Update, spring 2019: the ArborWX blog is now living in an archived state and is no longer updated. The Twitter account, @ArborWX, is still semi-active.

I recently started a blog, ArborWX, with the intention of bringing user-friendly, helpful, hyperlocal weather information to the Ann Arbor area. This seems as good a time as any to formally announce it.

So, here it is: arborwx.com. For timely updates, follow the blog’s Twitter account, @ArborWX.

Why?

I really like monitoring and watching interesting storms. Instead of just reporting to friends and coworkers via GroupMe or HipChat, my hope is that this blog can bring some reports and analysis to my friends in Ann Arbor, who may find it useful.

Some guiding principles

I want ArborWX to be:

• Accurate: Most information on the blog comes from the National Weather Service and NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center. I am not a meterologist, and certainly am not better then the professionals at the NWS and SPC; rather, I typically keep up to date on their weather products and rehash and summarize them into something useful for the general public.
• Readable, user-friendly, in-depth: I try to make everything as readable as possible for the general public, while adding enough technical information (and links to additional, more technical reading) for more knowledgeable readers.
• Hyperlocal: In general, I cover weather affecting the Ann Arbor area, inside of I-94, M-14, and US-23. (Weather occurs over a much wider area, of course, so I often write about things happening in northern Indiana, the west side of Michigan, and in surrounding SE Michigan counties that may affect us in Ann Arbor.)
• Helpful: hopefully, people find this useful.

It’s important to note that I am not trying to replace any existing weather service or alert system. In particular:

• I may be out of town or otherwise unable to cover an interesting storm system.
• I’m mostly covering stormy weather; don’t expect daily weather forecasts for nice days, or days with just a few rain showers.
• I always refer to the NWS’s Detroit office for warning and public safety information, and I never offer any predictions or information that is less cautios than they on any matters affecting public safety.

An Important Note

You should always rely on local emergency broadcasters for up-to-date information on potentially dangerous situations.

So there you have it.

ArborWX is already Ann Arbor’s most popular weather blog. Follow along on Twitter @ArborWX.