Meteorologist 

Bio: Ellen Bacca is very excited to be joining the Beartooth NBC News team here in Helena, Montana. Her hometown is Kalamazoo, Michigan where they are no strangers to heavy snowfall! She is ready to tackle tough forecasting challenges that arise in the mountains.

Ellen attended Valparaiso University (one of the top undergraduate meteorology schools in the nation) for her bachelor’s degree. She also minored in mathematics and communications. While there, she was nominated and elected as the President of northwest Indiana's joint chapter of the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association for the 2009-2010 year. This title was a demanding and rewarding opportunity which involved complete organization of a daylong conference. This conference brought in national experts and professionals in the meteorological field. The keynote speaker actually invented the (WSR-88D) RADAR, which we see and use everyday in forecasting!

She was also able to take a storm chasing class while at Valparaiso. On this 11 day long trip she saw 8 severe mesocyclones, high wind and hail events, and even two tornadoes! While out in the plains, she was able to take her classroom knowledge of atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics and apply it in a real life setting.

Outside of school, Ellen was fortunate enough to obtain three internships in Chicago! She worked with Ginger Zee from NBC, Amy Freeze from Fox News, and Tom Skilling from WGN. Each of these highly experienced mentors increased her knowledge of broadcasting and meteorology profoundly. She was even selected as the only student from Valparaiso University to work for a local PBS station in Merrillville, Indiana as their fill-in weathergirl.

Ellen loves almost any outdoor sport. She camps, hikes, snowboards, mountain bikes, and enjoys fishing. Now that she is in Helena there are plenty of opportunities to do all five!

If you see news happen call the Beartooth News Hotline at 457-2700.
If you have a story idea or question about weather e-mail Ellen at ebacca@BeartoothNBC.com.

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