A strong chance of faith, family and purpose

A trusted voice and familiar face in Jamaican households for nearly four decades, meteorologist Evan Thompson has built a career rooted in purpose. His journey stretches back to Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, his first major experience on the job, and through the many weather events that have shaped Jamaica over the years. Today, he serves as principal director of the Meteorological Service of Jamaica. But when he isn’t tracking storms or working with his team on the country’s daily forecasts, Thompson is simply a family-and-church man who loves gospel music and finds joy in singing.

“It was way back!” Thompson told Sunday Lifestyle, referring to the musical group he joined fresh out of high school, transitioning to Excelsior Community College. Laughing at the memory, he added, “I was in a group called the EXED Gospel Singers, and we did a lot of moving around the island, and we even travelled outside of Jamaica. In fact, though we don’t sing together anymore, we’re still in contact, and that was around 1981.”

Even though that season feels like a lifetime ago, Thompson’s love for gospel music, especially as a Christian, has never faded. At university, he sang with the Cavite Chorale – the campus equivalent of the University Singers at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus – while studying meteorology at UWI’s Cave Hill campus in Barbados. He still remembers that experience fondly.

“After that, I have been involved with a group called Chords Chorale, which is a vocal ensemble,” Thompson added. “Gospel is really what I was interested in. I’ve always been involved in my church, and I’m a Christian, so that is part of who I am.”

These days, Thompson channels his love for gospel music by leading praise and worship at his church, Webster Memorial United. He has been part of his current praise team since the beginning of the millennium, and for the past 25 years or so, he and the group have ministered together regularly.

Outside of church, Thompson’s world revolves around family. As a husband and father, he takes joy in the everyday rhythms at home, especially watching his two sons, David and Jed, explore their own paths while developing interests similar to his.

“The older one, David, is thinking about engineering right now. Physics and maths are very dear to him, and he’s really into those subjects. That’s where meteorology is based, and it was the same for me,” Thompson said. He added that his younger son, Jed, is leaning towards architecture, a path Thompson himself might have taken if he hadn’t found meteorology.

Pursuing meteorology, Thompson admits, was more a stumble than a plan. In high school, he had been drawn to technical drawing and considered architecture, but by fifth form, he gravitated toward the sciences out of fondness. It was during a school career talk, when the then director of the Meteorological Service visited, that the field first sparked his curiosity.

That fascination eventually led him straight into his first major experience in meteorology just days before Hurricane Gilbert struck. Unsure whether he should report for duty that morning, he was met by his ride, making that answer clear. “I had to work right through the hurricane, out at the National Meteorological Centre, which is at Norman Manley International Airport .… and ever since then, I’ve spent my hurricanes working,” Thompson said.

BIGGEST SUPPORT

One of his biggest supporters, with whom he has shared a beautiful life for the past 22 years, is his wife, Michelle. “She’s always been a support. I find that she’s extremely patient because this work can be very demanding,” Thompson said. “She doesn’t complain. We have never had arguments over it. There may be small disagreements from time to time, but we just resolve them and move on. She’s always on my team.”

When asked if Michelle has picked up a bit of meteorology over the years, Thompson laughs. “I think she’s learning a lot of meteorology. Sometimes I hear her telling people on the phone what the storm is going to do,” he said, adding, “It’s just because she’s absorbed some of it from being with me. And then it clicks for her, and she becomes my assistant.”

Thompson added that the support works both ways. “Just as much as she’s [an] assistant to me, I can be an assistant to her. She’s a medical doctor, so [while] I don’t take over a patient, sometimes I’ll say, ‘If this is what they’re doing, chances are this is what’s happening.’ And she might agree … or she’ll say, ‘No, that’s not what’s happening,’ which is fair,” he said, shrugging jokingly.

Over the years, Thompson’s family has grown accustomed to the demands of his work, especially during the hurricane season. When Hurricane Melissa approached, his wife, Michelle, remained calm, trusting his judgement, while the boys, recognising the seriousness of the situation, insisted on going with him.

“My sons, basically, just expected me to leave and go to the office and spend a couple of days there,” Thompson recalled with a chuckle. “But this time, because we heard how terrible this thing was going to be, they said, ‘If you are going, we are coming with you. Otherwise, you better know you’re staying this time.”

Thompson reassured them, yet for the first time, he was able to spend more time at home, commuting to the National Emergency Operations Centre as needed for press conferences and coordination with his colleagues on the ground. He kept an eye on Melissa’s development while remaining present with his family, fully prepared to stay at the centre if conditions in St Andrew worsened.

All the demands of the job, from family commitments to public briefings and long hours in the field, haven’t dimmed Thompson’s fascination with the weather. Even after decades in the field, including 17 years as chief meteorologist at Television Jamaica, his excitement for the storms and skies remains the same.

“I love to see clouds … sometimes the genesis of the hurricane is really just a cluster of clouds. And then all of this becomes this tremendous storm that is so merciless sometimes … It still fascinates me,” he explained. He also enjoys hearing how colourful and inventive Jamaicans can be in describing the weather.

For Thompson, every weather forecast is also a lesson, and this is something he extends to his team. “There is always something new to see in the weather, and the science keeps developing, so I keep learning something new every day.”

rollesha.laing@gleanerjm.com