Penny Tranter was a BBC Weather weather forecaster from 1992 to 2008.

Biography

Tranter was born in Kilwinning,

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

, Scotland. Her interest in weather started after living through the Great Glasgow Storm of 1968. A few years later, after a family move to England, her interest intensified and, after attending

South Wilts Grammar School South Wilts Grammar School, formerly South Wilts Grammar School for Girls, is a grammar school in Salisbury, south Wiltshire, England, for pupils aged 11 to 18. Established in 1927, the school converted to an academy in 2011. In 2020, the name ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, graduated from the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

in 1982 with a degree in Environmental Sciences. She joined the Met Office in 1983 as a graduate trainee weather forecaster. Tranter worked as a forecaster across the UK at the

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, Glasgow and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Weather Centres before joining the Commercial division in 1990. In 1992 Tranter joined the team at the BBC Weather Centre, as a broadcast meteorologist, making her first television appearance on 7 November of that year. She appeared regularly on

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and

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. Tranter was also involved with Children in Need over three years with fellow BBC weather presenters dancing the 'Can Can', 'It's Raining Men' and 'The Time Warp' from the Rocky Horror Show. As part of a BBC Weather Centre team, she also enjoyed running half marathons, completing several Great North Runs, until her knees 'said no more'. Tranter left the BBC Weather Centre in January 2008Royal Meteorological Society Weather and Climate – Spotlight on careers
to become the Meteorology Training Manager at the Met Office College in Exeter, where she worked until 2011. While in the role, she oversaw an expansion of the College, leading to an increase in both student numbers and weather and climate change training, Tranter is now a Met Office Advisor working with emergency responders and planners, specialising in severe weather. She is based in SW England, and remembers vividly the severe winter of 2013/14, when she worked closely with the emergency community involved in the response and recovery of the Somerset Levels flooding. Sailing is a lifelong hobby, and during London 2012 she was able to combine this passion with her weather forecasting skills. Tranter was a member of the successful Met Office forecasting team for the sailing events in Weymouth for the Olympics and Paralympics. Since then, Tranter has presented the weather brief for the 2015 and 2017 Fastnet Races to the competing yachtsmen and yachtswomen taking part in this iconic sailing challenge. Tranter is a Chartered Meteorologist, member of the

Royal Meteorological Society The Royal Meteorological Society is an organization that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Members can be lay enthusiasts. It publishes vari ...

and a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) ambassador for the Met Office. She often gives talks and presentations on weather, specialising in sailing weather and weather forecasting.

References

External links

Penny Tranter Biography
BBC Weather Website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tranter, Penny BBC weather forecasters Scottish meteorologists Alumni of the University of East Anglia Living people 1961 births People educated at South Wilts Grammar School for Girls BBC News people