Integrity matters I constantly deal with picking up the pieces behind the bad actors that litter social media with images like the one on the left. I get messages sent to me, and sometimes I get challenged in my responses. Sometimes, I blocked people and refunded donation money due to their irrationality. I have a low tolerance level for the blissfully ignorant, along with the trolls and the disrespectful. PTW is a full-time, part-time effort. I work a full-time job on top of the work I do here, and I also have a family. I make little to no income and get lucky when folks like yourselves donate enough cash to keep the lights on so I can operate in a high-level, professional manner. Some people think I am crazy. I question my sanity at times, too. What started as a passion for understanding the atmosphere has become a crusade against hype that litters the web. Weather misinformation is a disease on social media, and the argument can also be made in the news media, whether local, regional, or national. With an open mind, it does not take long to figure out who is looking out for your best interest or who is all about themselves and yanking your chain if one is willing to look around. PTW is PTW and not “Mike Haggett – Forecaster” because this isn’t about me. Sure, I will sprinkle in personal information occasionally, but PTW is about the weather and my interpretation of it through the decades of living in Maine, my education through Penn State, and all of the growing pains that have come with forecasting life. I started this journey with skepticism and a cynical attitude. After a busted forecast in December 2011, the stereotypical phrase, “Are weather forecasters idiots?! It must be nice to get paid for a job to be wrong all the time!” rang in my head. I had to see and learn to understand what these people were looking at. Now, I am in that position where I don’t want to be one of the idiots. It is a massive responsibility to uphold and bear. Since I am independent, I can tell it like it is without answering to management and bureaucracy. Blunt force truth, I do not care what Hale Stone says on TV or what your crap weather app says. I do not play the operational model track jog games that go on, which can create confusion in the forecast and is tiring to participate in. I turn up the volume when necessary and avoid media-hijacked meteorology terms used as scare tactics unless warranted in context. “Wishcasting” is another issue that obscures the interwebs, like a few too many pints in the local tavern. As a recovering alcoholic & drug addict of 33+ years, I don’t have the beer glass goggles getting in my way. I have no personal bias in my forecasting objectivity. My sole purpose is to get it close and let you know where it may bust and how. Humans do not have the complete code for Mother Nature’s plan, just ideas. I was told by a long-time dear friend in the broadcast TV world that the whole concept of forecasting is you know you will lose, but the challenge is not to lose badly. That is the ballgame. Will this storm happen next weekend? It’s doubtful at this point. The Euro is out on its own island here. The ensembles are laughing at the operational idea, and model support from others is slim to none. In the meantime, there are chances for snow showers in the mountains and north, and breezy conditions continue throughout the week. 10-day Temperature Outlook Daily forecast details are always one click away You control the future of PTW... Always have MULTIPLE ways to receive weather alerts. Stay aware, stay on alert, and stay safe. - Mike PRINT MEDIA: Feel free to quote and cite my work here for your stories. Please give me the professional courtesy of knowing that you are referencing my material so I can read your final product and acknowledge it on my media and link it on the PTW IN MEDIA page here on the website. Feel free to send me a message via the Facebook page or Twitter (X) to get my phone number if necessary. Thank you! NOTE: The forecast information depicted on this platform is for general information purposes only for the public and is not designed or intended for commercial use. For those seeking pinpoint weather information for business operations, you should use a private sector source. For information about where to find commercial forecasters to assist your business, please message me and I will be happy to help you. |
Mike Haggett
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