"When people hear a forecast calling for 'a mix of sun and clouds,' not too many people know what that means. People want to know 'How much sun and how much cloud?' or 'Does that mean a sunny morning and a cloudy afternoon?' " says Wade Sandilands.

    Sandilands (MSc'92) is one of The Weather Network's resident meteorologists. He's the brains behind some on-air operations, advising the weather anchors what to say. One of the biggest challenges Sandilands faces is how to interpret and convey weather information to announcers in a way that the audience -- all eight million households -- can understand.

    Unlike many of us, Sandilands loves stormy weather. "Any good meteorologist would tell you that they prefer active weather to sunny weather," he said. "We like variety -- rain, winds, thunder showers. I'd like to see a big tornado come through here sometime soon!"

    Sandilands was exposed to the science of weather from an early age. His father was an Environment Canada forecaster, and the family travelled all over the country. A PhD candidate at York with a background in theoretical physics, he teaches a popular undergraduate meteorology course at the University.

    Asked to name his favourite place in the world for weather, Sandilands says Southern Ontario. "You can't beat our mix of humidity, rain and snow, and sleet. We see a lot of extremes of weather, but never for long periods of time. People think they want to live in a place that is always 22 degrees and sunny, but after a while you would get tired of that."