Perhaps it’s because she’s of the community, that she fights for the community. You may know Heather Mathis as, “Weather Heather,” host of Talk of the Town for NewsChannel 5! What you may not know about her, is that she’s a community advocate and has effectuated change that will save an immeasurable amount of lives. Not many meteorologists can put that on their resume.
And she’s one of our very own. “I am very proud to be a Mt. Juliet native,” Mathis says, as she recalls the local schools that shaped her. She attended both Stoner Creek Elementary and West Wilson Middle School, which sadly, were both decimated by the tornado in March of 2020. Spending one’s childhood in a town where extreme weather occurs can be, perhaps unsurprisingly, formative. “I have always had a fascination with tornadoes. I was in elementary school during the April 1998 tornado that hit Nashville, and I can still remember watching NewsChannel 5’s coverage of the storm and the aftermath.” Mt. Juliet did not simply prepare her for professional endeavors by being a hotbed for inclement weather – she recalls a ‘wonderful’ broadcasting class that she took at Mt. Juliet High School, which she credits with making her, “fall in love with live television” and ultimately lead her to pursue a career in broadcast meteorology.
Though she spent some time working in Huntsville, Alabama, she eventually returned home to join NewsChannel 5. The time she spent in Huntsville would prove to be impactful as well. As Mathis explains, “Alabama had a very well-defined community shelter program in place that was created after the deadly 2011 tornadoes. I was so used to directing my viewers in Huntsville to their local shelters during tornado coverage, that I was surprised when I came back home to Tennessee that we didn’t have any community storm shelters in most of our counties.”
This was the impetus for Mathis to reflect on what needed to change in the community – and she took it as a call to action. She recounts, “I get so many messages from people who live in mobile homes during severe weather, asking me what they should do or where they can go. I was tired of never having a good answer for them, so I made it my mission to find out why we were lacking shelters in our state and how to fix the problem.”
One of the prevailing problems, as it turns out, was liability. Mathis soon learned when she began investigating, “Most community storm shelters are churches, however, after talking with several Emergency Management offices, I learned that most churches didn’t want to open their doors because of liability and insurance concerns.” Once she understood the problem, she started discussing the issue with community leaders and through networking, was connected with Representative Jason Powell. Powell marshaled his political wherewithal to introduce the Safer Places Bill, to help eliminate liability and incentivize organizations to open their doors to the public during severe weather.
The bill was passed in April 2023, and its effects are still being realized. Nashville’s Metro Council recently passed a resolution honoring Mathis and the Safe Places program for the incredible potential it has to save lives across the community. Additionally, each metro council member has agreed to find a ‘Safe Place’ in their district that can be added to the list.
To that end, though the Safer Places Bill has passed, the battle isn’t over. The Safer Places Bill laid the foundation to create a climate in which brick and mortars could open their doors without fear of financial or reputational harm, but the process of making these organizations aware of the legislation, and persuading them to help, is still ongoing. There is a list of ‘safe places’ that are currently available on NewsChannel 5’s website, but there can never be enough participants. And Mathis has her sights set on a grander scale. “Right now, our Safe Places list will help our viewers across Middle Tennessee. This is a great first step, but I would like to see more community shelters open on a statewide level. Tennessee ranks #1 in the country for nocturnal tornadoes. That factored with our high percentage of population living in vulnerable housing means we need to act now.”
It’s evident in everything Mathis does, that she cares deeply about our community -- to the point that she took her civic duty to the next level. “I believe our greatest calling as meteorologists is to help protect people in storms and walk them through the scary moments,” she says. And that she did – and does. Though “Weather Heather” is a charming TV personality, she is clearly so much more than that. You might even say, she’s ‘a force of nature.’
I have always had a fascination with tornadoes.
Our greatest calling is to protect people and walk them through the scary moments.
