MARCH 2 • 2023 | 13

no preparation was required for tornadoes. 
“Michigan is in the northern edge of 
tornado country, and we get fewer torna-
does but they are more likely to be serious,
” 
Gross says. Through his efforts, two of the 
10 drills required for students are now tor-
nado drills — one of his proudest accom-
plishments.
Another personal point of pride is his 
role in the documentary Forecast: Overlord 
about the role of weather in planning the 
Allies’ D-Day invasion of northern Europe. 
Gross had read The Longest Day about 
D-Day and noticed a brief reference to 
weather, which was a critical element in 
planning the massive air and sea invasion. 
Gross devoted three years of research, 
and his resulting documentary was added 
to the D-Day Archives at the Dwight D. 
Eisenhower Presidential Library as well as 
other major archives and libraries in Britain, 
New York and Chicago. 
Amy Binder, research director at WDIV
, 
has known Paul for the 22 years she has 
worked at the station. “Paul is incredibly 
passionate about weather. His passion 
is more about keeping people safe and 
informed than anything else. He is tireless 
until he gets the story right. Often that story 
could mean making sure he has succinctly 
presented stories about things we don’t 
think about in our day-to-day life. Things 
like an eclipse, meteors, every single effect 
in the sky — and he makes it so interesting 
and easy to understand — not an easy feat,
” 

Binder says. 
She and Gross have a 
traditional food exchange 
at Passover — Amy makes 
matzah toffee and Paul gives 
her his horseradish.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR PAUL
Most viewers are probably 
unaware that Gross has been 
doing courtroom meteorologi-
cal consulting for 37 years. “It’s 
a small niche in litigation, but 
there are some cases where an 
expert witness in meteorol-
ogy can be helpful,
” he says. 
Weather conditions can be 
relevant in some auto crashes, 
slip-and-fall cases and a class- 
action flood lawsuit. Gross tes-
tifies about weather conditions, 
including how much rain fell 
during a specific time period. 
He plans to continue work as 
an expert witness after retiring 
from WDIV
. 
Along with weather-related legal con-
sulting, Gross is interested in becoming a 
lecturer for The Great Courses, an online 
adult education program, noting that cur-
rently there aren’t any classes about global 
warming. He also plans to spend more 
time with his wife, Nancy, at their vacation 
home near Charlevoix; they have two sons. 
Gross has been president of Temple Kol 

Ami in West Bloomfield four times and is 
serving on a committee to choose a new 
rabbi for the temple. A former temple 
board member describes him as an “active 
and enthusiastic” member of Kol Ami.
“
Although Paul may be retiring, I prefer 
to think of it as ‘evolving’ into another 
phase in his life,” says Denver meteorolo-
gist Nelson. “Paul Gross will never be one 
to sit back and take it easy!” 

Paul 
Gross

ABOVE: Meteorologists Brandon Roux and Paul Gross work out of the weather center.

ABOVE: Brandon Roux and Paul 
Gross track tornadoes.

