Recent News from the Weather Center

Meteorologist Hall of Fame featured in the Punxsy Spirit

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

By Tom Chapin Of The Spirit

PUNXSUTAWNEY - Despite the expertise and success of the National Meteorologist Hall of Fame's first inductee, he acknowledged Friday that even he takes a back seat to Punxsutawney's most famous forecaster.

Punxsutawney Phil has been a continuing source of inspiration to me and the industry for years," said Dr. Joel Myers, founder and CEO of AccuWeather in State College. "I felt like I've been trying to keep up."

Myers, who was saluted as the Hall of Fame's first inductee Friday at the Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center, cited some of Phil's revolutionary moments.

For example, Phil beat AccuWeather to the punch on pioneering live feeds via television and the Internet, but AccuWeather caught up soon afterward, Myers said.

Also, Phil made his first appearance on Times Square's Jumbotron in 2001. These days, AccuWeather appears on the Jumbotron as well, he said.

Finally, Myers, a Philadelphia native, said AccuWeather is using technology to break forecasting barriers by providing detailed 15-day forecasts.
But that, as Myers acknowledged, pales somewhat in comparison to the six-week forecasts Punxsutawney Phil makes every Groundhog Day.

AccuWeather is one of the Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center's corporate sponsors, and is a worthy cause for AccuWeather, Myers said, because of its emphasis on education about weather and the intensity and dedication of those who are bringing the center to fruition.

In his introduction of Myers, U.S. Rep. John Peterson - who has helped the center come to fruition over the years with grants and support - said weather has fascinated Myers since a young age.

"Calling the weather a passion for our inductee is most definitely an understatement," he said, adding that Myers, at the age of 7, stayed up all night to watch a snowstorm.

As an undergraduate studying meteorology at Penn State, Myers earned a reputation as a good forecaster, often surpassing some of his professors' forecasting abilities.

After completing graduate studies in meteorology at Penn State in 1962, Myers was hired to provide weather information for a Pennsylvania utility company, providing forecasts that were "as accurate as the science allows," as well as earlier than promised, Peterson said.

Later providing forecasts for other utilities and ski resorts, Myers began fulfilling a dream he had since he was 11: To help industry and consumers by providing weather forecasts and information of value with his own weather company, Peterson said.

Peterson said today, AccuWeather is the world's leading commercial weather service, employing 340 professionals, including more than 100 operational meteorologists.

AccuWeather provides customized weather forecasting services to more than 250,000 clients around the world, including international media, more than 180 Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and private subscribers.

Also, the company serves more than 10,000 Internet sites, including CNN Interactive, ABC-owned and operated radio and TV stations, The Washington Post and The New York Times, which dubbed Myers "the most accurate man in weather," Peterson said.

Myers has written more than 75 articles and papers on many technical and business topics, and was recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine's Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs as one of the 528 greatest entrepreneurs in U.S. history, alongside Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Ted Turner and Bill Gates.

Retired from Penn State, where he trained an estimated 17 percent of all practicing meteorologists in the United States, Myers now works at AccuWeather's global headquarters in State College.

Myers said he has already reached many of the goals he set for himself, but now the challenge is to create new goals and meet them as well.
Myers created AccuWeather as a means of providing weather services in both the commercial and personal realms.

He said on the business side of weather, accurate forecasting tells about temperatures and precipitation, which could lead a business to make a wise - or unwise - based on the information provided.

Likewise, Myers noted that AccuWeather's forecasts about conditions amid Hurricane Katrina helped people make decisions that probably saved their lives.

"That's the satisfaction we get out of helping people's lives," he said.

The Weather Discovery Center plans to induct new Hall of Fame members each year.