Delmar Weather Guys

Estimated read time: 10 minutes

I don't recall exactly how I learned about the Delmar Weather Guys.  In fact, I don't know if the three high school students who built and maintained the Delmar_Weather social media platforms referred to themselves as the Delmar Weather Guys, but it was a nickname I adopted for them whenever I shared their predictions on my social media platforms.

I learned of them about four years ago.  Mr. Seymore started the Delmar_Weather page back in 2010.  (If you love nostalgia, you can still visit his original Facebook page.)  Through social media and a shared love for weather (the three didn't go to high school together), Hunter Outten and Kyle eventually joined the page about a year later to become the group I colloquially referred to as the Delmar Weather Guys.  Yes, Kyle has a last name, but I'll be danged if I remember it.  As of this writing, Kyle has not responded by email to contribute to this article.  Don't read too much into that.  It simply means he's probably very busy starting a career and maybe a family and hasn't had time to reply to the email request.

I'm sure it was through social media when I first heard that these three high school students predicted our winter storms more accurately than the meteorologists on TV.  They were mentioned because a winter storm was brewing and the three friends were saying something completely different than the official forecasts.  The three high school students nailed the predictions.  The professionals scrambled to make excuses for their inaccurate predictions or simply pretended no one would notice they were wrong.

Their enthusiasm for anything weather was infectious.  One couldn't help but share their love for everything weather.  From pictures of clouds with an explanation of how they were formed to pictures of a storm's aftermath to video taken from a drone flying over their neighborhood so we could see the snowfall totals for ourselves, they made their followers a part of their learning experience.

Then they graduated high school and had to get educated for their future careers.

They maintained their Delmar_Weather social media accounts for the next couple of years, but by the time Mr. Seymore graduated from the University of Delaware, the accounts were disbanded and the Delmar Weather Guys began their journeys in adulthood on separate paths.

I first discovered the Delmar Weather Guys had disbanded when I visited their Twitter account to get their take on a predicted snow storm this past winter.  Their Twitter account was gone.  I searched for it, but all I discovered was Mr. Outten had gone solo.

A couple of months ago, I caught the weekend weather forecast on our local news station, WBOC TV.  Mr. Seymore delivered the weather and I immediately recognized his name as one of the Delmar Weather Guys.  My first reaction was gosh, I'm old.  It seemed like just yesterday he was in high school running a weather FaceBook page and now here he was on my TV, in suit and tie, telling me what to expect in the weather for the next five days.

It took me a couple of days to get over the shock that, yes, I'm getting old.  Then I thought, "They had several thousand followers and appeared more than once on Susan Monday's radio talk show.  I bet all those fans would love to know what happened to the Delmar Weather Guys."

I did some Internet sleuthing and reached out to Mr. Seymore at WBOC.  Here were three young adults who weren't glued to the cell phones or video games and they had an inspiring story to tell.

Mr. Seymore enthusiastically responded to my initial email and said he would reach out to the other two.  Mr. Outten enthusiastically responded about an hour later.  Unfortunately, Kyle hasn't responded, but maybe at a later date, I will be able to update his story.

I sent Mr. Outten and Mr. Seymore about a half dozen questions via email.  I figured their fans would want to hear what's new in weather and what it takes to be part of the career field.  And who better to hear it from than the three high school students who created a bit of a stir on Delmarva with their forecasts?

So you want to be a meteorologist

 

For starters, you will need at least a Bachelor of Science to even be considered for a job.  According to Mr. Seymore, a bachelor's degree is sufficient to land a job as an on air weather forecaster, the weather job we're all familiar with and rely on from our local news.  Most other meteorological positions require a higher degree.

Mr. Seymore says only about 10% of meteorological jobs are as an on air forecaster.  There are jobs with the National Weather Service, airports, and as long range forecasters for farmers and pipelines, and as researchers.

Mr. Outten added the necessity for long range forecasting to save lives.  A lot of research needs to be done, but meteorologists are getting better at it.  By accurately predicting major weather events weeks in advance, such as tornado outbreaks and Arctic cold spells, disaster preparedness professionals can prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.  Farmers can hold off on the planting in anticipation of a late cold snap.  Shipping companies can anticipate bad storms and adjust their routes and estimated times of delivery accordingly.

Both meteorologists expressed excitement over the new GOES series of weather satellites.  I know.  You're reaction is probably, "Boys and their toys.  Yesterday it was flying a drone over their neighborhood recording snowfall totals.  Today it's flying satellites in space recording every action and reaction in the atmosphere...and probably counting how many beers I drink on a Saturday night."

The big question on most minds of the people living on Delmarva (especially the watermen living along the shores of the Chesapeake who depend on the Bay for their livelihood and farmers whose livelihood is at the mercy of the weather) is how will global warming affect our weather and coastlines.

Delmarva in 1979 and 2016.  Click pic for larger,
more detailed view.  The yellow lines are the 2016
coastlines.  How small changes erased an island and
booming waterman community within 100 years:
“Forget me not is all I ask. I could not ask for more.”

Mr. Outten and Mr. Seymore agree that global warming will bring us more weather extremes.  Our summers will tend to be warmer and our winters will fluctuate between very cold to very mild, a trend we have seen for several years now.  Our storms will become stronger or more intense, too.  Stronger storms means more coastal flooding and erosion.  In the next fifty years, our coastlines will be significantly different than the current form and many of our Bay islands will be gone.

(While global warming certainly has a significant impact on our rising Bay waters, another factor plays a significant role - geology.  Dan Satterfield, Chief Meteorologist at WBOC posted an excellent article on WBOC's weather blog explaining how geology has doubled the rate of our sea level rise on Delmarva.)

Keeping up with the Delmar Weather Guys

 

Ok, enough weather talk.  Most of you probably want to know what the Delmar Weather Guys have been up to for the last four years.  As I mentioned, Kyle is missing in action.  With any luck, maybe he'll read this article and I'll gladly update it to reflect what he's been up to.

You might want to create a folder in your bookmarks to save some of the links below.  While the Delmar Weather guys may be on their own paths now, their passion for the weather and desire to make weather prediction more accurate than ever makes following their progress and forecasts just as important and as much fun as it was eight years ago when the friends teamed up and formed Delmar_Weather.

• 
  Alex Seymore:

  
  
  
  Mr. Seymore graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology and Climatology from the University of Delaware in Newark, DE.  You can currently find him on WBOC TV 16 delivering your weather on the weekend evening news. 
  
  As he said in his email interview, "Everyone on-air starts out with nerves and not knowing exactly how they want to present their forecast, but with time they learn the best ways to interact with their viewers and present their forecast."  For the short term future, Mr. Seymore plans on perfecting his on air skills to deliver you reliable and accurate forecasts.
  
  Mr. Seymore added one last note in his email interview.  He thanked everyone for their support since the formation of Delmar_Weather eight years ago and thanked everyone at WBOC for their support as he sets out on his career.  His words were humble and sincere, ending with "If they would like to continue to follow me...."  One can't get more humble and polite than that.
  
  You can follow Mr. Seymore on Facebook and on Twitter.  Of course, if you are following WBOC 16 TV, his contributions at his new job may pop up in your news feed and you can always catch him on the weekend evening news on WBOC 16 and Fox 21.
  
  
• 

  
  Hunter Outten:

  
  
  
  Upon graduating high school, Mr. Outten was unable to attend college for a couple of personal reasons beyond his control.  Despite the setback, he remains active and optimistic while not losing sight of the fact that he'll need to return to school. 
  
  Everything Mr. Outten knows about weather is self taught over the last eight years.  He noticed many years ago that the weather tends to work in cycles.  Studying these patterns, he has developed the Pattern Recycle Theory that he continues to refine and share with researchers and college professors.  Accuweather also showed interest in his theory and he did some freelance work with them.  Some case studies involving his theories include the April 27, 2011 massive tornado outbreak that was predicted three weeks in advance.  Hurricane Sandy was predicted two and a half weeks in advance. The winter of 2014-15 Arctic outbreaks were predicted one month in advance.
  
  Throughout his email interview, Mr. Outten stressed the importance of accurate forecasts to save lives when the weather turns severe.  Through his Facebook page, DelmarvaWx, he offers an app for your cell phone that will alert you of severe weather even if you're asleep and your phone is silent or locked.  As he pointed out, last summer Delmarva experienced a couple of middle-of-the-night tornadoes.  For people who don't own an NOAA radio, the In-Telligent app could be a life saver.  In three months, he got over 7,000 subscribers, an impressive feat and a clear indication that there is a need for accurate and reliable forecasts.  You can download the app here.  At the present time, the app is only compatible with iOS devices.  You can also follow DelmarvaWx on Twitter here.
  
  Mr. Outten wants to expand the DelmarvaWx effort to cater to businesses that rely on timely and accurate weather forecasts such as landscapers, contractors, sporting events, and insurance companies.  He's building a website for DelmarvaWx since, as he put it, hiring someone to build it is expensive.

What the future holds

 

Predicting the weather is a more exact science than predicting what the future holds.  These two young adults have the passion and drive to pursue their dreams they've had since high school.  Mr. Outten and Mr. Seymore know the impact they've had on thousands of followers across Delmarva and are grateful for their support.  Their story illustrates a lesson I first mentioned in another young adult's story, Icky_Sheikh and Lessons Learned - never underestimate the impact you have on others.  When I started following the Delmar Weather Guys several years ago, their efforts inspired me to write about Stu Kerr, my all time favorite meteorologist (they were actually called weathermen back then).  Now they have inspired me to write about the two new and upcoming meteorologists clearly on a path to become a future generation's all time favorite forecasters.


TL;DR Folks
The Delmar Weather Guys, the friends who got people on Delmarva abuzz over their highly accurate weather forecasts, have now embarked on their own career paths.  That doesn't mean you won't hear from them any more.  Heck, I wrote a whole article about what they are up to.  They're on their own career paths, now, but you can still rely on them to provide you with the forecasts, updates, and weather information you've come to rely on.  Their individual social media links are included in their short bios above.


Related Links:
“Forget me not is all I ask. I could not ask for more.”


Updates:

 05/06/18 - Added link to original Delmar_Weather Facebook page.  Clarified the three high school students did not attend school together.  Added Alex Seymore had started the Delmar_Weather page and through social media, met Hunter Outten and Kyle, who joined the page as team members about a year later.

For your listening pleasure - flashback 1981:

Posted by Five Drunk Rednecks