Bringing innovation to the
forecasting of weather & climate
12:00 PM December 8, 2010 For those who came to rely on our detailed forecasts for the Baltimore-Washington area and Mid-Atlantic region, we invite you to join us at our expanding and fresh new website at the traditional address you've known for years:
In Fall 2010, a comprehensive strategic planning process was launched to re-organize our site so the local forecast teams which have grown to 11 states in the Eastern U.S. would have an equal voice to be "the face of the place" for weather in their region. The re-knowned Central Maryland Forecast team many of you came to know and follow, remains a core part of what we do. However, our team has been growing to the point that we realized the need to establish a site infrastructure that permits multiple student forecast teams operate independently under one roof.
In keeping with our mission to provide students with career-building professional skills, our new site was designed by a multi-state Web Team of college and high school students. Major props go to IT Director/Forecaster Hunter Outten in Roaring Spring, PA for creating the template, and Projects Administrator/Forecaster Andrew Fleck for creating much of the content. They have been regularly collaborating with other members of our Web Team which include students from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio and Maryland. I hope you'll recognize these important improvements as evidence of our mission to have student "bring innovation to the forecasting of weather & climate."
Please note these hard-working students are also continuing to implement the goals and objectives of our 2011 Website Strategic Plan, so improvements are being added daily. If there is a new feature or approach you'd like for us to try, drop a note in the comments section on the new site. You can also contact Hunter or Andrew directly by sending a message to webteam@footsforecast.org. Providing you, our loyal readership, with clean and efficient access to the weather content you've come to rely on is central to the mission outlined in the Strategic Plan. If you are concerned that we are losing touch with the local perspective, we understand but take a moment to click through the new site before you render judgment!
Thanks everyone for your patience as we build this website process forward in advance of what looks like a very challenging winter ahead. For those who would be understandably a bit irked that we didn't tell you sooner, please accept our apologies and hope the new site will account for your valid concerns. We look forward to seeing you all over there!
Best regards,
Mr. Foot and the 2010-2011 Eastern U.S. Forecast Team