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Meteorologist · Climate communicator
Bernadette
Woods Placky
Emmy-winning meteorologist. Network builder. Climate communication pioneer.
From TV weather to Climate Matters, the program that advanced climate reporting across the country, Bernadette has spent her career turning science into conversations and conversations into momentum. Today she leads the Talking Climate Collaborative, which she co-founded to give climate communication a home, a network and the resources to thrive.
About
Twenty-five years of translating the science people need into the stories they'll listen to.
Bernadette spent the first part of her career as an operational forecaster and TV meteorologist. She started at AccuWeather before moving to television, with stops in Fayetteville, Arkansas; Lexington, Kentucky; and Baltimore, Maryland. At WJZ she was the first female meteorologist in the station's history and won an Emmy for Best Weathercaster.
She then moved to Climate Central, where she was the driving force behind Climate Matters and served as Chief Meteorologist and Vice President of Engagement.
She built Climate Matters into the most widely used climate journalism tool in U.S. local television, growing a network of more than 3,500 meteorologists and media professionals across the country and measurably increasing climate coverage in local news markets nationwide, including conservative and rural markets where traditional climate messaging had never broken through. She also cultivated partnerships with media organizations, nonprofits, academic institutions and government agencies, and represented the organization at major global platforms including UN Climate Conferences, Aspen Ideas: Climate and Climate Week NYC.
In 2026 she co-founded the Talking Climate Collaborative with Katharine Hayhoe to scale climate communication across the U.S. and beyond.
Career path
1999–2002
AccuWeather
Meteorologist
2002–2013
TV meteorologist
Fayetteville, AR; Lexington, KY; and Baltimore, MD, where she was the first female meteorologist in WJZ's history and won an Emmy for Best Weathercaster.
2013–2026
Climate Central
Chief Meteorologist, Vice President of Engagement and Climate Matters Director. Scaled Climate Matters to more than 3,500 meteorologists and journalists, with climate coverage rising in places where it had never broken through.
2026
Talking Climate Collaborative
Co-founded with Katharine Hayhoe to create a home that resources, supports and networks climate communication.
How she works
What she believes
Why weather forecasters became America's leading climate communicators.
What Climate Matters got right, what it took, and what it means for every other trusted messenger.
Talking climate with people who don't want to hear it.
Lessons learned about what actually moves a conversation.
Building Climate IQ.
The science: what we know, why it matters, and what we can do about it.
Now
Communication is a climate solution.
Most people already know the climate is changing and are worried about it, yet they rarely talk about it, even with friends and family. The Talking Climate Collaborative was founded to end this spiral of silence by creating a home to resource, support, network and prioritize climate communication, scaling voices across the U.S. and beyond.
Conversation builds momentum. Momentum shifts norms. Shifted norms change culture and drive lasting change.
Visit talkingclimate.comWatch and listen
Media
On air
Climate change is reshaping local weather
PBS NewsHour
At the extreme: attribution science
PBS NewsHour
Talking climate
Aspen Ideas: Climate
Warming stripes
FOX Weather
Tornado outbreak
CBSN
Weather and Climate Livestream
Interview
Read
Writing
- Beyond the Boardroom: Real-World Lessons in Nonprofit LeadershipAMS Headlines, 2026
- Why meteorologists are great creatorsNews Creator Corps, 2025
- Prepared, not scaredNational Center for Science Education
Research
Selected publications
- Warming Stripes Spark Climate Conversations: From the Ocean to the StratosphereHawkins et al., BAMS, 2025
- Communicating Climate Change En Español: A Nationwide Survey of Bilingual Broadcast Meteorologists in the United StatesTrujillo-Falcón et al., BAMS, 2025
- Improving public understanding of climate change by supporting weathercastersMaibach et al., Nature Climate Change, 2022
- Impact of the Climate Matters Program on Public Understanding of Climate ChangeMyers et al., Weather, Climate and Society, 2020
- Localized climate reporting by TV weathercasters enhances public understanding of climate change as a local problemFeygina et al., BAMS, 2020
Recognition
Boards and awards
Boards and advisory roles
- National Academies Board on Atmospheric Science and Climate, 2023–present
- New York City Panel on Climate Change, 2025–present
- Princeton Wrestling Club Board, 2022–present
- C-Change Conversations, Science Advisor, 2016–present
- The Watershed Institute, Advisory Board, 2023–present; Board and Chair of Education Committee, 2017–2023
- The Weather Channel Climate Change Advisory Board, 2021–2025
- Penn State Meteorology and Atmospheric Science Advisory Board, Chair, 2020–2025
- American Meteorological Society Council, 2021–2024
Honors
- Fellow, American Meteorological Society, 2024
- Penn State Earth and Mineral Sciences 125th Anniversary Fellow, 2021
- AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist
- Emmy Award, Best Weathercaster, 2006
Contact
Get in touch
For speaking, media and collaboration.
Email
hello@bernadettewoodsplacky.comLinkedIn
bernadette-woods-plackyBluesky
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