Weather Enthusiast鈥檚 Hobby Springs into Much More

Feature Story

Weather Enthusiast鈥檚 Hobby Springs into Much More

Jonathan Carr '07 focuses on forecasts.

by Mandee McCullough  鈥04

Jon Carr
鈥淎s far as I can remember I have always been fascinated with severe weather events," says Jonathan Carr 鈥07.  | Submitted photo

 

As spring arrives, Jonathan Carr 鈥07 of Ocean County shifts his focus to April showers, rising temperatures and a moment to catch his breath. Why? Because the long winter is by no means quiet for him, with over a quarter-million followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube waiting with baited breath for him to post the word 鈥淜ABOOM鈥 when the temperatures drop. Carr, founder and forecaster at , coined the phrase to indicate the potential for a hazardous snow event. With the onset of summer now beckoning, followers will look to him for when lightning may strike, or a hurricane may blow in.

In addition to his social media following, Carr developed a that received 18 million pageviews from 4 million unique people since July 2014 and a mobile app that has been downloaded 24,000 times.

Carr, who has a B.A. in Computer Science and Information Systems from 淫性视频 and an M.A. in Information Systems, has no formal meteorological training. He refers to himself as a 鈥渨eather enthusiast鈥 as to not disrespect those who have been educated in meteorology. That being said, his carefully mapped-out forecasts and candor on social media have become a 鈥済o-to鈥 for many in the tri-state area.

When Carr is not knee-deep in forecasting, he is the manager of information technology and lead solutions architect for research and development programs at Envision Innovative Solutions. He works on developing mixed reality, including augmented or virtual reality for various customers and academic institutions.

鈥淢y career has been strongly aligned with the bachelor鈥檚 degree from 淫性视频. I still use knowledge learned from my programming classes in my daily work. I operate in a deadline-oriented software production environment the same way I managed 淫性视频 software assignments. It was a direct and near-seamless transition from 淫性视频 into my software career,鈥 Carr said.

 

Jon Carr
Jonathan Carr '07 does a live forecast prior to a major weather event taking place to keep his social media followers informed on what to expect and how to prepare. |Submitted photo

 

鈥淭he centralized web presence (WeatherNJ.com) has been visited almost 100 million times by 10 million unique people鈥攆rom all seven continents of the world.鈥
鈥 Jonathan Carr '07

So where did his love for weather come from? 鈥淎s far as I can remember I have always been fascinated with severe weather events. My all-time meteorologist role model and now somewhat of a mentor, Jim Cantore, had a lot to do with my motivation. He made telling the weather cool and brought excitement to the living room via storm chasing,鈥 Carr explained. 鈥淚n 2007, I began a self-taught journey into meteorology after finishing my Computer Science degree at 淫性视频. I had taken a lot of advanced math already and filled my electives with Earth Science and Astronomy courses. So, I had a basic idea of the atmosphere and the physics that drive it.鈥

Carr鈥檚 computer science background helped him understand and interpret computer weather models and by February of 2010, he was ready to launch his forecasting Facebook page. It was then that Bobby Martrich of EPAWA Weather Consulting became a great friend and mentor, exposing him to the serious concepts of meteorology that one would find in an atmospheric science degree.

鈥淎 few huge forecasting wins later including several blizzards, Irene, Sandy, etc. and my page really took off. The centralized web presence (WeatherNJ.com) has been visited almost 100 million times by 10 million unique people鈥攆rom all seven continents of the world,鈥 Carr said.

Carr also uses the leverage of his social media following as a philanthropic tool. In October 2018, he hosted the 鈥淗aunted Carousel Halloween Party鈥 in Asbury Park that raised over $8,000 which was distributed to families navigating the hardships of cancer; and in August 2016, Weather NJ & Friends raised $3,135 for Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences through a fundraising eco-friendly event.

In 2014, Carr won the New Jersey Citizen Journalism Award, which was the first time he realized the magnitude of what he created from just a laptop in bed. 鈥淚t was surreal to accept the award from Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and former New Jersey Governor James Florio,鈥 he said.

Carr also was invited to the 2015 NASA Social event in Seattle, Washington, which he said was 鈥渟imply amazing鈥 and one of the most rewarding experiences he had since creating Severe NJ Weather/Weather NJ.

Two major highlights in 2017 included the Press of Atlantic City hiring him to provide forecasts for several months, and to guest lecture in Environmental Studies adjunct instructor Chris Huch鈥檚 Coastal Processes Class at 淫性视频. 鈥淭o graduate from 淫性视频 and then come back to guest-lecture just felt like a full-circle completion of something great,鈥 Carr said.

What鈥檚 on the horizon for Carr in the future? 鈥淚 would like to keep growing and somehow combine my computer science knowledge and my atmospheric knowledge into a digital product. I don鈥檛 know what exactly that will be. But I expect it to be cool,鈥 he concluded.

 

Learn more about 淫性视频's School of Business.