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| File:Bolt Weather Official Logo 2009.png | |
| Country | USA |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | National/Regional Online Only |
| History | |
| Launched | June, 2008 (as SilverStar 8) January 1, 2009 (as Bolt Weather) |
| Former names | SilverStar 8 |
| Links | |
| Website | http://www.boltweather.com |
Bolt Weather Bolt Weather is a non-profit, teenaged based run weather channel, that currently only broadcasts to the online community. Bolt Weather was first introduced on January 1st, 2009 on Silver Star 8's (Bolt Weather's successor) live stream; later following its first official website debut on March 12th, 2009. Bolt Weather broadcasts daily National Weather Forecast videos, as well as daily Severe Weather Videos. Bolt also now offers users the ability to look up their local weather via their homepage.
History
[edit]Before Bolt Weather
[edit]Silver Star 8 (SS8), Bolt Weather's successor, was launched in the spring of 2008, and was a similar based weather website, that brought users dependable, and accurate weather forecasts. The SilverStar 8 project was launched back in the spring of 2008 and launched it's website soon after. In late September 2008, SilverStar 8 started taking on new employees including current Bolt Weather President Andrew Poecker, and current Severe Weather Expert for Bolt, Michael Enfield. Also in late September, SS8 started producing it's daily national video forecasts. Come late December 2008 SS8 decided to re-structure their team and overall image, therefore leading to the launch of Bolt Weather on January 1st, 2009.
Debut Of Bolt Weather
[edit]Bolt Weather officially made its Debut on January 1st, 2009 at 12AM, following its successor Silver Star 8 (SS8). At the same time Bolt launched its temporary website, enabling users the ability to watch live weather shows. Bolt later launched its official website on March 12th, 2009, which contained many new and enhanced features. These features included: "Picture of the Week" submissions, a download page where users could download wallpapers and other Bolt content, Bolt's first official "Live Stream" page where users could watch live streaming Bolt Shows, and finally a news box on the homepage to keep viewers updated on the latest Bolt news. Bolt later launched its first live weather show, Bolt Outlook, on Friday, March 13th, 2009. This first show aired for 1 hour (9-10 EDT) and included commentaries from Bolt President, Andrew Poecker, Forecaster, Jeremy Ledford, and Bolt Severe Weather Expert, Michael Enfield.
First Generation (Currently)
[edit]The first generation of Bolt Weather started on March 12th, 2009, when Bolt officially launched its website and its live weather shows. There have been many additions along the way, including the addition of Local Forecasts, better and more accurate weather forecasts, as well as many new members added to the team. Starting in mid-April 2009 Bolt added many new positions to their team. Among these included many new Bolt Weather Bloggers. The Official Bolt Blog was launched in April 2009, and covers not only severe weather but also the latest news and information about Bolt Weather.
The Bolt Weather Forums were shutdown in early April 2009, due to the use of user activity. Bolt soon hopes to re-launch the form when their main weather application comes out in the summer of 2009. Due to liability issues, and maturity levels, Bolt also announced in March of 2009 that there were new age restrictions on Bolt Employees. To join "behind the scenes" a user must be at least 12 years of age, and to become an On Camera Forecaster (OCF) a user must be at least 15 years of age or older. These rules however did not apply to former SilverStar 8 Staff members.
Weather Shows
[edit]Bolt Outlook
[edit]Bolt Outlook is a weather show Bolt Weather produces and puts on their live stream once time per week. The show discusses active weather and weather patterns that are moving throughout the U.S. and also gives viewers a look at tomorrow’s forecast. The first Bolt Outlook show aired live on Bolt's stream at: http://www.boltweather.com/live on Friday, March 13th, 2009. The show aired at its normal time from 9-10 pm EDT/ 6-7 pm PDT, and included commentaries from all three original SilverStar 8 members, Jeremy Ledford, Andrew Poecker, and Michael Enfield.
Bolt Outlook is replaced with Bolt ALERT! When there are prominent severe weather outbreaks in the U.S. You can watch Bolt Outlook on Bolt's live stream, every Friday night from 9-10 pm EDT/ 6-7 pm PDT.
Bolt Alert!
[edit]Bolt ALERT! is a severe weather show that Bolt Weather puts on live whenever there is a prominent severe weather outbreak in the U.S. This show focuses on specific severe weather events such as: Tornados, Hurricanes, Severe Thunderstorms, and Severe Winter Weather.
To see Bolt ALERT! shows, viewers must check on Bolt's homepage to see when this special weather show will be broadcasted. Bolt ALERT! also does replace Bolt Outlook, Bolt's weekly weather show, if severe weather does outbreak. Severe Weather alerts can always be found at: http://www.boltweather.com/severe.
Bolt Services
[edit]Bolt Local Weather
[edit]Bolt Local Weather is a free way for Bolt users to look up their local forecast. Bolt Local Weather was launched on April 1st, 2009. Through this great service users can not only see a detailed seven day forecast for their local area, but this service also offers local animated radars, hourly forecasts, and live severe weather updates. On top of local weather, Bolt Local Weather also provides detailed forecasts outside of the United States. These regions include all of Canada, Europe, Asia, South America, and other world destinations.
Daily Video National Forecast
[edit]Bolt National Weather Forecasts are updated daily on the Bolt homepage. This offers viewers a look at not only their national forecast for the upcoming day ahead, but also offers viewers a breakdown of weather region by region. Bolt currently offers seven different regional maps per day in their regional forecast. These U.S. regions include: The Northeast, Southeast, Mid-West, Northwest, Southwest, Alaska, and Hawaii.
For viewers who want to look at the national forecast at their own pace, there is always a National Map that is updated daily on the homepage. Currently Bolt Weather has 2 full time On Camera Forecasters: Andrew Poecker and Jeremy Ledford. Both have been forecasting as a hobby for several years and have over a year of online broadcasting experience.
Daily Video Severe Weather Videos
[edit]Daily Severe Weather Videos are produced by Bolt Weather's Severe Weather Expert, Michael Enfield. These videos pinpoint locations of possible severe weather in the upcoming days, as well as the severity of the outbreaks. Bolt Weather started to produce Daily Severe Weather Videos on April 21st, 2009. Severe weather maps and updates can also be found in the Bolt Weather Blog and are updated daily.
Bolt Weather Blog
[edit]The first official Bolt Weather Blog was launched in early April of 2009. The Bolt Weather Blog consists of not only weather throughout the country, but also contains vital information about severe weather (which is updated daily) including severe weather maps, and severe weather warnings from the National Weather Service. Almost the entire Bolt Staff has permission to add posts to the Blog to keep viewers informed when Bolt Weather is off air. Viewers can look at Bolt's homepage or at their Bolt Blog here http://www.boltweather.com/blog.
The Bolt Team
[edit]On Camera Forecasters (OCF)
[edit]| Name | Position(s) | Joined In | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Poecker | President Of Bolt Weather, Graphics Designer, Daily OCF | Sept. 2008 | Andrew is the founder of Bolt Weather. His duties also include preparing maps, video forecasts, and other materials for Bolt Weather programming. Andrew designed all graphics and icons which you see on the Bolt Weather website and also on the Bolt Weather maps. |
| Jeremy Ledford | Weekday Forecaster, Programmer, Daily OCF | June 2008 | Jeremy is a forecaster for Bolt Weather, and also in charge of programming Bolt Weather's proprietary software which generates your national forecast maps and live programming materials. In addition, Jeremy is the sever administrator for BoltWeather.com and aids in installation of new modules to the website. Jeremy has been forecasting in front of a green screen since May of 2007! |
Severe Weather Experts
[edit]| Name | Position(s) | Joined In | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Enfield | Severe Weather Expert, Sub OCF, Video Designer | Oct. 2008 | Michael is a certified NWS storm spotter. You can often see Michael in National Forecasts and during live programming, especially during Bolt Alert in which you'll find him covering anything from supercell thunderstorms producing tornadoes, to white-out blizzards. Mike has retired from the national forecast videos and is now the head anchor for the Severe Weather Outlook video forecast. |
Bloggers
[edit]| Name | Position(s) | Joined In | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Stephens | Chief Blogger, Sub OCF, Runs Bolt Weather Shows | Mar. 2009 | Joining in March 2009, Josh helps out with the forecasting side of things, and is the main blogger for Bolt Weather. You can read his blogs at the Bolt Weather blog (both live and non-live) Josh lives in tornado alley and loves to track severe storms! |
| Curt Manning | Blogger | Apr. 2009 | Curt joined the Bolt Weather blog team in April of 2009. Curt is an intern blogger at BoltWeather and helps out by blogging during severe weather outbreaks. |
| Trevor Birchett | Blogger | Apr. 2009 | Trevor joined the Bolt Weather blog team in April of 2009. He helps out by blogging at the BoltWeather blog during times of severe weather. |
| Zach Land | Blogger | Apr. 2009 | Zach joined the Bolt Weather blog team in April 2009. Zach resides in the southeastern U.S., and likes to inform others of impending severe weather headed their way! |
| "Drew" (Andrew) Ellinghausen | Blogger | Apr. 2009 | Drew, who also goes by Andrew is a blogger with Bolt Weather. He joined the team in April 2009. Drew resides in New Orleans, LA |
Other Team Members
[edit]| Name | Position(s) | Joined In | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Mc | Greater Philadelphia Area Blogger | May 2009 | Mike joins the Bolt Weather team from the Marlton, NJ community, near Philadelphia. Mike blogs in the Bolt Weather blog about weather conditions impacting the residents of Philadelphia. In his spare time, Mike enjoys biking, bowling, surfing the Internet, and being with friends |
| Laura Katicich | Art Department/ SilverStar 8 Base Programmer | Mar 2008 | Laura calls the Californian coast home. Experienced heavily with Photoshop, Laura contributes by designing and laying out certain graphics for Bolt Weather. Laura also programmed SilverStar 8 Graphics, before Bolt Weather came along. In her spare time, she likes to visit her friends, painting, gardening, listening to music, and just taking a stroll along the shore. |