We’re excited to announce that we’ve partnered with the Wilton-based weather service and website, Jackson’s Weather, and its creator, 16-year-old Wilton High School junior Jackson Dill, to bring you a weekly, seven-day forecast each Monday morning.
Jackson is more than a just a fan of meteorology; in 2015 he created his popular weather service after several years of learning and studying the science of the atmosphere. What really got him interested was the double punch of Hurricanes Irene and Sandy.
“I never really knew anything about meteorology when these two storms struck in 2011 and 2012, respectively, but after that, I started asking all of these different questions to myself, like, how could these massive hurricanes form and cause such significant damage? Because of these storms, I have been following and tracking the weather everyday because of how interesting, fascinating, and unique it is everyday.”
It’s certainly not an easy science to master, especially for a 16-year-old. That’s why Jackson takes a comprehensive approach, with a nod to the many challenges of weather forecasting and making predictions.
“First, there are several different forecasting tools–called models–which we use that predict what the weather should be like in the future up to 10 days out, or 16 days out if you look at the American model. Many times these models are correct, but other times, like with Hurricane Hermine, which impacted much of the East Coast over Labor Day, the models can be way off,” he explains.
He follows several different models and crunches the data and analyses as a subscriber of one of the leading weather consulting agencies. Determining the most accurate forecast by winnowing down all the information and then providing that prediction to the public is the hardest part.
“Sometimes you are just guessing with lots of uncertainty. Some people don’t understand that this is a science and that there is a lot of guess-work involved in the world of weather. What other meteorologists and I like to say is that, ‘We’re just the messengers.’”
Jackson’s immediate plans after graduation from WHS is getting a Bachelors Degree in meteorology–and inevitably becoming a meteorologist on TV. This partnership is, we’re sure, the start of great things to come for him. Thankfully, he’s just as happy to team up with us.
“I’m very excited to be partnering with GOOD Morning Wilton. Now you can get the news and weather in Wilton all on the same website! I’m also excited because more people will know about what I do and hopefully I’ll get more followers who will rely on my forecasts and website. This is an amazing experience for me to partner with a great local news website, like GMW.”
Check out Jackson’s first seven-day weather forecast.