Gail McGrane | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gail Pirie 1975 |
| Partner | Jon McGrane |
| Children | Eilidh Hope Pirie McGrane |
| Career | |
| Show | STV News |
| Station | STV |
| Style | Weather forecaster |
| Country | Scotland |
| Previous show(s) | Reporting Scotland (BBC Scotland) |
Gail McGrane (néeGail Pirie: born 1975) is a televisionweather forecaster, previously the senior forecaster forBBC Scotland. Born inDingwall, Ross-shire, McGrane attendedDingwall Academy before moving to Glasgow to attend theUniversity of Strathclyde. She took a job at theMet Office in 1999 and began presenting breakfast weather reports in 2000, before moving toReporting Scotland in early 2009. She has appeared as a weather consultant on several BBC Scotland productions.
McGrane was born inDingwall, Ross-shire in 1975 and educated atDingwall Academy. She moved toGlasgow, where she received anhonours degree ingeography and anMSc inenvironmental studies from theUniversity of Strathclyde. She studied for one year at theUniversity of Iowa in theUnited States,[1] as part of her third-year studies.[2]
She decided on a career as a forecaster during her studies,[3] in particular due to an experience in Iowa where she had to escape from atornado in her car.[4][5] She recalls being mocked for her decision by a lecturer.[6]
McGrane joined theMet Office in 1999, withBill Giles as her mentor.[1] Following her training at the Met Office College in Reading as a forecaster,[7] she moved to theBBC Television Centre as a broadcast assistant, then moved toBBC Scotland as aweather forecaster at the end of 2000.[8]
McGrane spent nine years as the #2 forecaster for BBC Scotland,[4] spending much of her time working on the breakfast shift covering regular radio slotsGood Morning Scotland, and Breakfast TV, where her job required her to get up at 3 am.[3]
She covered the Weather onReporting Scotland once or twice a week, but became lead weather presenter onReporting Scotland in late December 2009, after the departure ofHeather Reid,[9] following the latter's decision to leave for a role atLearning and Teaching Scotland after fifteen years of presenting.[10]
McGrane took maternity leave in 2011, along with her two female BBC Weather colleagues, Gillian Smart and Judith Ralston. In February 2012, it was announced that Gail would not return to the BBC, after deciding to quit.[citation needed]
In July 2012, Gail made her first appearance as a weather presenter onSTV, where she was a relief forecaster for a short time. She later returned to the BBC.
McGrane presents onLandward and previously appeared onThe Beechgrove Garden as a forecaster.[7]
McGrane lives in Glasgow with her husband Jon, an accountant.[3] Her mother still lives in Dingwall.[8] Together with her husband, McGrane has been a volunteer speaker for theChildren's Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS), raising£30,000 in a gala ball.[7]
She is a regular visitor to theUnited States, in particularChicago, where she had her first direct experience of a tornado.[1]
She is an avid fan offootball clubRoss County,[11] having frequently stayed with her grandparents in a house adjacent to the club's groundVictoria Park as a child.[12]