Well, like most kids, I just loved the snow. Not just for the day’s off, but for the beauty and fun it brought to the neighborhood. I can remember looking outside at night, watching the flakes gently fall down through the beam of the spotlight, hoping that it would never stop. As I got older, my love of the snow only grew and I believe it even lead me to my career choice.
I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago (Park Ridge) and spent my whole life there until time came to go away for college. My first stop in the land of higher education took me to the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Snows there were plentiful in the mountains, but void in the high basin where the University is located. While there, I decided on my major, which they did not have, so I headed back closer to home and Purdue University where I received a bachelor’s degree in Meteorology.
I spent a year in Washington D.C. working for the National Weather service, but for the past 18 years have been a private meteorologist working for myself and providing custom weather forecasts.
From January of 1991 through January of 1999, I had my offices in the steel, glass and concrete jungle of Chicago. In January of 1999, I was able to move my offices to any place I so desired and made the move to the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It is basically ground zero for snowfall in the Midwest, achieving an average of 240″ of snow a year and as much as 390″ in 1978-79. The summers are also very pretty, with low humidity and temps in the 70’s and low 80’s.
In November of 2002 I was introduced to a beautiful woman named Nora and in June 2003 she moved to the Keweenaw to be with my dogs and I. On October 9th of 2004 Nora and I became husband and wife.
In August of 2009, we adopted a beautiful little girl. Grace has been a magical gift to Nora and I and we are one blessed family!
In the picture above, you see Nora, Grace and I with our three dogs, Huck, the black lab, Millie the yellow lab and Bleau a double-doodle. Millie passed away in late March 2019 and Huck in early May 2021. Our previous two labs were Burt and Baileys. They left this world years ago and are with Huck and Millie blessing heaven with their presence, but their memories live on in our hearts.