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About Me & My Website | Contact Me | |
Scroll down for the Frequently Asked Questions section. Personal Biography: From my birth in 1985, I grew up and lived in the Martinsville area until moving to Roanoke in 2012. I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 2006 with a degree in Atmospheric Sciences and a minor in Mathematics, and from Liberty University in 2010 with a Master of Arts in Teaching. I briefly worked at a local TV/radio station in Martinsville before realizing that teaching is a more fulfilling career, and I enjoy weather forecasting more as a seasonal hobby. Currently, I work as a high school math teacher, and I continue to live in the Roanoke area with my wife and children. I no longer maintain this website on an daily basis as I did for more than a decade, but I continue to post frequent updates during the winter months. Website History: In the mid to late 1990s, even before I had internet access at my home, I dreamed of developing a website with my forecast for the Martinsville and Henry County area. That dream gradually came true during the years of 2000 and 2001. Updates were erratic at first, but I consistently posted updated forecasts nearly every day from September 2001 through March 2012. My website is a hobby for me; I don't get paid for it (though I am thankful to the advertisers who have covered my expenses over the years). I believe the honesty and integrity that I try to show in my forecasting is something that makes my website unique. I intentionally keep my website simple so you can check it quickly, find out what you need to know, and then continue on with your day. I also include Bible studies and resources to hopefully help people grow spiritually and understand Jesus better, which is far more important than anything else I can do. |
If you have a question, comment, or suggestion about my website, I would love to hear from you! Just fill out the form below. Depending on when you send this, I may respond quickly or it could take up to a few days. | |
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Frequently Asked Questions | ||
How often do you update your forecast? I post updates at various times during the day when winter weather is in the forecast. I use a variety of resources to prepare my forecast, such as computer model data and the National Weather Service forecast, to create my own forecast. I believe that the fact that I focus on this small area, combined with my years of experience forecasting for Martinsville, are the two main factors that contibute to my generally high forecast accuracy. What is the Regional School Forecast? This section shows my forecast for the chance that schools will be open each day for the next 10 days. The highest I will go is 99%, because anything can happen (even non-weather related events such as a fire or bomb threat). If I have a 0% chance, that school or school system has announced that it is closed for that day or it is a scheduled holiday. (Please note that I no longer check local school calendars. If your school system has a holiday coming up, feel free to use the contact form on this page to let me know.) Even if there is a lot of snow on the ground and schools will obviously be closed the next day, I won't go below 10% until an official announcement has been made. This section is different from my 10 day forecast because I also have to take into account how long it will take the snow to melt as well as how quickly the roads get plowed. Obviously this section is most often used for snow, but the possibility of school closings due to other weather events (flooding, hurricanes, etc.) is also taken into account. What is the Forecast Discussion? This is where I express my thoughts and opinions on my forecast and how confident I am in it. This is one thing that I think sets me apart from other forecasts because I don't just make a forecast but I also explain my reasoning behind it; I also give other possible scenarios if I have lower confidence in my forecast. I talk about computer models quite frequently in my discussions, and a brief explanation of those can be found below the discussion. Where did your historical weather data come from? Most of the historical climate data comes from the Blue Ridge Regional Airport (KMTV) in Spencer. Occasionally, when data from the airport seemed to be inaccurate or unreliable, other data sources were used. | ||
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