Pete:
Welcome to Blind Abilities, this is Pete Lane. Today on Blind Abilities, we present Ryan Lukowicz, who has a fascinating interest in a unique topic – meteorology. As a matter of fact, he has studied meteorology for four years now, and has developed an expertise in the topic that is respected across the industry. And so you might ask, where did he attend college? How did he attain such an advanced knowledge of this subject that is rooted in complex science? Well, the answers to these questions may surprise you, because this individual did not attend college, at least not yet. After all, he is only 14 years old. Instead he has developed his expertise through self-study and his own initiative. Let\u2019s meet Ryan Lukowicz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
You\u2019ve been doing it for four years, that puts you only a decade old when you first got interested in meteorology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:
Ryan Lukowicz, a meteorological prodigy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:
I\u2019ve always had something for journalism and public speaking, and then I particularly enjoyed, you know, when the weather came on-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan (recording):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Welcome to episode 36 of the Behind the Weather Forecast podcast, thanks for tuning in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I did written forecasts, and live videos. I really took it up another level when I started my podcast, Behind the Weather Forecast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
What is doppler radar?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Doppler radar is the radar system that a lot of meteorologists use. It is truly the best of the best. Doppler radar\u2019s very localized, it can pinpoint things down to a street or road or a part of a town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:
With his sights set on broadcast meteorology, focusing on the personal approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:
I always say the best people to turn to is your local station. We have three Providence stations, five Boston stations, and four stations in Connecticut in the three different markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Female meteorologist:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Areas north and west of Boston are going to get some-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Male meteorologist:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The highest total I\u2019ve seen so far as a gardener was seven inches of snow-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Male newscaster:
-now, your storm team five forecast-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Female meteorologist:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-and that is why we have a winter storm watch just up from the National Weather Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Male meteorologist:
We\u2019ve actually picked up a bit of snow shower activity-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gale:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-and you know, Niles of our Boston station, WBZ, is tracking the blizzard. Danielle, good morning to you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Danielle:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Absolutely, Gale, good morning to you-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I look at most of those to see what they\u2019re all saying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Optimistic that accessible tools will come in due time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:
I don\u2019t know how we would work with the blindness. I don\u2019t know, maybe Seeing Eye will come out with a model interpreting channel here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:
Joining Jeff in the Blind Abilities studio, one of our more fascinating guests, with a story of drive and ambition, and the motivation to focus on his goals. Now let\u2019s join Jeff Thompson, with his guest Ryan Lukowicz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Oh, yeah, we\u2019re all kind of curious about the weather. It\u2019s always, you know, what\u2019s the weather like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Welcome to Blind Abilities, I\u2019m Jeff Thompson. Today in the studio we have Ryan Lukowicz, and he is a high school student out in Rhode Island, and he has been studying meteorology, weather reporting, for over four years. Ryan, how are you doing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m great, Jeff. How are you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
I\u2019m good. Thank you so much for coming onto Blind Abilities. I heard your story, you reached out, and you know, you\u2019ve been doing it for four years, that puts you only a decade old when you first got interested in meteorology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, I got into it at an early age for sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
And what led you to where you are today? What\u2019s the drive behind it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You know, my parents have always had the news on at night, you know, while we\u2019re eating dinner, and in the morning when I was getting ready for school, and I\u2019ve always had something for journalism and public speaking, and then I particularly enjoyed, you know, when the weather came on, and seeing- well, not seeing, obviously, but I guess hearing and observing what those people do and, I don\u2019t know, I just enjoyed it and said oh, you know, maybe I could start my own thing, and then about four years ago, it was about 2016, probably closer to five years now to be honest with you, in the spring of that year I started my Facebook page, and I did written forecasts, and live videos. I really took it up another level when I started my podcast, Behind the Weather Forecast, which was started in July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan (recording):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Welcome to episode 34 of the Behind the Weather Forecast podcast, thanks for listening. I\u2019m your host, Ryan Lukowicz. Here on the phone today is Harvey Leonards, the chief meteorologist up at WCVP-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:
The pandemic has been horrible for many reasons, obviously, for the world, but it has been good to provide extra time for people. I have a Twitter and an Instagram as well, Facebook is where my main audience is, and where I\u2019ve been for a while, and now on the podcast I\u2019m covering severe weather topics as well as interviewing various meteorologists, media members, and other interesting people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, I\u2019ve listened to a couple of them, and I was like wow, well, at least the meteorologists are at home and they\u2019re able to spend some time talking about what they do best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, it\u2019s been really fun getting to hear their stories, especially like some of them are more national. My audience is mostly here in southern New England, and people have really enjoyed getting to know the meteorologists that they watch and I watch every day on TV, and then also I\u2019ve had people on from Washington, Alabama, Atlanta. It\u2019s been fun to also hear about different climates and different perspectives from across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Did they get started in meteorology the same way you did? Sparked that interest, and then that led them further on down the journey?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, so everybody is different, you know, I\u2019ve had 12 different people on, you know, they all have similarities and differences. There\u2019s actually a couple here in Rhode Island who are reporters at the same station, so their stories are quite unique and they\u2019re doing some cool stuff. Some people don\u2019t really find out that they love it until they\u2019re in college. I had one person on who didn\u2019t find out until he was a junior in college, and a lot of times professors inspire them. Other people you hear a similar story to me, where they get into it from an early age and they\u2019re sort of just hooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
While you mention it, how can they go listen to your podcast?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is Behind the Weather Forecast on Spreaker, Spotify, it\u2019s not on Apple Podcasts, I don\u2019t know why they haven\u2019t approved it, it\u2019s been months. You can also just search Behind the Weather Forecast or my name, Ryan Lukowicz, in your web browser and it should pop up, and then for the Facebook page, it\u2019s @RyanLukowiczAccurate, and I know the last name is tough to say, it\u2019s Polish actually, it\u2019s L-U-K-O-W-I-C-Z.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a freshman in high school, what kind of accessibility are you using today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have a Dell computer I use with JAWS, and I have for the moment a material prep specialist who gets the material from the teachers and adapts it. I use Microsoft Word and it really depends on what the assignment is. I have Voicestream Reader on my iPad, so of course I use that, for English and reading. Math has become a challenge, as you can expect. I didn\u2019t learn braille right away, I learned it a little bit alter, a couple years ago. I\u2019m pretty much fluent in it now, so I still do a lot of my math on the computer in a Word document, so I have like a braille reference sheet, and then I have the computer where I solve the problems and use equation boxes and do it that way on Word, and then email it to the teacher. As far as weather forecasting goes, I use my phone which is pretty much what I do everything for my page, my podcast, what\u2019s cool is I just started this course a few months ago, and I use an app called Spreaker, I\u2019m not sure what you use for recording, but I have my system where I have the guest who will call on my iPad. It\u2019s not the most professional or most ideal, but I have Spreaker on the phone which is completely accessible actually, really pleasantly surprised by that, and I just hit the record button. When I want it to stop I just publish it, create a title, you know, using Voiceover and editing text fields and so on and so forth, and then it\u2019s out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, I think using Spreaker, which is available on iOS, I don\u2019t know about the Android side of things- do you know if it\u2019s available on Android?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have no idea, I\u2019ve always been an iOS person to be honest with you. I considered switching to Android just, I don\u2019t know, for something different a couple years ago, and then I said no. I\u2019ve just always had the iPhone, the iPad, of course I have the Dell computer-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If it\u2019s working, why break it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I assume it is, I don\u2019t see why it wouldn\u2019t be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mm-hm. But that\u2019s a very practical way of getting started in podcasting because you can do it all right from your phone and publish it, which is a good thing in the sense that you don\u2019t have to do the editing because that keeps you on the top of your game on conducting the interview because there\u2019s no wiggle room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, it is a little bit of a- I guess a challenge, not necessarily editing it, but the way I look at it is it\u2019s a very raw, I just like to publish the conversations as they are and when I\u2019m doing one just by myself that\u2019s about a severe weather topic or trending weather stories that are in the news, sometimes I\u2019ll pause, I can pause the recording in the middle and take a break and do whatever, and then I\u2019ll come back to it and do it the same way, so that works out well, but I mean, so far so good, I have not had any problems, haven\u2019t had to edit any of them, nor really could I, but it is a great way to start out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Yeah. I think it\u2019s a great way for starting out because when you have the capabilities to edit everything, you know that as you\u2019re doing a recording, you can just stop and know you\u2019re gonna edit it, you don\u2019t have to think it through, you can just wing it, but when you\u2019re live like a radio broadcaster or someone that\u2019s gonna be on camera or on the microphone, you gotta get your game going. You gotta be ready, prepared, and go, and I think by doing it the way you\u2019re doing it, you\u2019re gonna develop a skill set that you wouldn\u2019t develop if you had a studio where you\u2019re recording and then you spend four hours editing it, making it polished and perfect, I mean, there\u2019s basis for that, but I think it\u2019s really good that you\u2019re doing it this way because it\u2019s a really good skill set to- I mean, you said you were interested in public speaking and meteorology is a passion of yours, you\u2019re combining them all together and there you go, good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:
Yeah, thank you, and I guess it really depends on what you\u2019re doing it for too, right? I mean, if you\u2019re just starting a podcast with no intention to be on TV or on the radio, then that\u2019s totally fine for you to edit, I think editing is obviously a great tool and, yeah, I mean, for me I just haven\u2019t done it and you really said that well and, you know, I think it\u2019s good to develop that, it\u2019s something I have developed within these past few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Can you give us a little bit of your journey with blindness and your education and how that\u2019s transpired?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have coloboma of the optic nerve, which as far as I know makes your optic nerve shorter or something like that. I don\u2019t know the exact details, and then a couple years ago I lost all of my vision to retinal detachment in the right eye, and my left eye is nonfunctional at this point, and so I call myself almost completely blind, but I really don\u2019t have any functional vision. As far as my education goes, I\u2019ve had a really great journey in the public school system. We\u2019re lucky enough here to live in a good town, it\u2019s a good school district, and I\u2019m really happy to be here and I always commend the entire school department, everybody, all the teachers, you know, we have good kids who go to the schools and that always helps, you know, I hear of a lot of horror stories from, you know, my other blind friends that I know from camp, especially those in urban areas who don\u2019t have a good experience with getting accommodations or so on and so forth, so I\u2019m glad that hasn\u2019t been really the case with me, so I consider myself lucky and you know, I haven\u2019t run into too many problems with the education part, I mean so far so good. Of course there are challenges, it takes longer, which can be frustrating at times, but I\u2019m so lucky to have the support system I have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Now, you mentioned the iPad, a lot of people use the iPhone and a lot of people might have a Mac or a Dell computer as you mentioned, and the iPad is something that some people who are visually impaired think that there\u2019s too much real estate. How do you utilize the iPad?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:
To be honest with you, I use my phone for most of what I do. I have two iPads, I have a school one and a home one. The school one is great because it can be transported obviously between home and school and used for things such as Voicestream Reader. Even I use it for reading Word documents connected to my refreshable braille display, so it has a lot of different purposes. I\u2019m on my home one right now, I don\u2019t use it a ton, it\u2019s older, but I use it for things like Zoom meetings and the guests on the phone, so to be honest with you I have transitioned to my phone for pretty much all of my weather stuff, but I still like to do, like, doing an interview on Zoom right now, that\u2019s much easier on the iPad. You know, the phone\u2019s great, but I think people need to keep in mind, you know, what if it breaks, what if, I don\u2019t know, it gets stolen, god forbid? You need to have some type of a backup, even if it\u2019s not as good. You know, I have a phone number on the iPad so I can call and text using WiFi, so it\u2019s a good backup, I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, so your iPad has the cellular?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No, what I have is an app called TextNow, which I encourage everybody to get, and I use it actually for, you know, the weather forecasting people can text me, it\u2019s 401-329-2792, it\u2019s different than my regular phone number for people I know. I say, you know, people can always text if, you know, they can\u2019t find the podcast, they want the link, if they have weather questions. That\u2019s another great thing to have for your audience, and I\u2019ve connected it to my phone and my iPad, and what\u2019s great is people can call me through that, and I can have that on my iPad, use my phone to record, and that\u2019s how I perform the interviews, so I know there are apps like Google Voice, I tried that one, it wasn\u2019t perfect for me, so I just tried a bunch of them and TextNow was my favorite, so I stuck with that one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
TextNow. That\u2019s the name of it, TextNow?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, it is. It can be found on the app store. The accessibility is- to be honest with you, it\u2019s usable, but all of the texts come up as images, so you have to scroll through and you actually have to open every text. Now, I don\u2019t use it a ton, I just use it for guests and occasional conversations, so for me it\u2019s not a big deal, and to be honest with you once I\u2019m done talking with the viewer I just delete the conversation anyway and I keep all the guests in case I ever need to get in contact with them, you know, for whatever reason, so accessibility I give it, I don\u2019t know, a C+, but it works for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, and that\u2019s not unlike a lot of other types of apps that we use, once we get used to how we use them, we use them and then someone says, \u201cHow do you use it?\u201d I have to pause for a minute and go, um, I don\u2019t know? I just use it. Because you get that muscle memory down, so I suggest that anybody that uses something, keep using it, you know, it gets better for you, it might not be for everybody, but when you find something works for you, use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, and I will say I\u2019ve always heard from folks in the vision field, and I always say, you know, you\u2019ve gotta troubleshoot, you know, for example, with a lot of these weather websites I use, they\u2019re not perfect but most of them you can use to at least get the information you need. It\u2019s not always easy, you know, get to the website, find the information, and you know, it\u2019s done in a couple minutes, sometimes you need to take 10, 20 plus minutes to work with these different websites and figure out the system they use and make it work for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mm-hm. Now, I had a couple questions for you. Doppler radar, I hear that all the time. What is doppler radar?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s a great question, yeah, so doppler radar is the radar system that a lot of meteorologists use. You\u2019ll hear from different TV stations, \u201cThis is Connecticut\u2019s only live doppler radar,\u201d and you know, of course the TV stations and the various meteorologists who have access to it always love to hype it up and make it a big deal, but it is truly the best of the best, especially in the weather department of course. A lot of times in the summer we get severe thunderstorms, and those can be very difficult to track if you don\u2019t have doppler radar, and really doppler radar\u2019s very localized, it can really pinpoint things down to a street or a road, or maybe a part of a town, and it\u2019s also updated more frequently and more descriptive and useful, so I think that all news stations have their strengths and weaknesses, and I will say the ones that are best at covering those summer weather threats usually have the doppler radar and that\u2019s why it\u2019s a big part of what they do. I think it\u2019s a great thing, as well, to have and to utilize, and I will say stations who have that have a big advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Yeah, that\u2019s really interesting when you hear people talk about a low pressure and then a high pressure system coming in, some people wonder what that really means or a cold front, the winds, the westerlies, and all sorts of factors that come in that- predictability about weather is always interesting. To me it\u2019s really interesting, I always thought that a meteorologist should have like a batting average down in the corner of the screen, you know? Now, there\u2019s a European system, why don\u2019t you tell me the difference between the American and the European predictions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:
Yeah, so there are two of the biggest models that forecasters use and a lot of times they can be very inconsistent several days from a snowstorm. There isn\u2019t necessarily one that\u2019s more right or wrong than the other, a lot of times if you\u2019re forecasting a major snowstorm and it\u2019s a week out, it\u2019s really tough for anybody to get a good grip on what to expect, just because there is so much variation in all those models, but I think especially those two. A lot of times I see one is maybe forecasting two to four feet and then you have the one might be forecasting two to four inches, so of course models are the core of weather forecasting and a meteorologist\u2019s job is to interpret that. There\u2019s no doubt it\u2019s a challenge, and they\u2019re highly unreliable several days away, especially when the weather becomes active.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Have you been able to do any interpretations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:
I have not actually looked at any models, a lot of times I\u2019m just following meteorologists on Twitter to see what they think, a lot of times they share higher level discussions that wouldn\u2019t necessarily be on TV. To be honest with you, I don\u2019t know how it would work with the blindness in terms of trying to interpret those, who knows if, I don\u2019t know, maybe Seeing Eye will come out with a model interpreting channel here, so I don\u2019t know how that would work, I\u2019m sure there\u2019s a way and by the time I\u2019m actually into the field several years out, I\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be something, but for right now it\u2019s a lot of interpreting other people\u2019s forecasts, and also, you know, I\u2019ve been doing this for several years now, so a lot of times it\u2019s just gut intuition and what have I seen in the past that is going to impact my decision on whatever storm is coming up?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Yeah, sometimes you\u2019ve just gotta walk outside and see what it\u2019s doing. I use smart devices now and then, and it depends on which one, the Amazon device or the Google device, is connected to, whether it\u2019s using the Weather Channel or some other thing, getting its data. You might be expecting one inch of snow or four to eight inches of snow, it\u2019s like, hmm, smart devices, you may wanna recalculate those things and see if they could come up with a more accurate one, but it\u2019s a tough thing to do, as you just mentioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, I always say, the best people to turn to is your local station, you know, even if I know a lot of people are moving away from watching it on a television, but even if you have it on your phone, you know, all of these stations have mobile apps where you can livestream their newscasts and it\u2019s important to hear your forecast from an actual person and I\u2019m somebody who likes, you know, I\u2019m in the Rhode Island area, I like to check, well, we have three Providence stations, five Boston stations, and four stations in Connecticut in you know, the three different markets. I look at most of those to see what they\u2019re all saying, I think it\u2019s important to do a little bit of research and fortunately, as a consumer as well, and that\u2019s what I focus on, sort of doing the research for the person and making it easier for the consumer to find the information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
National Weather Service:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The National Weather Service in Condon has issued a wind advisory, which is in effect from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now I notice when there\u2019s severe weather coming in, some people turn on, it\u2019s like the National Weather Service, and it kind of sounds robotic, in a sense, it kind of goes ching, ching, ching<\/em>, weather report blah blah blah<\/em>, what is that all about?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ryan: Jeff: Ryan: Jeff: Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n And, you know, something I\u2019ve always been very involved with is really focusing on different areas and you know, there are these TV markets that cover, you know, several miles of ground, different things can happen in different parts of an area, and a lot of those weather apps do things based on region or area or state. I\u2019ve always been somebody who forecasts for certain towns and certain events, and saying okay, well, you know, if you\u2019re northwest of the city it\u2019s this much, if you\u2019re around the city it\u2019s this much, south and east it\u2019s this, so it\u2019s important to have those different zones if you will, especially when doing things like a snowfall forecast, that\u2019s really important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, yeah. We had 10 inches of snow five miles north of us, we got about eight, and about 30 miles south of us they got one inch. That\u2019s a huge difference, and that comes from listening to the local weather, that\u2019s where we always go, yeah. So Ryan, it\u2019s really neat to see that you have such great passion for what you want to do, and you\u2019ve kind of got your goals set on what you want to do, what advice would you have for someone who is in that same age group as you, as they\u2019re looking towards their future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I think anything that you\u2019re passionate about can be turned into a career, I think people are especially finding that now the pandemic and extra time on people\u2019s hands, it always inspires me to hear the stories about people who got furloughed or laid off who are now starting their own small businesses, which I think is very brave of them. I would just say, you know, it\u2019s not always easy and I think that everybody sort of finds their place and everybody is meant to do a different thing, regardless of if it\u2019s to be on TV, or to be a nurse or a doctor, which is now of course more important than ever, maybe you want to be a schoolteacher, which, oh god, both of my parents are, I don\u2019t recommend it, or you know, there are just so many different jobs in the world, people are meant to do different things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeff: Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeff: Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah, Spotify, Google Podcasts, there are a few other ones, or you can just search it in, you know, just type in Behind the Weather Forecast in your web browser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeff: Ryan: Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I did find it over on Spreaker and checked out some of it and it\u2019s really good, people, go check it out, he talks to professional meteorologists across the country technically. It\u2019s just interesting to hear these people\u2019s stories, because usually you see them come on for 10 minutes, talk about the weather, they\u2019re pointing over here, whatever they\u2019re doing, they\u2019re projecting the weather and stuff, but you never hear the background story behind their experience, so it\u2019s really neat that you\u2019re tapping into that, bringing it to us and letting us enjoy their passions, so thank you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, yeah, it\u2019s my pleasure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeff: Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mm-hm. It impacts us from day to day, yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good luck with all your studies and all that stuff, and it was really neat to meet you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks for coming on, thanks for reaching out, and we\u2019ll stay in touch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ryan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah, absolutely. Sounds good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeff: Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019d like to thank Ryan Lukowicz for joining us on Blind Abilities today, remember you can follow Ryan on Facebook @RyanLukowiczAccurate, and that last name is spelled L-U-K-O-W-I-C-Z, and be sure to subscribe to his podcast, Behind the Weather Forecast. You can find it on Spreaker, Spotify, or just search for Behind the Weather Forecast or for Ryan Lukowicz. And from all of us here at Blind Abilities, through these challenging times, to you, your family, and friends, stay well, stay informed, and stay strong. Thank you so much for listening, and have a great day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [Music] [Transition noise] -When we share<\/p>\n\n\n\n -What we see<\/p>\n\n\n\n -Through each other’s eyes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n [Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]<\/p>\n\n\n\n …We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more podcasts with a blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com, on Twitter @BlindAbilities, download our app from the app store, Blind Abilities, that\u2019s two words, or send us an email at info@blindabilities.com. Thanks for listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email<\/a> or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities<\/a> Check out the Blind Abilities Community<\/a>on Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page<\/a>, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired<\/a> group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Full Transcript Pete:Welcome to Blind Abilities, this is Pete Lane. Today on Blind Abilities, we present Ryan Lukowicz, who has a fascinating interest in a unique topic – meteorology. As a matter of fact, he has studied meteorology for four years now, and has developed an expertise in the topic that is respected across the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6475","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P6rcRg-1Gr","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5122,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=5122","url_meta":{"origin":6475,"position":0},"title":"A Conversation With Marta Hanyzkiewicz: A Journey From Trials to Triumph","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"June 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Marta Hanyzkiewicz:I was born in Poland in a very small town. I was diagnosed with R.P. It was very tough for me emotionally. Pete Lane:Introducing Marta Hanyzkiewicz, whose story spans two continents. From a rough beginning in Poland... Marta Hanyzkiewicz:I didn't have much resources. My family couldn't accept\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4637,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=4637","url_meta":{"origin":6475,"position":1},"title":"Meet Mike Kelly: Persistent in His Drive to Fight Any and All Challenges, and Ultimately Persevere","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"March 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Pete Lane:Welcome to Blind Abilities. This is Pete Lane. My guest today is Mike Kelly, and his story promises to evoke an emotional response on the part of you, our listeners. Mike Kelly:I got hit by a car. I was in traction for a couple months, then I\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7612,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=7612","url_meta":{"origin":6475,"position":2},"title":"\ufffcUptown got it’s hustlers, The bowery got it’s bums, Blind Abilities got AJ Croce, he’s a killer pianist\u00a0\u00a0like no one – Please welcome musician, singer songwriter, AJ Croce","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"September 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Podcast Page Full Transcript: AJ: I was blind for six years, from the age of four until ten. Pete: He was dealt a tough hand.\u00a0 AJ: The events that led to my blindness were even more traumatic than the blindness itself.\u00a0 Pete: Like so many of us, he faced obstacles.\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6643,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6643","url_meta":{"origin":6475,"position":3},"title":"Programs and Opportunities are Growing for Students: A Chat with Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig – Make that a Chill and Chat!","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"April 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Sheila: Last year for the first time SSB had peer educators. It was an opportunity for them to create programs for other students during the summer. Pete: Introducing Sheila Koenig, Transition Services Coordinator for State Services for the Blind of Minnesota.\u00a0 Sheila: STP is what it\u2019s known as,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5275,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=5275","url_meta":{"origin":6475,"position":4},"title":"The Complete Story of Johnny Hiland: Legendary Guitarist, , Legally Blind and a Chicken Pickin\u2019 Good Person, Too!","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 31, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Pete Lane:Hi, folks. This is Pete Lane. Welcome to Blind Abilities. This is the story of Johnny Hiland. Pete Lane:Johnny is an impressive individual. Pete Lane:He is a hugely successful and respected country guitarist. Pete Lane:One of the world's fastest chicken pickers. Pete Lane:And rock guitarist. 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This is Pete Lane. Ted Galanos: Well, let's see how smart we are today. Welcome to this edition of No holds Bar Trivia. Pete Lane:You're listening to the voice of Ted Galanos. Ted Galanos:I graduated with a degree in business administration, majoring in\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6475"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6476,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6475\/revisions\/6476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
So the National Weather Service has their different systems of severe weather, I\u2019m not exactly sure what you\u2019re referencing but I can tell you we have local radio stations here and I assume this is the case across the country that, when the weather service issues certain warnings, usually severe thunderstorm warnings, tornado warnings, the warnings that are most imminent and impactful, you\u2019ll hear like a beep, it\u2019s like the emergency alert system I think. That\u2019s something that is just programmed to happen. If you want more accurate, robust forecasts, I always recommend, you know, just go to the National Weather Service website, and as we were talking about, your local stations in the market to find out more about what\u2019s going on, because I like to hear it from real people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Breaking away from real people, there is weather apps that people can get on their smart devices, what weather apps do you think are the best ones to have?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be honest with you, I don\u2019t use a lot of those, I don\u2019t support many of them, just because a lot of times there are not real people interpreting those forecasts, and I\u2019ve talked about this at length with several people on my podcast who have been guests, and just talking about how unreliable and vague a lot of them are, especially like the weather app you have automatically downloaded on your phone when you get it. Again, I don\u2019t use it often, I don\u2019t look at it, but it\u2019s frankly not updated, and I know people unfortunately tend to turn to that, you know, they feel, okay, it\u2019s right in front of them, of course it\u2019s gonna be accurate, it\u2019s already downloaded on my phone, but the reality is there are not real people interpreting those forecasts, which is of course a meteorologist\u2019s job and I feel that really needs to be done. You know, the information a lot of times you\u2019re getting from those apps is maybe the high and the low for the day, and then maybe the percentage chance for rain, which can often be deceiving because a lot of times we may only have a 20% chance of rain, meaning rain isn\u2019t gonna fall all day, but 20% chance can still mean, okay, severe thunderstorms with downpours, or even, you know, hail or various threats like that, so to be honest with you I mostly rely on local stations, the National Weather Service, my intuitions, and there are a couple of apps I use for just finding out current weather, rain reports sometimes that are in the area, the temperatures, the winds, humidity, so on and so forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, even 20%, like if there was a 20% chance I could win the Powerball, I would try it a lot more. I mean, you still can win, so that\u2019s a good point you make about even though it\u2019s 20% if it does strike gold, you could be in for a big tornado or whatever, that is pretty vague. Yep, I got stuff like WeatherGods, and the Weather Channel and all these other ones and all that, and honestly when we have some weather coming in, I always turn on the local radio station because I think they are interpreting, and I like how you use interpreting, you\u2019ve got the human interpretations of what factors are out there and everything, and some algorithm may be just locked in on something else, and I like how you went down by streets and stuff like that, because coming off the Great Lakes there, I think it was off of Lake Erie, they always get these snowstorms that can come in that, one part of the neighborhood might get eight inches of snow and the neighborhood next to them might get one inch, and they can predict that with I believe the doppler radar, that\u2019s really cool to see systems like that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s true. And it\u2019s really nice that you\u2019ve found a passion that you really like, because that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about. If you don\u2019t enjoy what you\u2019re doing, why are you doing it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s great. Well Ryan, thank you so much for coming onto Blind Abilities and talking about your passions, your journey, Behind the Weather podcast found on Spreaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, I\u2019ll just send you something or another to make sure you get on the Apple- in the orchard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well yeah, we\u2019re all kind of curious about the weather. It\u2019s always, you know, what\u2019s the weather like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All right, take care, have a happy new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\nContact Your State Services<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Contact:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com<\/a>
Send us an email<\/a>
Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Store<\/a>and Google Play Store<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n