![]() ![]() When an elderly man needs a chair at the packed Panera, Berk grabs one for him. The irony is that Berk comes across like an inveterate people-pleaser. Somehow, this self-described “weather nut” has touched a nerve, becoming one of Baltimore’s most divisive media figures. And though he has won several “Best of” awards from local media (including Baltimore in 2000, 2006, and 2007), he has also taken plenty of hits for his denial of man-made climate change and his thin-skinned reactions to criticism. A parody Twitter account ( regularly mocks his forecasting skills, his catch phrases (“Faith in the Flakes,” “stickage,” et al.), and his general persona. But since heading online-only in 2012, his following has, well, snowballed, and he now reaches about 1 million people a week on Facebook alone, and up to 5 million during storms.īut he has accumulated a small, vocal contingent of detractors, as well. Almost certainly, a portion of his audience followed him over from his Baltimore TV gigs, first at WBAL from 1997 to 2003 and then at WMAR from 2003 to 2012. With more than 200,000 followers on Facebook, nearly 30,000 on Twitter, and as many as hundreds of thousands of daily visitors to his website,, Berk’s populist touch can’t be denied. “Now how do you that without putting people to sleep?” he asks, his eyes alight with all the delight of a kid on a snow day. “This is where it’s going to start as rain and go to heavy snow, probably a couple inches of accumulation, then to rain, then into snow tomorrow,” he says, pointing to the pink smear on the map engulfing the greater Baltimore region. Look,” he continues, turning his computer to reveal a radar map. I hate to be rude,” he says in his rapid-fire patois that still retains a hint of his native “New Yawk” accent. Suddenly, snow that was scheduled for the following day might arrive as early as this afternoon, and Berk, the meteorologist of choice for many Baltimoreans, is worried about missing a chance to update his legion of social media followers on the latest projections. A storm system is headed for Maryland and is moving in faster than anticipated. His preoccupation, as always, is the weather. ![]() Though he’s being interviewed in the back of a Timonium Panera Bread, he keeps stealing glances at his MacBook Pro and his iPhone, which lies on the table buzzing and ringing frequently. Note: It will be cold enough for stickage eventually.Justin Berk is distracted. This is where there may be snow falling and not all sticking. Changeover: Southern Maryland to the Beaches will start with rain and then transition to heavy snow during the morning.There could be some impact there, but a sharp cutoff of the snow, then the band will retreat to the south.The northern edge will try to sneak in to southern PA for just a few hours of the morning commute….The ‘Pay Attention’ region may be included in A Winter Weather Advisory. Update to Warning and Advisories is likely to be issued this afternoon. Note: This has been expanded to include Baltimore City to Montgomery Co. This is partially due to not accounting for the changeover melting time, and compression.īelow the maps is a link to the NWS Snow Forecast Page, where you can see the Regional NWS Offices Snow forecast maps including their Low and High End expectations. I want to emphasize that snow total forecasts often display HIGHER than we will verify. It accounts for the latest model forecast and update each hour with new data. It is one of our best tools when we get into the short range time frame of a weather event. This update is simply the High Resolution Rapid Refresh Model (HRRR). ![]()
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