Goodbye TV, hello Internet

The idea for a stand-alone weather forecasting website had been rolling in the back of Vancouver resident and former KATU meteorologist Rod Hill's mind for years.

"All TV stations have local weather products on their websites," Hill said. "But the bottom line is that they all go to national services, with most of them based on the East Coast. There's no forecaster involved, it's all just raw data."

A 23-year veteran TV forecaster before parting ways with Portland ABC-affiliate KATU last May, Hill hopes his new online paid-subscription service, launched Aug. 9, will become an essential resource for vacationers, construction site contractors, or anyone else looking for a detailed up-to-the-minute local weather report.

As of last Sunday, more than 150 people subscribe to rodhillforecast.com, paying either $4 a month or $40 a year for streaming video of Hill's weather reports along with constant email access to their own veteran Pacific Northwest meteorologist. "My website is kind of like having your own personal forecaster," he said.

In addition to Portland-Vancouver metro weather, Hill plans to provide detailed forecasts for recreation hot-spots like Mt. Hood, the Oregon Coast and the Columbia River Gorge.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.