Life's a breeze for weather girl Michelle du Plessis
The 27-year-old describes reading the weather as a tough job.
Michelle du Plessis – better known as one of two Vox weather forecasters – celebrated her 27th birthday earlier this month.
She spoke about overcoming difficult seasons, the winds of change and starting over in Cape Town all before the age 30.
Dressed up as a meteorologist
Du Plessis lives in the Western Cape after relocating there for work reasons in 2023 and said she is a Pretorian by heart.
'I was born and raised in Centurion and matriculated at Zwartkop High School. I am one of five children, so family means everything to me. I grew up in a big household full of fun and games,' she said.
Du Plessis was the middle child with an older sister, one of twins, six years her senior and two younger brothers.
ALSO READ: Annette Botha: SA's Wonder Woman of weather
'I loved playing school with my brothers. Teaching was something I enjoyed. I also enjoyed school and excelled academically,' she said.
Du Plessis said she loved maths and geography and, later, enjoyed science.
She quips when she looks back at her career dress-up day in matric, she had accomplished her dream.
'I dressed up as a meteorologist, I used a hairbrush as a microphone and umbrella as a prop with leaves in my hair, not knowing a few years later it would be my day job,' she said.
Graduated cum laude
She describes reading the weather as a tough job.
'I cannot watch my first show, it made me cringe. But I learned from the best,' she said.
Du Plessis said she loved maths so much that if meteorology didn't work out for her, she would be teaching the subject.
She didn't come from a family that had obtained degrees, so she didn't know the careers to study.
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She enrolled at the University of Pretoria to study meteorology and completed her honours degree during Covid, only to find out that the forecasting certificate she had to complete at the SA Weather Service had been discontinued for that year.
'I went through the whole degree, graduated cum laude, only to find out that there was nowhere for me to go.
'During that time, I worked three jobs to keep my head above water. I worked as a bookkeeper, au pair and taught extra math classes.'
And then the phone rang.
Du Plessis wins Vox Weather presenter search
It was Annette Botha from Vox Weather inviting her for a presentation at the Vox Weather's open day as they were searching for a new meteorologist.
Du Plessis walked away as the winner.
'About a year later, they approached me with a job offer in 2022.'
Du Plessis had to leave Centurion and move to Cape Town to start her new job at the beginning of 2023.
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She hasn't looked back from day one.
'I am someone who doesn't give up easily and am hard working. So, even if I didn't end up where I am now, I would have made a success of my circumstances.
'Yes, it took time and it was hard to get, but it was worth it,' she said.
Du Plessis said she would always be grateful to the Burger family, who took her in at the end of Grade 11 when her family was going through a rough patch.
'They took care of me like one of their daughters,' she said.
Family
Besides missing highveld afternoon thundershowers in summer, Du Plessis also misses her family and being able to pop in for a coffee at her parents after work, or having a potjie.
Earlier this month, her mother visited her for my birthday.
'I couldn't let her leave without making her famous veggie soup and extra to freeze for later,' she said.
Du Plessis, who got married in October, said she was looking for ward to a family of her own.
'I cannot see myself growing old without having offspring of my own,' she said.
She loves being out and about on the job, be it snow chasing on the Matroos mountains or visiting places for their Beyond the Forecast vlogs.
'When I am not in front of the camera reading weather, I am either on the club's hockey field or out hiking,' she said.
Du Plessis enjoys her new life in Cape Town, taking cold swims in the ocean and reading the weather.
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