About Ed

So What About Ed Phillips?

I was born in Alton, Illinois, a small city on the Mississippi River which is about 20 miles from the St. Louis Gateway Arch.

Family

My Dad, Edwin worked in the steel business his entire career after World War II. His former company, Laclede Steel provided some of the steel for the Arch as well as the Twin Towers in New York.

World War II

Dad turned 18 during World War II and joined the fight like two of his older brothers. He was in the Army less than a year when he was put on a troop ship the SS Leopoldville. The ship sailed from Southampton, England heading for Cherbourg, France. Within site of the harbor, a German Submarine U-489 torpedoed the Leopoldville. Dad survived but over 800 of the troops and ship's crew died that night. They were heading to the Battle of the Bulge on Christmas Eve, 1944. It was a nightmare he carried the rest of his 88 year life.

Moms Side of the Family

My Mom was an only child and the daughter of Art and Ada. My Granddad did not like farming so he left at 16 and moved to Alton. He knew he needed a trade so he learned plumbing and pipefitting. He was also an entrepreneur before anyone had heard of the word. Before my Mom, Ada Mae, became a full-time mother to the three kids she was a hairdresser just like her Mother.

As the oldest of the three kids consequently I was programmed to being the "grown up". The idea was I could set an example for my brother and sister. I guess that worked out ok since none of us did anything really bad growing up. In school for some reason, I got interested in the weather in about 5th grade. It became a hobby and then a passion I guess you could say. I read every book in the local and school library I could on the weather. By Middle School (we called it Junior High) I knew I wanted to go to college and learn about weather and climate. 

School

I won't dwell on my High School years but I knew enough to take courses that would land me at a college so I could study Meteorology. By some miracle St. Louis University accepted me and I got my degree in Aeronautics with major in Aeronautical Meteorology. ( Side Note: The University misspelled Meteorology on my diploma)

Early Career

I interned at Weather Corporation of American in St. Louis while I was still in school. They hired me as a full-time meteorologist right out of college. Since I had radio broadcast experience and I learned weather forecasting in that job I wanted to go where the sun was shining and opportunity was everywhere. It turned out pretty good for me in Arizona. I am blessed. You can read the highlights on the rest of this page.