Photo: Mikayla Smith/YouTube
A University of Oklahoma meteorology student is going viral for her special twist on weather forecasts.
Mikayla Smith, a freelance weekend meteorologist at KXII and senior weather producer and meteorologist for OU Nightly, has launched a new initiative, "Signing Science with Smith." In these special forecasts, Smith uses American Sign Language to relay the weather forecast to viewers.
"The hard-of-hearing community has a special place in my heart. With social media often lacking closed caption or accurate captions, I felt the need to start talking weather in ASL. A little rusty but felt good to get back! So here is my newest endeavor, Signing Science with Smith," she said in a tweet, along with a video of an ASL forecast.
"Signing Science with Smith" videos can be found on Smith's YouTube and TikTok accounts.
"I was expecting, maybe, you know, a couple of likes and shares, and I was absolutely blown away," Smith told FOX7.
According to FOX7, Smith was introduced to American Sign Language at a young age when her mom went to college for special education. She started to learn ASL in seventh grade. Since the introduction of her new American Sign Language series, Smith said dozens of meteorologists have reached out to her in hopes of learning ASL.
"Maybe it'll spark a passion in them, too," she said.