more now than ever. It's a pleasure to be part of a global team with the GLOBE Program!

Watch the GLOBE Observer Connect session featuring Monique, recorded 24 October 2024: