Mikayla Smith, the meteorologist seen here, delivered a forecast for a winter storm, but it wasn't the weather information in it that helped it go viral on social media and caused other meteorologists to reach out with questions.
Published Feb. 9, 2022 5:50 AM AKST | Updated Feb. 9, 2022 5:50 AM AKST
University of Oklahoma student Mikayla Smith launched a way to make weather more accessible to the public by combining two of her biggest passions.
On Feb. 1, Smith posted the first installment of a new series she launched called "Signing Science." The series focuses on ways to watch weather forecasts and learn weather in sign language, using American Sign Language (ASL). The first video of the series was a weather forecast for Oklahoma.
Smith has been passionate about meteorology and ASL since she was very young, crediting her family and school for her passions. Smith said her mom earned her degree in special education and, when her mom was younger, had a deaf friend, which exposed her to the realities of being hard of hearing at an early age.
"There's so much out there that people don't even realize, and the deaf and hard of hearing community is so underserved and they could have so much more done for them," Smith said in a recent interview with AccuWeather.
As a result of the experience through her mom and family, Smith's passion to learn ASL began at a young age.
When Smith entered middle school at Full Heritage Christian Academy in Rockwall, Texas, she was given a choice: either continue learning Spanish or start a new language.
"I've taken Spanish all through elementary school, so I wanna do ASL now and just, kind of, learn to get the basics, and I absolutely fell in love with it," said Smith. "It's a beautiful language," she added pointing out that it's allowed her a greater range of communication.
Mikayla Smith delivers a weather report in front of a green screen. (Instagram / Mikayla Smith)
As Smith continued to learn ASL, her passion for learning the finer points in using ASL deepened. Soon, she reached a point where ASL became more than just a class to her.
"My classmates would just go to class and then they would finish it, but I was always signing at other times or looking into learning more signs and just doing different things," Smith recalled.
Smith continued to go above and beyond in learning ASL and kept finding ways to use it in different parts of her life.
"It's just been a soft spot for me in my heart. I was excited after being with my mom, and having extended family that are deaf, just having a way that I can communicate with them," said Smith.
When Smith began working as a waitress, she wanted her coworkers to know she could help communicate with the deaf and those who are hard of hearing.
"I could communicate with them. That was super fun for me and exciting when I would go up to the table and communicate," she said, "and you could just see people's eyes light up like, 'Oh my gosh, we could talk to her.'"
While Smith's passion for learning ASL grew, so did her passion for meteorology. Since second grade, Smith wanted to be a meteorologist after a Dallas broadcast meteorologist made a visit to her school.
"I went home and I told my parents I'm gonna be a meteorologist," said Smith.
Mikayla Smith on the set of OU Nightly. (Twitter / Mikayla Smith)
Smith enrolled at The University of Oklahoma in 2018. She decided to major in meteorology and minor in broadcasting. Smith became a weather anchor for the University of Oklahoma's newscast OU Nightly in January 2020.
In January 2022, Smith studied research done by Vivian Rennie, a meteorologist for KSBY News in San Luis Obispo, California, on how to incorporate ASL as broadcast meteorologists. The research was part of the American Meteorological Society's Weather-Ready Nation Symposium.
"Vivian had done some great research about how important it is to incorporate more ASL and how there's 25 signs that meteorologists can know and the big difference it can make," said Smith.
While talking with her friend about the research, she came up with the idea to try forecasting using ASL.
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More recently, Smith put into action the combination of her two interests to help those who are deaf or hard of hearing. "I was just like, 'Well, I'm passionate about meteorology, and I'm just gonna try to put it together just to see what I can do with it and try to help in the best way that I possibly can," she said.
For an edition of OU Nightly, Smith decided to record her first ASL weather broadcast. She uploaded the video on Feb. 1 to her YouTube and other social media accounts, expecting a minimal reaction.
But soon after uploading the video, her forecast went viral on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
"I really wasn't expecting this to blow up," Smith admitted. "I never thought that this would be what's happening, but it's been great. I am honestly kind of kicking myself that it took me so long to put two and two together."
Mikayla Smith reporting from the Bob Mills Weather Center for News on 6 in Oklahoma. (Instagram / Mikayla Smith)
Several news outlets and people reached out to Smith in the coming days, requesting interviews and some even asked for advice on how they can help the ASL community.
"I've had a couple of meteorologists reach out to me, just kind of ask where I learned [ASL], how I kind of got kickstarted and started, and so it's definitely been fun," said Smith.
Smith said there are many ways people can learn ASL or help the community such as looking for classes in your community or even learning online through YouTube videos and ASL websites.
Smith also noted that another way to help is by reaching out to deaf and hard of hearing communities by asking them how they can help and what can be done to better serve them.
"There's so many local deaf communities and hard of hearing communities and outreach groups and stuff like that. You can contact them; they would love to point you in the right direction," Smith said.
Smith is expected to graduate from The University of Oklahoma in May. She currently works as a freelance weekend meteorologist for News 12 in Sherman, Texas, while doing reports for OU Nightly.
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