Sunday, February 28, 2010
From the Newsroom: A milestone winter for weather columnist
From the newsroom
Michael Stowe, managing editor
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Newsroom weather guru Kevin Myatt has gotten little sleep the past few months.
His responsibilities as the father of a 7-week-old son and the barrage of winter storms that have hit Western Virginia this winter have kept him awake all hours.
Myatt's ability to explain complex topics clearly has helped him build a loyal -- and quickly growing -- following for his Weather Journal blog (blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/weatherjournal) and newspaper column.
It may seem like poor timing -- a weather blogger's first child born in the middle of the region's snowiest winter in 14 years -- but Myatt says it has worked out well.
After making an early-morning diaper change, or helping his wife with a feeding, Myatt can also make a quick check of the weather radar and post an online update.
Blog readers know that when a storm is approaching, Myatt's as likely to post an update at 2 a.m. or 5 a.m. as he is during the middle of the day.
Myatt's blog has long been one of the most popular on roanoke.com but its increase in traffic this winter is incredible.
Over the past 10 weeks, starting just before our first big storm in December, there were 526,996 page views -- a measure of online readership -- of Kevin's blog. During the same period one year earlier (when there was virtually no snow) there were 65,192 page views.
The high point for the Weather Journal blog was Feb. 3-10 when it got 172,760 page views. In comparison, our second-most-read blog that week, Round Table, had 13,344 page views.
Asked about the increase, Myatt made a wry weather analogy: "It's really snowballed."
Equally as impressive are the supportive comments readers have written on the blog. Here are just a few of the hundreds that have been posted:
- "Kevin, I have seen this blog grow with viewers drastically since December. Some of that is because of all the weather. However, most of it is because of your effort, honesty, and courtesy. Thanks so much."
- "I'm new to the blog and am quickly becoming addicted. I particularly appreciate that you trust us to understand complex issues."
- "What makes the snow so intriguing around here is simply our lack of it until this year. With each impending snowstorm, it's like a fun game and Kevin's blogs add to the anticipation of each storm with his extreme knowledge, accuracy and just plain fun!!!"
- "Have loved this blog during this storm ... thanks everyone for making this an enjoyable weekend ... Kevin get some rest."
Newsroom weather geek
Myatt's been fascinated with weather since he was a small boy growing up in tornado-prone northeast Arkansas.
"I grew up thinking I would be a meteorologist," he said.
As he got older, Myatt discovered a talent for writing that led him to a career in journalism.
His interest in weather never waned, though, and he tried to combine the two whenever possible. Many newsroom reporters don't enjoy writing weather stories.
"I volunteered for them," Myatt said.
Myatt worked at two papers in Arkansas before moving to Roanoke in 1999 for a job on the newspaper's copy desk, where he works from 4 p.m. to midnight. That's where he met his wife, Erica, who will return from maternity leave to her job as the paper's community news editor in April.
Once torn between his passions for weather and journalism, Myatt couldn't be happier with the path his career has taken.
"I get to do both now."
Not a meteorologist
Myatt is quick to point out that he has no formal weather training -- and that he's not competing with TV meteorologists or the National Weather Service.
Thanks to the Internet, which allows "weather geeks" like himself to see the same forecast models, radar and other resources as professionals, tracking storms is growing in popularity, Myatt said.
Myatt's always served as a weather resource for newsroom editors. In 2002, former Roanoke Times Editor Mike Riley suggested Kevin write an occasional column on roanoke.com. A year later, Weather Journal started running in the paper.
Shifting to a blog format online -- which makes frequent updates simple and allows readers to comment and ask questions -- has fueled the growth in readership.
Myatt's popularity isn't limited to the blog.
Jacqueline Hull never reads him online but she's clipped and saved all of his columns from the paper.
She toured the newspaper last week, requested to meet Myatt and had her husband, Peter, take a picture of her and her "hero" together.
She said she likes Myatt's columns because they are so "personable and readable."
Myatt says he's honored and, at times, overwhelmed by the response to Weather Journal.
During a winter storm -- or any other weather event -- Myatt writes online updates every few hours. Typically, he strives to post one blog entry a day.
A rare exception was Jan. 12, the day Grayson Myatt was born. No post -- and only a few snow flurries -- that day.
Myatt was back on the blog the next morning warning of potential flooding but not revealing what he was juggling at home.
I'm glad he let me do it in this column.
