Weather is life
My father, an avid outdoorsman, paid close attention to the weather. He learned from his parents and the logs of his grandfather, who was a lighthouse keeper on Seguin Island, just how crazy the weather could get. The barometer in the house was checked every morning and night. He listened to local radio all day and watched the 6 o’clock news for updates. If by chance he missed the television broadcast, the NOAA weather radio was turned on to get the latest forecast and bulletin information. He respected the weather and how dangerous it could be on a boat or in the woods. All of this was instilled in me as a child growing up in the 1970s. It was important to stay updated because the forecast could change quickly.
I caught the weather bug as a kid. I sometimes kept observations, tracked hurricanes on paper, and was fascinated with thunderstorms and winter. I dreamed of being a weather forecaster on TV. I grew up watching the likes of Barry Burbank, Bob O'Wrill, and Wayne Mahar. It wasn’t in the cards for me, though. My father had the math gene, but I didn’t get it.
I loved maps and geography. I’d grab the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer and study it. When my father told me we were going to a lake or pond to ice fish, I knew the route. I also studied nautical charts. We spent a lot of time on the boat in summer, over eastern Casco Bay, the Kennebec, and Sheepscot Rivers.
I caught the weather bug as a kid. I sometimes kept observations, tracked hurricanes on paper, and was fascinated with thunderstorms and winter. I dreamed of being a weather forecaster on TV. I grew up watching the likes of Barry Burbank, Bob O'Wrill, and Wayne Mahar. It wasn’t in the cards for me, though. My father had the math gene, but I didn’t get it.
I loved maps and geography. I’d grab the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer and study it. When my father told me we were going to a lake or pond to ice fish, I knew the route. I also studied nautical charts. We spent a lot of time on the boat in summer, over eastern Casco Bay, the Kennebec, and Sheepscot Rivers.
Team owners Lois and Mark Just, Senator Susan Collins, myself, and Team President Bill Schurman
I grew up in Yarmouth and graduated from high school there in 1988. I became a professionally trained chef. I worked in classy places, along with some dives, too. While doing that, I started to pursue a radio career on the side. I did voiceover work, production, and as a fill-in DJ for All Sports 1440 AM and Ocean 98. After that, I explored professional hockey, interning for the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League for a couple of seasons. I married, left the hospitality industry in late 1998, and used my inventory management skillset in the commercial vehicle parts world. My growing family left Portland for Poland Spring during the summer of 2001. Soon after, the Lewiston MAINEiacs came to town. I managed the chat board, wrote columns for the team magazine, and provided color commentary on the radio. Then, I moved into media and community relations. After the team sold and disbanded, I wondered what my next side job was to entertain my curious mind.
Hello, busted forecast.
I stayed home from work on a day in December 2011 as my daughters were called off from school for what was supposed to be a 6-12” snow event, which didn’t happen. I was livid. I burned my Boxing Day off from work, my last day of paid vacation of the year, for what ended up being flurries.
Are these forecasters idiots? It must be nice to get paid for a job where you are always wrong.
I wanted to know what these people look at and why forecasts bust.
Using my sports media connections, I emailed Dave Eid at WGME, who put me in touch with Chief Meteorologist Charlie Lopresti. In a few evenings, he showed me the ropes with the data he used over pizza or Pad Thai noodles. That began my journey.
I stayed home from work on a day in December 2011 as my daughters were called off from school for what was supposed to be a 6-12” snow event, which didn’t happen. I was livid. I burned my Boxing Day off from work, my last day of paid vacation of the year, for what ended up being flurries.
Are these forecasters idiots? It must be nice to get paid for a job where you are always wrong.
I wanted to know what these people look at and why forecasts bust.
Using my sports media connections, I emailed Dave Eid at WGME, who put me in touch with Chief Meteorologist Charlie Lopresti. In a few evenings, he showed me the ropes with the data he used over pizza or Pad Thai noodles. That began my journey.
With Ryan Breton & Cindy Fitzgibbon at WCVB Boston
Hello, Western Maine Weather.
I set up a Facebook page after playing around on Twitter and making myself look incredibly naïve, arrogant, and foolish. Some friends followed. I soon learned what it felt like to look like an idiot after a busted forecast. The one difference between me and the TV folks was that I was not getting paid!
You learn from your mistakes, right? I made many of them. I learned to respect the TV and National Weather Service meteorologists for how difficult it is in certain situations. I am surprised I didn’t lose all my followers with Western Maine Weather and some epic implosions. I kept at it. I developed relationships with TV and private and public sector forecasters. Twitter was my meteorology school. After the big blizzards in 2015, my followers grew. I began to be noticed by the media. The Bangor Daily News came calling about a blog. It took me time, but I came to embrace the idea. I had to cover statewide; for a state this size, it was a lot more work.
I set up a Facebook page after playing around on Twitter and making myself look incredibly naïve, arrogant, and foolish. Some friends followed. I soon learned what it felt like to look like an idiot after a busted forecast. The one difference between me and the TV folks was that I was not getting paid!
You learn from your mistakes, right? I made many of them. I learned to respect the TV and National Weather Service meteorologists for how difficult it is in certain situations. I am surprised I didn’t lose all my followers with Western Maine Weather and some epic implosions. I kept at it. I developed relationships with TV and private and public sector forecasters. Twitter was my meteorology school. After the big blizzards in 2015, my followers grew. I began to be noticed by the media. The Bangor Daily News came calling about a blog. It took me time, but I came to embrace the idea. I had to cover statewide; for a state this size, it was a lot more work.
Hello, Pine Tree Weather in December 2016.
It was a nice run with the BDN. The editor who brought me on left the paper, and the blogs disappeared. I began operations here in the aftermath of the Halloween Horror windstorm in 2017.
My family and I moved from Poland Spring to Kennebunk in March 2018. I was improving as a forecaster, but I was still a bit busty at times, which annoyed me. I wanted a more formal education, so I enrolled in the Penn State World Campus Weather Forecast Certification program.
I started school in January 2020 as the COVID pandemic hit. Somehow, I managed to juggle the insanity of the day job, update my Facebook and website with interns' help, and get through the education in 16 months. It was worth it. You will see the results of it in my work here. Not only did I learn how to forecast, but I also learned how it can bust.
I don’t profess to be a great forecaster or even a good one, but I’ve made it my passion to figure out how and why storms can over or underperform. The atmosphere is like an engine. You cannot understand it unless you know how to take it apart. My critical eye is good for something, and my understanding of Maine and how the weather happens here makes it all come together. I try to share my knowledge and teach readers the why.
Years ago, I knew there was a gap between the National Weather Service and the broadcast meteorologists for information. That is what I try to fill here. Mainers deserve to know more about how weather patterns and phenomena affect it. I work hard to deliver on that and share that with my readers. I hope you find my information useful.
The mission of Pine Tree Weather is simple: an honest, straightforward, easy-to-understand, and relatable approach to forecasting and information. It is sometimes cynical, sometimes colorful, just like the people of Maine.
Thank you for being part of my journey. We’re all in this together.
- Mike Haggett
It was a nice run with the BDN. The editor who brought me on left the paper, and the blogs disappeared. I began operations here in the aftermath of the Halloween Horror windstorm in 2017.
My family and I moved from Poland Spring to Kennebunk in March 2018. I was improving as a forecaster, but I was still a bit busty at times, which annoyed me. I wanted a more formal education, so I enrolled in the Penn State World Campus Weather Forecast Certification program.
I started school in January 2020 as the COVID pandemic hit. Somehow, I managed to juggle the insanity of the day job, update my Facebook and website with interns' help, and get through the education in 16 months. It was worth it. You will see the results of it in my work here. Not only did I learn how to forecast, but I also learned how it can bust.
I don’t profess to be a great forecaster or even a good one, but I’ve made it my passion to figure out how and why storms can over or underperform. The atmosphere is like an engine. You cannot understand it unless you know how to take it apart. My critical eye is good for something, and my understanding of Maine and how the weather happens here makes it all come together. I try to share my knowledge and teach readers the why.
Years ago, I knew there was a gap between the National Weather Service and the broadcast meteorologists for information. That is what I try to fill here. Mainers deserve to know more about how weather patterns and phenomena affect it. I work hard to deliver on that and share that with my readers. I hope you find my information useful.
The mission of Pine Tree Weather is simple: an honest, straightforward, easy-to-understand, and relatable approach to forecasting and information. It is sometimes cynical, sometimes colorful, just like the people of Maine.
Thank you for being part of my journey. We’re all in this together.
- Mike Haggett