The_Weather_Vane's Anniversary

September 15th I wrote and posted the 1st story...

The very first blog post I wrote last year was about myself and why I started this blog. I did not want to repeat what was already written however I want to write about my experience while working on this blog throughout the year.

To start the blog I had to think about what to write and to keep a regular theme which has changed a little bit over time. I started to report local weather observations here but I quickly noticed that the blog was not read by just local readers.  A simple weather report was not enough to inform and to entertain weather fans.  I left the forecast posts for my social media sites and then only reported storm events and had the idea to try to travel around the area to report storms and take pictures. Tropical Storm Irene really had an important impact for me, I started to realize that a blog like this should not be just about weather reporting but should also involve communicating the need to be prepared for severe weather, other natural and man made disasters.   Along with doing research for storm events around the world, and weather science stories, I have met many online contacts and groups through social media.  I started to be  much more active online and found more ideas for stories, great sources of information by many weather experts, scientists and journalists. I have posted a few stories in the local Patch newspaper  and the blog is linked to the Time Herald paper.  I have been more active on Twitter as @enso1998 and post daily on The_Weather_Vane Media page on Facebook.  I had also connected with educational organizations, FEMA, The National Weather Service and with a local traffic blog writer @PaDriverWatch, where we exchange updates via twitter and on each others blog home pages with the idea that weather and traffic safety should be reported to the public especially now that most people carry smartphones and have the ability to access this information quickly.

Weather topics is what this blog is mainly about, but public safety, emergency communication, and space weather technology are now new topics.  As the year progresses into the Winter season, I will take more pictures to report how our area looks like again with a fresh coating of snow and ice as I have been doing from the start.  I also have been making progress becoming a better writer, reporter and photographer.

For 2013 I want the blog to have a more interactive experience, I want to conduct polls and  ask questions to get readers more involved. The internet is a powerful tool and we should not take this for granted. 

   And finally I want to thank all my readers and followers, I hope the blog helps you to be informed and to be prepared.