Eagle-eyed weather nerd
Jim Lehocky remembers being six years old and seeing his first severe storm. From that day on, Lehocky — who is now the staff meteorologist for Sault radio station Eagle 95.1 — aspired to be a weather man.
“I saw my first severe storm when I was six years old and living in Illinois,” Lehocky relayed to Sault Business Matters. “I thought it was so cool to see the swirling clouds, lightning, trees bending over, strong winds … and then going outside a bit later and checking out the damage, under blue skies. From that day on, I was hooked on what Mother Nature throws at us every day.”
When Lehocky was nine years old, his family moved to a small town in southwest, lower Michigan. He recalls gathering and reading books on weather.
“I even wrote Jerry Taft, a meteorologist at WMAQ-TV 5 in Chicago when I was in middle school! He even wrote back,” Lehocky exclaimed.
Eventually, Lehocky graduated from Central Michigan University in 1988 with a degree in earth science/meteorology and a minor in photo journalism.
And then his career as a meteorologist began.
“My first job was in Wausau, Wisconsin at Great Lakes Weather Service, which was an independent weather consulting business,” Lehocky relayed. “In 1994, I moved to Cadillac, Michigan to work at WWTV/WWUP-TV 9&10 News, which is the CBS affiliate for the Eastern Upper Peninsula and the northern half of the Lower Peninsula.
“There I was a meteorologist and photojournalist for 17 years, from 1994 to 2011. My contract was up in 2011. My son finished high school there. I got married to a wonderful woman. And now we all live in the Michigan Sault.
“I still have a love for weather, always tracking it no matter where I am,” continued Lehocky, who began working for Eagle 95.1 as its meteorologist in 2012 and was retained when morning drive announcer/program director Tim Ellis purchased the radio station with his wife, Lindsay, less than two years ago.
“Jim is a complete nerd about the weather,” Tim Ellis told Sault Business Matters. “He loves this stuff!”
To be sure, forecasting the weather in the Twin Sault area can be tricky, Lehocky noted.
“The weather across our area is very difficult to forecast because of the Great Lakes … yes, even Lake Michigan and Lake Huron play a role in our forecasting, along with Lake Superior. Also, because of the different elevations.
“Forecasting is fun and exciting, yet challenging. It is like taking a test every day,” Lehocky added.
“While most people have apps on their phones giving them the forecasts, I have the raw data on my smartphone/tablet/computer where I make my forecasts,” relayed Lehocky, whose weather updates are heard throughout the day on Eagle 95.1.
