NBC News’ Weekend Today weather anchor and Nightly News correspondent Dylan Dreyer found out the hard way that you need to be careful with particular words when speaking on air. She is featured in The Improper Bostonian, where she discusses a variety of topics including when a mispronunciation resulted in hysterical laughter. Dreyer also discusses her favorite season, why San Diego is boring and even getting caught in the rain without an umbrella.
“I was beyond flattered to be featured on the cover of The Improper Bostonian, a magazine I read often, especially having worked so many years in Boston,” Dylan Dreyer told TVNewser. “I’m not used to being the center of attention but everyone was incredible to work with and they just told me to be myself…that’s the only thing I know how to be.”
On her biggest on-air gaffe:
That happened in Rhode Island. It was daylight saving time. I was on-air, and I said, “Don’t forget to turn your clocks back,” except that I left the “l” out of “clock.” As immature as can be, I burst out laughing so hard. I didn’t even pull it together. I just said, “I need to stop talking right now,” and we went to a commercial.
On the scariest weather phenomenon:
The scariest to cover? There were two, and they were very different. The first was a Category 3 hurricane in Bermuda. It was my first major hurricane. The wind was so crazy that the curtains in the room were shaking because the windows were bowing. I ended up staying on the bathroom floor, and the door was shut and rattling. I stayed awake all night. The crew I had was from Florida, and afterward, they were like “That’s just what you do. You sleep in the bathtub.” The other happens a lot in the winter: I end up driving through lake-effect snow. It comes down so hard and so fast, you can’t see a thing. Lights only make it worse, and the trucks come screaming up behind you. It’s kind of terrifying.
On how often she’s wrong:
We’re fairly accurate. The more specific you get, the more trouble you get into, and I’m doing more macro, national-level stuff. But if you say, “It’s going to be 70 and sunny,” in a specific place, and a batch of clouds come in and it’s only 68, that’s totally different. In general, we don’t get enough credit for being right, because everybody focuses on the mistakes. I’d say we’re right more often than wrong, but I’m sure a lot of people would disagree. [Laughs.]