Weather man Q&A
The man in front of the green screen
Mike Judson has been the CHEX TV weather an since October 2011. It’s the first job in television for the former radio newsman. Judson, 30, endures a lot of abuse when bad weather happens. He took a break from reporting on last week’s heat wave to spend a few minutes with The Examiner.
Examiner: People blame you for this weather, don’t they?
Judson: They do. People get very angry. And that’s fine. One of my favourite things is when people send me anonymous emails, handwritten letters and Twitter attacks. Just so everyone knows, I absolutely love it. Please keep them coming. They brighten up my day. I think it’s great that people are willing to take time out of their busy days to put me down and abuse me. Weather is one of those things that ties people together. We can all talk about it, and I get it
from both sides. People who love winter hate me for downplaying that it’s cold, and people who love summer tell me to shut up when I says it’s hot, so what are you gonna do?
Examiner: People like to say you’re wrong all the time.
Judson: Sometimes you blow a forecast. These things happen. But other times, and this is more frequent, people need to know the difference between the words “watch,” “warning,” “risk” and “chance.” All I’m saying is it’s possible. When I say it will rain, then it’s going to rain. If it doesn’t, then I blew my forecast. But if I say there’s a chance of showers, that means a chance. I just want to do my job and make sure that on a day like today, when there’s a severe thunderstorm watch, I’m reporting what could possibly happen and helping make sure people stay safe out there.
Examiner: Is this your first weather gig?
Judson: It is. I was always in news radio before. I started as a jock then went to being a news writer, a news reporter, a news editor and a sports guy and a traffic guy. That was when I was in radio out in Calgary at 660News. I pretty much handled every job I could. When I came to CHEX, (former weatherman) Jay Scotland really set me up with all the appropriate textbooks and all the learning materials I would need. I knew going in I had no weather experience, so my face was in textbooks for the first year and a half . Examiner: What was it like
making the transition to television?
Judson: It was weird for me. It was weird being in front of a camera and being in front of a green screen. And it was weird knowing there are all these people watching you and you’re just staring into a little camera. But I’m over it now. I was so nervous when I first started. It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done, getting in front of that camera and trying to operate a green screen when I had no idea what I was talking about.
Examiner: What are your interests or hobbies?
Judson: I’m a big outdoorsman, a canoe-tripper at heart. I can drive 10 minutes in any direction and be in a forest, and that’s really i mportant to me. Music is a huge facet of my life. I play guitar and I’m also a vocalist. I have so many friends who are fabulous musicians and I love to hang out with them and jam as much as possible.
Examiner: What are your future plans?
Judson: My wife, Jenn, and I fully plan on hanging around Peterborough for a while. I’ve never stayed at a media place longer than two years. I think this is going to be the first one.