KCRG-TV9 Meteorologist Kaj O’Mara joined the TV9 First Alert Storm Team in May of 2007. You can see Kaj's forecast every weekday on the KCRG-TV9 Morning News & KCRG-TV9 News at Midday.

Kaj comes to TV9 after earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from Iowa State University in May 2007. While at ISU, he was very active with both Iowa State Television and Iowa State Radio. He anchored weathercasts on Wednesday evenings and did play-by-play and color commentary for Cyclone football and basketball games. He was also very active with the Iowa State student chapter of the American Meteorological Society serving as Academic Chair his senior year.

Kaj is now a professional member of both the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. Kaj has earned the new American Meteorological Society Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) Seal. To earn the CBM seal, broadcasters must hold a degree in Meteorology from an accredited college or university, pass a rigorous written examination, and have their on-air work reviewed to assess technical competence, informational value, explanatory value, and communication skills. Kaj was asked to present coverage of the 2008 floods as well as the devastating EF5 tornado that tore through northeast Iowa on May 25, 2008 at the National AMS Conference in Phoenix, AZ in January 2009.

Internships were found to be extremely valuable to get some experience. He interned at KCCI-TV
in Des Moines while at ISU, and during the summers, interned right here at the TV9 Weather Lab. In addition to interning, Kaj also completed an undergraduate research project involving severe weather forecasting, and was a teaching assistant for the Meteorology department at Iowa State.

Kaj is originally from Iowa City and has loved the weather for as long as he can remember.  He grew up watching TV9 as a boy and credits their severe weather coverage of the Washington tornado in 1998 to truly igniting his passion to become a meteorologist.  He graduated from Iowa City City High in 2003, and will always be a loyal fan of the City High Little Hawks!

In his spare time, Kaj loves grilling out, playing many outdoor sports, spending time with family and friends, and he has even tried to dust the trombone off as well. When asked about his favorite weather, Kaj will tell you that it’s the fall football temperatures of October.

Feel free to send Kaj an email, he’d love to hear from you!