Sometimes You Need a Weatherman to Tell You Which Way the Wind Blows The Weather Underground Experience, Sometimes You Need a Weatherman to Tell You Which Way the Wind Blows The Weather Underground Experience, Dr. Jeff Masters Director of Meteorology The Weather Underground, LLC Dr. Jeff Masters Director of Meteorology The Weather Underground, LLC

Served as Flight Meteorologist for NOAA’s Aircraft Operations Center, Publications:

A Humble Beginning: the UM-WEATHER telnet service, 1991

Where did the name “Weather Underground” come from? The original Weather Underground (the Weathermen), founded in 1969, was the radical wing of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). The Weathermen got their name from the the line, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows” from the 1965 Bob Dylan song "Subterranean Homesick Blues". Logo of the original Weather Underground

Blue-Skies, : A successful NSF-funded interactive science education program Jeff Ferguson and Perry Samson at a 1993 K-12 teacher Blue Skies training workshop

Disaster in the Classroom, 1994: a failed experiment in interactive science education

The Weather Underground Goes Commercial: 1995

We make the front page of the Ann Arbor News: 1997

Wunderground launches blogs: 2005

The comments section of Jeff Masters’ Wunderblog: Not for the faint of heart! Beware of trolls and nastiness, but also expect great links, commentary, news, and inspiration.

Major Inspiration: the Birth of the Portlight Disaster Relief Charity, Comments Section of my September 13, 2008 Post, “Ike Makes a Direct Hit On Galveston”

How Does One Communicate Effectively to the Public? Don’t be Such a Scientist. Tell Stories, Use Metaphors. Arouse and Fulfill!

How does one communicate effectively to the public? Get educated! Visit

Lessons from climatecommunication.org: The public will respond to simple, clear messages, repeated by a variety of trusted sources. Bad words:Replace with: AnthropogenicHuman-caused RadiationSolar energy Greenhouse gasesHeat-trapping gases EnhanceIncrease AnomalyDeparture from average Tell people about solutions. Use the analogy of The Little Engine That Could, not Chicken Little.

When talking about climate change, audience research shows that it is most important to emphasize these points: 1) Earth's climate is warming. 2) This time, humans are mostly responsible. 3) The overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree. 4) The warming climate is already causing significant impacts to people and ecosystems. 5) There are choices we can make now to reduce the severity of future impacts. These points are put at the top of wunderground’s Climate Change page as our Position Statement, at:

Customer support: essential for a successful business

How does one communicate effectively to the public? Get educated!

Customize your message to where your audience lives

Tropical Storm Irene over New York City, August 28, 2011 Use awesome and colorful images!

China floods and landslides, 2010: 4245 killed, $51 billion damage Images with people in them are among the most compelling

New York's LaGuardia Airport after the November 25, 1950 Nor'easter Use historical imagery

Front Entrance of The Weather Channel headquarters, Atlanta, GA, August 2012

At SxSW 2013 With TWC CEO David Kenny and Actor Adrian Grenier

Earth’s Climate: Where are We at, and Where are We Headed? Developed a Climate Change Slide Show for a Weather Channel Company-wide Presentation, Available at:

Weather Channel On-Air Climate Change Stories in 2013

Coming in October 2013 to The Weather Channel: 6-Part “Tipping Points” Series

Producer: Liz Courtney, Unboxed Media,

Send us your wunderphotos, My Sample Climate Change Talk: Thanks for listening!