When snow days are brought up in the area, Blake Harms is one of the first names that comes to mind. Running an Instagram account with information and predictions about school closings and inclement weather, he’s an HHS Alumni and an active member of the WOODTV8 meteorology program. 

Harms graduated HHS in 2017 and then proceeded to go to Valparaiso University to receive a meteorology degree. In the world of broadcasting one has to work their way up from a smaller market to a larger one. Harms started at the local news station at Lansing, being the meteorologist at WLNS-6, before transferring to his current position at WOODTV8. His passion for meteorology has always been present: “I'm very thankful that I've had a passion for meteorology for as long as I can remember. Watching the local news as a kid stirred an interest in broadcast meteorology, and I committed to following that dream,” Harms said. This passion helped him pursue his career today. 

WOODTV8 news operations are constantly in action to present the news to their viewers. Starting at 4:30 am for News 8 Daybreak, the news operations continue until 11:30 pm. Of course, all of this is subject to change in cases of breaking news or severe weather situations. Within this packed schedule, meteorologists have their own responsibilities at work. They are in charge of reporting the weather in all of the on-air forecasts. Totaling at 8.5 hours every day, there are weather reports at all seven of the broadcasts. On top of that, the weather crew is responsible for the severe weather and tornado coverage and several radio reports. There’s web and social media coverage/forecasts and also weather-specific articles and specials. Live weather-related reporting is also involved such as storm chasing, which Harms has experience with. 

Harms has been with WOOD for a year and he has been enjoying his experience there. “While West Michigan television stations are full of incredible people, I have always viewed WOOD TV8 as the area's gold standard. Very early on, I established that getting to WOOD was my ultimate career goal. So, from the school closing predictions to starting my career in Lansing, I did what I could to make that goal a reality,” Harms said. 

One of the main things that Harms does is the Snow Day Predictions. On Instagram, he posts updates on which schools are closing and which schools may close due to inclement weather. He says that there are several challenges of weather prediction: some may misinterpret the forecast, the public trust may be negatively affected, and going against the weather app on phones are just a handful of the conflicts in weather forecasting. Although there are many challenges in weather prediction and forecasting, Harms enjoys his job and loves creating an impact on the community and conveying the messages of weather to the public.