It's National Weatherperson's Day - and I have a very favorite Meteorologist to honor!

Okay...it isn't often I  take the time to extol the virtues of my loved ones, although they are many!

But TODAY is

NATIONAL WEATHERPERSON'S DAY....

and I would like to honor my son, Drew, so I thought I would tell you Drew's story....

I think it started the day he was born.....it was a dark, snow morning in December when Drew was born.  Like falling snow, he arrived quietly and calmly.....I actually recall asking the doctor if he was alright, because he just wasn't crying...and Drew's calm and soft manner continues on to this day.

I remember Drew being very concerned with the weather when he was small...he used to hide in the little bathroom downstairs, with his beloved stuffed animals, if there was a bad thunderstorm.  He somehow knew that it was a safe place to be.

In fourth grade, his class was visited by the head meteorologist from a Syracuse TV station.  Drew was in awe...and because his teacher knew of his love of the weather, she let Drew be the one who helped Mr. Eichorn carry his things around school that day.  Mr. Eichorn was so kind and really took an interest in Drew, and invited us to the TV station to tour his office and lab.  This visit only fueled Drew's interest and he continued to explore it and even raked 'fronts' in the leaves each Fall...lol.  He kept in touch with Mr. Eichorn all through the years.

Scott & Drew during the Blizzard of '93.

His love of the weather was known by the kids and teachers at school, and as he got into high school, they were always asking him what the weather was going to do and more, importantly, whether they would get a day off from school.  There was so much interest and repeating of information, that in 2006, 8 years tomorrow, Drew decided to start a website for our town...a place where his friends and teachers could go to find out what the weather was going to do...and that site was GrotonWeather.com.  He still maintains that site today and it has grown by leaps and bounds.  We purchased a professional weather station for Drew in December of 2002 and upgraded that with an even better one upon his graduation in 2007.  You can see all the live stats every day from his weather station by visiting his site.

Naturally, when Drew starting looking for colleges, he decided that the program at Oswego State University was the one for him.  It is continually touted as one of the best meteorology schools, and it was only 1 1/2 hours from home, situated right on the very edge of Lake Ontario and smack dab in the middle of the snow belt of New York State.

While at  Oswego, he was vice president of Met Club, gave presentations during their annual conventions for Great Lakes Atmospheric Science Symposium (GLASS), and was employed by one of his professors as a Lead Forecaster in the'LESPaRC' - the Lake Effect Storm Prediction and Research Center.  In addition, he did a stint as an on-air meteorologist on WTOP.   He graduated magna cum laude with honors in May of 2011.  He was subsequently accepted to grad school at Cornell University, where he is finishing up his thesis on the unique climate of the Finger Lakes and how it effects/enhances grape growing for the hundreds of wonderful wineries in the region.  He was a regular blogging contributor for Syracuse.com and is interviewed by them for big events....take a look at his most recent interview the other day by clicking HERE.

Because of the success of his GrotonWeather.com site and FB pages, Drew decided he needed to expand  his outreach and started Finger Lakes Weather in 2012, which is at 2,300 fans right now.  He is also working on a Finger Lakes Weather webpage.  He began a weather consulting business, and has several summer camps in the Catskills and Poconos, as well as school districts, who pay to have his expert advice to plan activities, etc.

Have I lost you yet?

I didn't think this post would end up being so long, but once I started writing down all the things he has accomplished in 25 years, I am amazed and so proud!

So...

HAPPY WEATHERPERSON'S DAY DREW

We love you and are so proud!