Get to know Steve Carano: The Family Man, Professor and Meteorologist

Photo Courtesy of Steve Carano

By Selena Williams 

     Rose State since 2001. He wants his students to understand the weather and not fear it, so he teaches the way he wants to be taught.
   “I want an instructor that is not a robot, somebody that’s not unattainable, I don’t want to talk over my students head,” Carano said. “I don’t want to sound like a know it all, that’s not my intention to walk in with an ascot and a pipe and they call me professor. That’s not me, it’s kind of the same way I was on the air. What you see is what you get on and off the camera.”
   Carano’s ratings:
   Carano had an excellent 5.0 rating on rate my professor. Here is what one student had to say about his Earth Science class.
   “Prof. Carano is an incredible instructor. He really is there for the benefit of his students. Show up, take notes, and you will receive an A. Lectures are very straightforward, video heavy, and very interesting. Great man, great teacher.”
   Carano’s faith and religion:
   Carano is devout in his Christianity and considered devoting his life to the cloth.
“I thought about being a Catholic Priest,” he said. “I probably would go that route if something happened to my wife. I probably wouldn’t remarry. It’s not a knock on my wife at all, that’s not what I’m saying, it’s not like marriage is a bad institution. I just don’t think I could have what I have now, again.”
   Where it all began:
   Carano’s interest in the weather began back in high school.
   “Everyone knew that I was going to be a weather guy in high school and in college they really knew because my little 1988 chevy beretta looked like a porcupine, it had antennas all over it because I was always storm chasing in it.”
   Carano interned for Gary England in the summer of 1993.
   “I had gone to KOCO, I think first and they said no we don’t need an intern, then I went to KFOR and they didn’t need an intern,” he said. “My thought was my hopes were dashed, I thought, you know KWTV, I saved the best for
last. I went and Gary England said yes. I was floored because Gary England is known nationally, I mean he’s known and not just in the Oklahoma community.”
   He loved interning for KWTV and they were going to hire him, but they wanted him to gain some experience from a small station first. So that is exactly what he did, he went to Texas KTEN, a small station in Denison Texas.
He worked there for a year. Carano had a rough time at KTEN because their team was unkind toward him, but he said that unkindness toughened him up.
   “They told me I sucked, that I was never going to be anything and that I would never be in Oklahoma City. And within a year in a half I was,” he said.
   After KTEN, Carano went on to work for KFOR for three years, then took a break for a year because of a non compete clause. Carano’s next move was KOCO, where he worked on the weekends.
   Becoming a professor:
   He was told by KFOR Dan Threlkeld that Rose State was looking for somebody to teach, he went on to work for Rose State Monday-Thursday.
   “I thought well, that sounds fun, adjunct professor, that sounds kind of cool,” he said. “Just teach one class and see
how it goes. It was like, it got in my blood and that was fun for me, and now it’s flipped flopped. I was full-time TV weatherman and now I’m full-time professor, so you never know what is going to happen.”
   Although Carano is no longer a weatherman, he got the chance to work this past summer at KSWO, a TV station in Lawton. They had a couple of meteorologist leave and asked Carano if he could do some contract labor.
   In doing this, he had to spend some time away from his family. But his ten-year-old son Sam Carano got a chance to visit his dad and see him in action.
   “It may be the last time I’m ever on the air,” Carano said. “What was cool about it was I got to take my son down there. He got to see it. It gave me a bit of family time so I wasn’t quite so home sick. I don’t know if my wife missed me a lot. She was probably glad that she got rid of me for six weeks.”
   Sam Carano enjoyed his time with his father.
   “I was happy because I had to wake up at 2 a.m. and then I had to wait there which was kind of fun,” he said.
   Carano’s inspiration:
   Steve Carano’s biggest inspiration is his father Steve Joe Carano, but he is actually named after his grandfather Steve Anothony Carano.
   “My dad is probably my number one inspiration. I told him, if I could be half the father that he was to me I’d be okay,” he said.
   Fun facts about Carano:
   Some interesting things about Carano is that he is a brother of Kappa Kappa Psi, and was a trombonist for the OU band. He loves to cook, one of his favorite meals is squirrel and potatoes.
   Also, he had a chance to go to the Olympics to be an Olympian for target shooting. He was so good that he could shoot the stems from underneath dandelions with a bb gun from 33 feet away.
   Carano’s favorite television:
   As for movies and tv shows, Carano is a fan of Star Wars and Star Trek.
   “I watched the science channel a lot, I like how the universe works on the science channel just because it keeps me on my game here,” he said. “I got into Disney plus the other day and I watched the Mandalorian, I’m a big Star
Wars and Star Trek fan.”
   As for music, he is definitely a fan of the 80s .
   “I’m not a big rap fan. I loved the Fat boys growing up and Run DMC that’s about as Hip Hop as I get.”
   He is a fan of classical, rock and country music.
   "Merle Haggard is one of my favorites, George Jones, those old timey country guys and that’s real country for me,” Carano said. “I’m definitely am an 80s guy. I love Def Leppard, Dokken all of the 80s hair bands, Cinderella, Poison and Alice Cooper. I’ve actually seen Alice Cooper four times now in concert. I don’t mind 70s music either. A little Beegees.”
   Sam shared some more interesting things about his dad.
   “He can actually throw a football,” he said. “He forecast the weather and he’s a weather chaser.”
    If Sam could describe his dad in three words, they would be “best dad ever.”