I’ve hesitated to write this post for some time. It has been sitting in my “drafts” for about three months. It has been incomplete. Messy. It wasn’t meant for public consumption. Then a series of events happened this last few weeks that made my thoughts below much more meaningful. And necessary. I won’t name names, or cite events, but some of you probably know.
So, friends, I need to come clean:
This was the plan all along.
What is “this” you ask? This is this. This website, the app, and my development of a new way for people to consume actual, in-depth, and meaningful weather forecast information.
When I left WDAM, this was the plan.
See, I never really fit in on TV. Many of you probably realized that over the years – for one reason or another. The two main sticking points: I was ‘too sciency’ and I wouldn’t ‘follow the trends’ of other stations. I had my own direction and it often conflicted with what TV wanted. I was even-keel when they wanted to be excited (like saying ‘no biggie’ for our area during Hurricane Nate). I was quiet when they wanted to be loud (like for every potential severe weather event). And I was different when they wanted me to be the same (like when I showed CIPS Analogs on air).
It isn’t their fault I didn’t fit in. I am different. I was the weird one.
This isn’t a first…
This isn’t new for me, though, because I’ve never really fit in. Anywhere. When I was in high school, I signed up to work at our campus radio station. Yes, our high school had a radio station. It was weird at the time and it is even weirder to think about now. The radio station was 102.7FM. Lower power. Broadcast radius was a few miles. But it was enough!
Everyone who signed up wanted to play music. I wanted to talk about sports.
In college, it was the same story. At WIPZ-FM at UW-Parkside my freshman year I was the first sports talk show they’d ever had.
Then, when I transferred to Oregon State, I hosted the first sports talk show, The NickelBlock (that’s where I got the name for this site), on KBVR-FM in a very long time according to faculty. More than a quarter century, they said. I was such an oddity that they didn’t know what to do with me. Who would want to just sit here and talk, they asked. They stuck me overnight on Saturday’s. Mandated that I play a certain number of songs per hour.
Again, not their fault. I’m weird.
I spent two years hosting a sports talk show and uploading the show, in its entirety, to the web. I wanted people to be able to listen on their schedule. I also knew there was an audience to be reached. While the first official “podcast,” according to the internet, was in Spring 2004… my first “podcast” was in the winter of 2003.
People didn’t understand why I did that. “Who is going to download an episode of a show? Listen to something recorded… from the past? why?” they asked.
Two years after my first night on-air at KBVR, I started calling play-by-play of athletics at Oregon State. But, the station was still primarily a music station, so they still weren’t sure how to manage the addition. The games weren’t carried live – for many reasons – and they ran “re-runs” of the games the following morning. At 5am.
It wasn’t until two years later that we would broadcast a game live.
I loved radio, but I knew I needed to branch out. So I tried TV.
When I started working on TV, though, it felt uncomfortable. Personalities had to be bigger. Expressions more exaggerated. Something as simple as interviewing a guest became a chore. On radio that interview could be compelling, on TV, people got bored.
I wanted to meld the two. In 2006, I had an idea: live-stream a static video shot of Oregon State athletics to the web, with play-by-play as the audio. I wanted to broadcast it on the radio station website. Sounds low-tech, but the first streamed sporting event of any kind ever was just a few years earlier.
That didn’t fit, they said. Again, I’m the weird one. I couldn’t get the clearance to broadcast it. Couldn’t secure the equipment to, either. And I was told – by a lot of people – no one would stream a sporting event. They would either watch it on TV, catch the highlights on SportsCenter, or go to the event (Imagine saying that in 2023).
After graduating, I struggled to find a job in radio and TV. And looking back, I shouldn’t be surprised. I lacked the specific personality and pizzazz needed to get a job in television. And radio jobs were few and far between.
But I kept having these ideas that were simply taking the tech from today and taking it an extra step. Whether it was the casual idea of a tablet and smart watches I explained to friends in 2008 or the idea for a condensed downloadable-only interview segment, Five Questions, I started in 2010 on my sports website The Five. All of those things are things today. Including “Five Questions” and “The Five.”
While I was on TV for a decade I had a few ideas that ended up becoming industry standard.
In 2011, I started live-streaming our storm chases at KAMR. This was one of the first live-streams of its kind. At the time I knew of two other people who were trying to live stream storm chases, and they were often in and around larger cities while chasing. The technology was still in its infancy and cell service strong enough to stream such video was spotty in rural areas.
But the videos gained some traction and, if nothing else, gave a proof of product to others to try something similar.
At WDAM, I talked about science on air. I gave more than just a smile and a sunshine icon. I explained the weather. I used real terminology – not made-for-TV-marketing-fluff. The Consultants the station paid to bring in hated it. Management wasn’t too thrilled either. Just give the weather, everyone said. I disagreed. I thought you, the public, deserved better.
I was also one of the first people to do long-form detailed forecasting on facebook live. It was a bit of a combination of Bernie Rayno’s work at Accuweather and my thoughts that everyone wanted extra details about the weather that was applicable to where they lived. It was so popular we started putting on the station app.
Both of these things are now commonplace.
Leaving TV…
After reflecting on things, I knew that I couldn’t sleep on my next idea. It was something I started thinking about back in 2013 when I started this site. But it really grabbed ahold of me in 2017 after repeated weather events across the Gulf Coast.
At the time, I was being pushed to do things I didn’t believe in at the cost of communicating the risk the public was facing. Over the subsequent years, it got worse. And my exit from TV and into this new space needed to be expedited given what was happening around me.
Looking around the television news world, the landscape of informers was becoming less about informing and more about entertaining. Maybe you’ve noticed this, too. It was (and is) turning into a world of entertainers that could inform. But I knew there was still a desire for people to be informed. And to be informed by people dedicated to informing and less interested in entertaining.
On top of that, I think the meteorology side of television news is being swallowed by the entertainers. It is less about the forecast and more about the production value of the forecast – and other things around it. Things like, “Are the graphics in 3D?” became more important than, “Is the forecast accurate and being understood?” in the eyes of many. A “Code Red: Action Alert Weather Day” replaced “Chance for storms.”
I loved being a television meteorologist. I loved the people I worked with. But I didn’t like the other stuff that — now — came with the job. Doesn’t make that way wrong, I’m just different.
I just think people still demand a forecast with accuracy, delivered clearly, and explained fully, with no hyperbole, by a person they trust. Five pretty simple things.
That is why I think individual weather apps run by meteorologists – not TV stations, not businesses – is the next step in public-facing meteorology.
I knew needed to become a direct-to-consumer meteorologist. So I knew I had to leave TV.
Right now…
This is why the expansion of NickelBlock Forecasting and the introduction of the NickelBlock Forecasting weather app happened. It was the plan.
The reason for the slow build up during the last six months is trying to get all my ducks in a row so when I hit the ground, I can hit the ground running.
I’m working on bringing Noah Gower back on board (you may remember him as a former weather intern at WDAM a few years back), I’m trying to sure up the video side of things for severe weather coverage, and I’ve added a few weather vendors to help shake out a broader forecast to help you plan you day, your week, and maybe even your month. And expand our coverage from the map below to include more parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and perhaps parts of Texas and Florida.
On top of that, I’ve also started doing some weather consulting work.
I can come to homes and businesses to make assessments about the safer places to shelter during a tornado or severe weather, how it may fare in a hurricane, and where the trouble areas for standing water may be.
I’m also working on offering weather forecasts specifically for businesses to help them cut costs incurred by inclement weather. You’d be surprised (or maybe you wouldn’t) how much money is wasted due to uncooperative weather — Heavy rain ruining cement layers mornings, lightning costing roofers money in the afternoon, and flash flooding sweeping away landscapers work overnight.
This is the future. And I’m here for it. And I want to be here for you, too.
The next step…
The goal is to build an app and a website that is self-sustaining. I don’t think I’ll ever leave my “9-to-5” even though it is more of a “4-to-3” job. I really do enjoy it. Despite the hours.
This is far fro a Million Dollar Idea, but I’d like to get to a point where the app and the website can support the cost of providing the website, server space, bandwidth, app and video production you guys need to keep you ahead of the weather.
I’ll be as transparent as I can: this ain’t cheap. The yearly cost is a five-digit-one-comma number and about as much as I got paid my first year in TV.
But I think I can get to a point where it is sustainable – with your help.
If you like the app, spread the word! If you don’t like the app, please tell me why! If you have an idea about how to make it better, I’m all ears!
Need the app still?
….. On your phone?
TAP HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE NICKELBLOCK FORECASTING APP FOR ANDROID
OR
TAP HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE NICKELBLOCK FORECASTING APP FOR APPLE
Run a local business and want to reach potential new customers? Reach out! We can help each other! Our developers worked really hard to offer a handful of options that help get info about local businesses in front of local customers.
Just want to donate and help out? Thank you! I’ve currently got a paypal donate button set up for just that.
The goal here is to make this a sustainable endeavor so that no one has to be surprised by the weather or caught off-guard when it gets stormy. I know how stressful the weather in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama can be. I’m here to reduce the stress and hopefully get you through the storm as safely as possible.
This was the plan. All along.
Hey, I totally liked you on TV, as well as the information you shared with us. It changed the way I viewed weather in general and storms in particular. I also love the app and appreciate you still being on FB. I don’t pay for anything on line (after a terrible experience in the early years of PayPal), but I’d send you a little money if you are comfortable sharing a mailing address.
I’m just glad you chose our area of the country to work your plan. I think you have powerful insight with connecting the science, technology, and humanity. Go forth and forecast!
I always trusted you with the weather forecast. You kept me updated on clear skies and stormy skies. I don’t expect anything different now.
You honestly need to share your story! I knew you were different from the other weathermen. Like you said, much of it is overhyped entertainment☹️ Many people were not prepared for Katrina because of entertainment type weather forecasting. I understand more viewers, the money comes pouring in. I’d rather have you❤️. Thank you for sharing your story and your expertise!
Awesome work on the App. It has become my goto weather app. I really appreciate all the hard work you have done and appreciate you watching out for us.
Nick, we appreciated your weather forecasts from the time you started. We are so happy that you found your way! Thank you!
Nick, I loved your knowledge and incite when you were at WDAM I love science and you were speaking my language! I’m grateful that you take time out of your life to still keep us informed !
I appreciated the way you kept us informed and threw in some educational information along the way.. An honest breath of fresh air. You are sorely missed here but am thankful you have created your app. I recently moved to Lafayette County but still like to be aware of the Pinebelt weather because I have family and friends still there. Wishing you the best in this endeavor.