Meet AccuWeather's Dan DePodwin, Vice President of Forecast Operations
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KEY HIGHLIGHTS
-- Dan leads a team whose focus ranges from continually enhancing the forecast systems that form the core of AccuWeather’s business to collaborating with government and private industry partners to access and integrate new data sets.
-- He manages and develops forecasting teams, helping to set strategy and direction for how forecasts are produced and integrated into AccuWeather’s services. Leadership involves balancing tactical forecast production with strategic planning and team development.
-- His role often involves collaborating with different parts of the company — including data, technology, and business units — to enhance forecast accuracy and distribution.
Flooding is underway across Jamaica after Melissa’s historic landfall, but one bit of good news is that the most populated part of the island was spared the worst of the winds, as AccuWeather’s Dan DePodwin explains.
Combining Education, Experience and AccuWeather’s proven Superior Accuracy™
Dan’s interest in meteorology began very young when growing up in Somerset, New Jersey. The story as his parents tell it is that he was 2-years-old when he would excitedly point to weather vanes and try to pronounce the name.
In middle school, he secured a grant to have a weather station installed on the roof of the school and used the data to provide the current conditions and forecast on the morning announcements. In high school, Dan’s history teacher was not convinced that meteorologists had skill at predicting the weather – a belief he challenged by creating a daily forecast exercise to encourage classmates to rate his accuracy.
The result? By the end of the year, it was clear his forecasts were skillful and helpful – accurately predicting many snow days.
Dan earned a bachelor of science in atmosphere science from Penn State University in 2011. As an intern in college, he worked at Mars Chocolates and Rutgers University.
His professional career post-college has been exclusively at AccuWeather, starting as an operational meteorologist. He worked with AccuWeather for Business customers, briefing them on major storms, wrote forecast stories for AccuWeather.com, and developed radio broadcasting skills, appearing on-air in major markets like New York, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia.
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Block of snow-covered cars in winter, Washington DC.
In 2014, Dan moved into a role on AccuWeather’s Innovation and Development team where he was responsible for evaluating AccuWeather’s accuracy and the data used to create forecasts. This role evolved into work with data and technical teams, leading a small team of software developers. He also worked closely with AccuWeather’s data partners, building relationships and executing agreements with private sector and government partners.
He moved back into Forecasting in 2019 as a manager of the State College Forecasting team and since then has expanded his leadership role to include the entire Forecasting Operations in State College and Wichita.
His role combines a passion for meteorology and our Earth’s amazing atmosphere with helping people succeed, building their careers and creating a high-performing team.
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There were several key weather events in quick succession that cemented Dan’s interest in weather. In the mid-90s, he experienced the historic Blizzard of ’96 and Tropical Storm Bonnie in 1998.
Hurricane Sandy also stands out as it was the most impactful storm early on in his career and also had a direct personal impact. His parents lost power in New Jersey for two weeks and had devastating tree damage. He grew up vacationing on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, which experienced significant flooding with feet of water destroying numerous businesses.
Hurricane Helene and the devastating flooding it wrought in the Southeast also made an impact on him.
He’s been fortunate to have many role models, starting with his parents, who have always encouraged him to pursue interests and a passion for meteorology, lovingly tolerating his desire to wake up in the middle of the night during snowstorms to see how much snow had fallen.
In high school, Dan was able to work with Dr. Dave Robinson, a New Jersey State Climatologist who helped him realize what areas of meteorology he was most interested in and which colleges to apply to.
Outside of AccuWeather, Dan is active in both the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and National Weather Association (NWA). He attends the AMS Annual Meeting and other specialty meetings yearly and has volunteered time on several AMS committees, as well as presenting numerous times at both the AMS and NWA annual meetings.
His other interests include music, sports, friends and family. He plays alto sax in the State College Area Municipal band and was a member of the Penn State Blue Band in college. Dan enjoys golf and watching most sports, namely Penn State football, the Philadelphia Union, New York Giants and New York Yankees.
He also loves spending time with family, including his wife, a fellow meteorologist. They share their passion for weather with their young daughter.
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A man walks with his dog on the snow covered sidewalk after snowfall in Buffalo, New York on December 26, 2022.
Virtually Eliminate the Risk of Being Surprised by Snow and Ice
To make the best decisions every time, you need the Superior Accuracy™ of AccuWeather's Snow Warning Service™. Study after study shows that AccuWeather provides the most accurate, precise, and detailed forecasts, which give you an exclusive umbrella of protection.
Independent studies show that AccuWeather’s forecasts are significantly more accurate and more valuable than all other sources. Last winter, AccuWeather’s average error for start and end times for snow and ice was just 1½ hours compared to an average error of more than 3 hours from other sources.
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