FROM THE PODCAST Eric Berger Co-founder of Space City Weather
"OUR GOAL WITH THE SITE IS TO KIND OF CUT THROUGH THE NOISE AND FIND THE SIGNAL FOR PEOPLE. IT’S WEATHER FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE BUSY AND MAYBE ONLY REALLY WANT TO FOCUS ON THE WEATHER WHEN THEY HAVE TO MAKE DECISIONS." ERIC BERGER, SPACE CITY WEATHER CO FOUNDER
BY OLIVIA ALDRIDGE
The United States is in the middle of its Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. On the June 24 episode of “The Houston Breakdown,” Com- munity Impact Newspaper ’s weekly local podcast, host Olivia Aldridge spoke with local weather expert Eric Berger about how Houstonians can prepare for hurricane risk. The founder of local forecasting service Space City Weather also dug into the story of his platform’s rise to prominence during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. WHAT DOES SPACE CITY
is happening to them is probably hap- pening to me and my family as well. I think it’s that we built a connection to readers by talking directly to them, not trying to scare them, but by telling them what we know, what we don’t, what we’re watching, and just being really honest and real with people. DID THE PUBLIC RESPONSE TAKE YOU BY SURPRISE? Absolutely. ... I had written about weather at the Houston Chronicle from 2005 to 2015. When I left that year, I founded Space City Weather as a hobby. Then, two years later with Harvey, it really did, as you said, blow up into something much more than that. So yeah, it surprised me how much people really do appreciate that kind of informa- tion and that kind of approach. It certainly just caused [co-founder Matt Lanza] and I to really double down on that and try to be there at all times for people.
WEATHER DO, AND WHAT HAS YOUR JOURNEY WITH IT BEEN? There’s a million places you can get weather information online, on televi- sion and in apps. What we wanted to be was a place you could go to when you really wanted to know what’s important and what’s not. During this time of year, on places like Facebook and other social media, you’ll often see posts [predicting] a hurricane strike in Texas 10 days from now and a lot of things like that. Our goal with the site is to kind of cut through the noise and nd the signal for people. WHY DO YOU THINK SPACE CITY WEATHER FIRST RESO NATED WITH PEOPLE DURING HURRICANE HARVEY? I think it’s the human element. I am rst and foremost a writer; meteorology came much later on for me. I really try to connect with readers. I live in Houston, so whatever
COURTESY ERIC BERGER
WHAT DO YOU THINK WE CAN EXPECT HEADING INTO THIS HURRICANE SEASON? This year looks to be busy again for a number of reasons, principally because La Niña, which is in the Paci c Ocean, looks to be present in August, September and October of this year, which is prime time for Atlantic hurricanes to form. So generally, we can expect a busier season, but Houston can get hit during nonbusy seasons [as well]. HOW CAN PEOPLE PREPARE? I think the most important thing for people to do is to understand the threats to them, their home, where they live and their family. That means
knowing [if you’re in an area] that could be vulnerable to storm surge, and that’s driven primarily by your elevation and how close you are to a body of water or a bayou. ... You need to understand your vulnerabilities now and prepare accordingly. If, for example, you decide [you] need to evacuate for whatever reason, then ... where would you evacuate? How are you going to make reservations? What are you going to bring? How are you going to make sure your pets are taken care of or your families or your parents or your children? You’ve got to think about all that now because when the moment hits, it’s very stressful.
This is an excerpt from an interview for “The Houston Breakdown,” Community Impact Newspaper ’s weekly local podcast, lightly edited for length and clarity. “The Houston Breakdown” is hosted by Olivia Aldridge and released every Friday morning wherever podcasts are available. Listen to the full interview for more of Berger’s insights on topics including space ight in Texas and the importance of building a Spanish-language weather forecasting platform for Houston.
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CONROE MONTGOMERY EDITION • AUGUST 2022
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