Tuesday, February 03, 2004
The Inaugural Post
Jason Samenow @ 12:45 AM
Welcome to the new CapitalWeather.com! Our mission is simple: to provide the most useful and entertaining weather information for the DC area available ANYWHERE.
We give you weather in a format you will not find anywhere else. Using this blog, our team of meteorologists, writers and weather hobbyists now begin offering timely perspectives on what is going on outside and allow you to join the conversation. Our entries are serious when appropriate, but more often than not, candid, edgy and humorous.
Providing a seven-day forecast is not our primary focus. That is why we provide a National Weather Service forecast from a third party site. You can get a forecast anywhere, and with the sophisticated computers of today, it will be similar whether you are watching Channel 4, 7 or 9, tuning in your weather radio, or reading the newspaper. Our focus is on forecast commentary, because the true value of a forecast is in how it is communicated. When the weather means business, we will tell you what to expect, in what order, when and why.
Anticipate up to the moment forecast commentary days prior to significant weather events and tips on how to prepare in our storm center. During storms, we will provide the play by play and you can take part by commenting on what is happening where you live. When the weather is dull, log on anyway. We have got the most unique team around who will keep you aware of weather action elsewhere. Probably stuff you did not even know you wanted to know. Did you see that radar image from Lubbock, Texas last week??? Damn! Plus we will talk weather history, so get your storm stories ready.
Finally, we will often analyze our own forecasts (ever heard meteorologists tossing off trash talk?) after the fact. Think you know better than we do? Bring it on! Who knows? Maybe you will join our team and show us how to do it right!
The team
All CapitalWeather.com team members share two things in common: We are all volunteers and passionate about DC weather. And we are all extraordinarily good looking. Ok, so that is three things. Allow me to introduce The Team.
I (Jason Samenow) created this site exactly one year ago and have enlisted five others to share in the madness. By reading my portrayals of my teammates, you will pick up some tidbits about me along the way. Or you can just click here.
Andrew Freedman is a weather nerd who tends to change jobs...frequently. In the last two years, he has worked for NOAA public affairs, been a freelance writer for Weatherwise magazine, a journalist covering the environment at Congressional Quarterly and now has the climate change beat at Greenwire. He is our designated comedian. You can find him performing improv comedy with Improv Nation of Washington Improv Theater. I like this testimonial about him from Friendster: Freedman is the key. And the lock. (If you get that, great. If you do not, he will still be funnier than you and at least 99.9% of the people you know.)
Jeremy Herbst, once a professional meteorologist, writes movies and manages the restaurant Swingers in Los Angeles. Like me, he got undergraduate and graduate degrees in Atmospheric Science from the University of Virginia and University of Wisconsin, respectively (begging the question what the hell is he doing now?). We competed against each other in the National Collegiate Forecasting Contest, and I will concede he placed higher than I did by a nose two years in a row. But nose this, in classes where forecasting was part of the grade, I out-forecasted him both times. To be modest, I think we are equally stupendous forecasters.
Jamie Jones, like many of the Democratic Presidential candidates, is a mystery. Unsolicited, he emailed me asking to redesign and reprogram the site (now he can claim he invented it) -- for fun. He is a computer science student so that could explain how he chooses to spend his free time. But the fact he attends UVA, likes to party and watch the Hoos tear up ACC competition complicates this portrayal. Early returns are overwhelming in characterizing him as a bright, funny and generous guy.
Josh Larson is just like me (and Jeremy Herbst for that matter): a weather fanatic from a young age who is perhaps better in the humanities than he is at science or math. Though he is only a junior at Williams College majoring in English, he is the lead author of a paper tentatively slated to appear in the prestigious Journal of Climate. Josh has plans to get a graduate degree in Meteorology - that is if he can pass differential equations. Even if he struggles with his dv/dts, I have no doubt his career in meteorology will takeoff. I remember I was once too thick to understand density but after some heavy lifting my career got off the ground.
Jeffrey Levy is an experienced Web designer (in his real job he keeps a federal agency's site on track). He also has a degree in Physics and is a pilot. His forecasts are not so hot (tomorrow will be like today is typical), but he is a great editor and he will serve as our site ombudsman. I know from personal experience that Jeffrey will not be shy if we screw up. In addition, he will make sure CapitalWeather.com strictly complies with all 5,036,223 federal Web guidelines. Seriously, Jeffrey is a stand-up guy, and damn smart. Just do not call him Jeff.
Welcome aboard. Speaking for the team, we are thrilled you have stopped by our site and hope you will tell the world about it. Provide feedback anytime (either by emailing us or posting comments on the blog) and sign up for our email updates if you want to be alerted about upcoming significant weather (no spam, we promise).
Jason Samenow, Site Founder
Some are weatherwise, most are otherwise - Ben Franklin
We give you weather in a format you will not find anywhere else. Using this blog, our team of meteorologists, writers and weather hobbyists now begin offering timely perspectives on what is going on outside and allow you to join the conversation. Our entries are serious when appropriate, but more often than not, candid, edgy and humorous.
Providing a seven-day forecast is not our primary focus. That is why we provide a National Weather Service forecast from a third party site. You can get a forecast anywhere, and with the sophisticated computers of today, it will be similar whether you are watching Channel 4, 7 or 9, tuning in your weather radio, or reading the newspaper. Our focus is on forecast commentary, because the true value of a forecast is in how it is communicated. When the weather means business, we will tell you what to expect, in what order, when and why.
Anticipate up to the moment forecast commentary days prior to significant weather events and tips on how to prepare in our storm center. During storms, we will provide the play by play and you can take part by commenting on what is happening where you live. When the weather is dull, log on anyway. We have got the most unique team around who will keep you aware of weather action elsewhere. Probably stuff you did not even know you wanted to know. Did you see that radar image from Lubbock, Texas last week??? Damn! Plus we will talk weather history, so get your storm stories ready.
Finally, we will often analyze our own forecasts (ever heard meteorologists tossing off trash talk?) after the fact. Think you know better than we do? Bring it on! Who knows? Maybe you will join our team and show us how to do it right!
The team
All CapitalWeather.com team members share two things in common: We are all volunteers and passionate about DC weather. And we are all extraordinarily good looking. Ok, so that is three things. Allow me to introduce The Team.
I (Jason Samenow) created this site exactly one year ago and have enlisted five others to share in the madness. By reading my portrayals of my teammates, you will pick up some tidbits about me along the way. Or you can just click here.
Andrew Freedman is a weather nerd who tends to change jobs...frequently. In the last two years, he has worked for NOAA public affairs, been a freelance writer for Weatherwise magazine, a journalist covering the environment at Congressional Quarterly and now has the climate change beat at Greenwire. He is our designated comedian. You can find him performing improv comedy with Improv Nation of Washington Improv Theater. I like this testimonial about him from Friendster: Freedman is the key. And the lock. (If you get that, great. If you do not, he will still be funnier than you and at least 99.9% of the people you know.)
Jeremy Herbst, once a professional meteorologist, writes movies and manages the restaurant Swingers in Los Angeles. Like me, he got undergraduate and graduate degrees in Atmospheric Science from the University of Virginia and University of Wisconsin, respectively (begging the question what the hell is he doing now?). We competed against each other in the National Collegiate Forecasting Contest, and I will concede he placed higher than I did by a nose two years in a row. But nose this, in classes where forecasting was part of the grade, I out-forecasted him both times. To be modest, I think we are equally stupendous forecasters.
Jamie Jones, like many of the Democratic Presidential candidates, is a mystery. Unsolicited, he emailed me asking to redesign and reprogram the site (now he can claim he invented it) -- for fun. He is a computer science student so that could explain how he chooses to spend his free time. But the fact he attends UVA, likes to party and watch the Hoos tear up ACC competition complicates this portrayal. Early returns are overwhelming in characterizing him as a bright, funny and generous guy.
Josh Larson is just like me (and Jeremy Herbst for that matter): a weather fanatic from a young age who is perhaps better in the humanities than he is at science or math. Though he is only a junior at Williams College majoring in English, he is the lead author of a paper tentatively slated to appear in the prestigious Journal of Climate. Josh has plans to get a graduate degree in Meteorology - that is if he can pass differential equations. Even if he struggles with his dv/dts, I have no doubt his career in meteorology will takeoff. I remember I was once too thick to understand density but after some heavy lifting my career got off the ground.
Jeffrey Levy is an experienced Web designer (in his real job he keeps a federal agency's site on track). He also has a degree in Physics and is a pilot. His forecasts are not so hot (tomorrow will be like today is typical), but he is a great editor and he will serve as our site ombudsman. I know from personal experience that Jeffrey will not be shy if we screw up. In addition, he will make sure CapitalWeather.com strictly complies with all 5,036,223 federal Web guidelines. Seriously, Jeffrey is a stand-up guy, and damn smart. Just do not call him Jeff.
Welcome aboard. Speaking for the team, we are thrilled you have stopped by our site and hope you will tell the world about it. Provide feedback anytime (either by emailing us or posting comments on the blog) and sign up for our email updates if you want to be alerted about upcoming significant weather (no spam, we promise).
Jason Samenow, Site Founder
Some are weatherwise, most are otherwise - Ben Franklin
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