About Us
About Kent-Weather and the owner.
When was the Website founded and why?
Kent-Weather was founded by myself on the 22nd October 2008 with a life long passion and interest in Meteorology across Kent. It's sole purpose is to provide a better than average understanding of the coming weather which affects our county.
So who are you?
I'm Shaun and I'm 27 years old (at time of writing). Have lived in the garden of England all my life, Medway to be exact. Being born in the height of summer and during a thunderstorm which knocked out power to the surrounding area it is safe to say I was born to be associated with the weather.
Why is weather so interesting for you?
My particular interest in the weather is heightened around the more extreme and adverse sides of weather, for example - the 'October 1987' storm which crossed over Kent which is also the earliest memory I have.
Are you qualified?
Although I have no official qualifications from Meteorology, I do have a very good understanding of how the weather affects our county and can provide forecasting ability which more often than not is pretty accurate county-wide. I do plan to attend University to achieve at least a degree in Meteorology.
What has happened since 2008 and now in 2010?
In 2009 I discovered
SkyWarn-UK (more notable in America for being the biggest storm chasing organization internationally) and after passing their online test, became a registered storm spotter/chaser for the UK organization which has also lead to being interviewed by Heart Radio for Kent on funnel clouds and tornadoes over Kent. Since late 2010, I have been interviewed occasionally by KMFM and also Kent Online on a range of topics regarding the weather here in Kent. You can find links to Kent-Weather in local media via
testimonials. As of May 2011, I was also selected to join the SkyWarn-UK forecast team.
Tell me more about the Website.
Kent-Weather is essentially a hobby/enthusiast Website but I am extremely proud of my work and the publicity and daily usage from all manner of people. Kent-Weather continues to grow day by day and is actually far more popular than I would have expected it to become.
I currently provide forecasts, discussions/warnings on adverse weather based upon the self taught knowledge gained over the many years, as well as live current conditions recorded from an automatic weather station (AWS) situated on a 10ft mast on my property.
A Webcam is available to stream the outside world but does not run 24/7.
This all sounds very expensive. How do you pay for it all?
All of Kent-Weather and it's associated services is funded solely by myself and does not receive any funding, though donations are always welcomed and put back into the Website and the services provided.
So to finish off - what are the plans for the future?
There are a few ideas I have that would make a beneficial addition to Kent-Weather. Two more services I would like to roll out in the near future are a 24/7 streaming 'weathercam' and also a lightning detection setup for those summer storms. I have one huge plan I would love to see implemented in the future - but this is currently in the research stages and will be kept a secret until the day of the launch!
Kent Weather
http://kent-weather.co.uk/staticpages/index.php/about
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