Watch Out: Sophomore to Lead NOAA After Mentioning He 'Can’t Remember the Last Time October Was This Warm'

Move over OCR, and make room for OAR (Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research). After being praised by the meteorological community for his insight that “it’s kinda wild it can get this warm in October,” College junior Matt Hellerman has been called on to helm the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

Walking down Locust this past Friday, Hellerman reportedly noticed “some people in shorts, but others in long sleeves.” Using his skills of deduction, Hellerman was able to conclude to a friend that “It seems that the weather is not exactly in line with the season that we’re in.” The comment was then overheard in passing by a team of researchers from NOAA, who reported it to their higher-ups. 

Hellerman, a native of Los Angeles, California, says that his insight was just a matter of approaching the weather from a different perspective. 

“Coming to Penn from the West Coast, I just noticed such a different climate that nobody seemed to really be talking about. I mean, it could be raining for four days straight and then be bright and sunny on the fifth— I’m from LA and haven’t seen rain since by my 8th grade graduation!” 

Despite being "honored" to have been chosen, Hellerman is choosing to defer the role as chief operating officer, at least until he graduates. Said Hellerman, “I have an internship with Exxonmobil this summer, and I’m really interested in helping them come up with creative interpretations for the weather as well.”