By the time the first raindrops arrived in Maryland, the impending weather had already been demoted to a Tropical Storm. The winds never crested 45 miles per hour, and the Category 1 cyclone that had formed in Mexico and flown over Florida would be described as “a big mushy thing” by the Washington Post on June 21, 1972.

But beginning that afternoon, and over the next two days, the final gasp of Hurricane Agnes, as it will always be known, would linger over the Mid-Atlantic, drenching Virginia to New York with historic rainfall—upwards of 19 inches—and compounding the already water-logged ground of a wet spring to create what the National Weather Service now calls “the most destructive, widespread flooding to occur in the eastern United States.”

Fifty years ago in Baltimore City, Mayor William Donald Schaefer would evacuate the Jones Falls valley, while the Gwynns Falls washed over roads and bridges, flooding into homes. Farther afield, the Dulaney Valley Road bridge over Loch Raven Reservoir was in danger of collapse, and the Patapsco River was pushed some 12 feet high through Ellicott City. It even moved the Conowingo Dam by a quarter inch. In the end, 21 people died across the state, including three children in Ruxton, and some $400 million in today’s dollars were needed to rebuild. The flora and the fauna of the Chesapeake Bay are still in recovery.

Today, 50 years later, a team of seven women is now working to prepare Baltimore for its next natural disaster, the kind of extreme weather events which, in the face of climate change, are expected to become more frequent, more severe, and less predictable.

“The core of what we do is looking at where in the city there are more intense climate risks and what populations are most affected by them, then figuring out how to build capacity to be able to prepare for, respond to, and recover from those events,” says Aubrey Germ, pictured right, the climate and resilience planner for the Baltimore City Office of Sustainability, formed in 2007. She and her colleagues  created the city’s Disaster Preparedness and Planning Project to address climate change threats and oversee its Climate Action Plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to carbon neutrality by 2045.

Of course, after Agnes, a number of other storms—notably Hurricane Isabel in 2003—have wreaked havoc on Baltimore, thanks in part to its historic harbor and surrounding tributaries. Flooding, caused primarily by precipitation, remains one of the city’s main climate concerns, as are coastal hazards, caused by tides, storms, and sea-level rise.

“Sea level in the Baltimore Harbor increased by 12 inches from 1900 to 2000 and is expected to increase even more between now and 2050—and beyond,” says Bruna Attila, the office’s coastal planner and tidal floodplain coordinator, pictured left, noting that the issue is magnified by increased land subsidence, aka settling or sinking, along the estuary.

To reduce the risk, Attila manages the city’s designated critical areas in proximity to wetlands, which in addition to creating wildlife habitat and improving water quality also buffer coastal floods and tidal surges. Meanwhile, her colleague, floodplain manager Joanna Birch, oversees the city’s involvement in FEMA programs that provide federally subsidized flood insurance to local residents.

“We regulate a much larger area than is mandated to keep people and property safe, all of which was definitely influenced by the damage we saw from previous events like Agnes and Isabel,” says Attila, who, in 2020, helped craft the city’s first nuisance flood plan, which will identify hotspots, causes, and mitigation strategies for more minor, recurring flood events. “Through this data, we’re going to be able to tell how much worse the problem is getting—and how quickly.”

One area of interest is the Frederick Avenue corridor, where the Department of Public Works is conducting hydraulic analyses and the Office of Sustainability is working with community partners to build resource and communication networks through its Resiliency Hub program. This neighborhood experiences nuisance flooding in addition to major events, such as the notorious 2018 spring storm that resulted in $3 million in damage but was overshadowed by losses in Ellicott City.

“Most people didn’t recognize that a largely African-American community in Southwest Baltimore was pretty devastated by that flood event,” says Germ, pictured right. “We know that climate change is an equity issue—it affects Black and Brown communities, especially low-income communities, more than others . . . They are inherently more at risk, simply because lack of access to resources and historic disinvestment in their neighborhoods and infrastructure. Part of our work is understanding these legacies of injustice, and that the burden of climate change falls disproportionately on these communities in very concentrated regions of Baltimore.”

It is in these neighborhoods, too, that other climate threats emerge, such as extreme heat, due in part to lack of greenspace. Pairing the shade and evapotranspiration of tree canopy with less impervious surfaces can reduce temperature, better absorb stormwater to alleviate flooding, and improve the overall quality of life for residents, a main goal for both Germ and Attila.

“It’s looking at solutions that tackle climate change and, at the same time, help improve the quality of life for residents,” says Germ. Attila points to the revitalization of Middle Branch Park in Cherry Hill as another co-benefitting project.

Their office—which includes acting director Ava Richardson, pictured center, environmental planners Abby Cocke and Amy Gilder-Busatti, and youth sustainability coordinator Valerie Bloom—also implements sustainability-themed programs such as the city’s recent foam container and plastic bag bans and provides input on relevant local and state legislation.

“There’s a lot of doom and gloom centered around climate change and the impact it can have on communities, but at the same time, there are really good people working on these challenges and trying to find innovative solutions all across the city,” says Germ. “I think that instills a sense of hope for the future, and we all can play a role.”

There’s a weather-related disaster, and within days, the interstates are being plied by long convoys of utility trucks and their crews, coming from other states to assist locally, or dispatched by BGE to help in such disasters elsewhere.

Mindful of how high your electricity bill is already, you have to ask yourself, “Who’s paying for that, anyway? Not me, right?”

BGE has, in fact, a long history of helping other states, and has also been on the receiving end of the deal on a number of occasions, in both cases because of mutual-assistance agreements between different utilities.

In the case of Florence, though Maryland sent resources including two National Guard helicopters and dozens of local Red Cross staffers, BGE got a pass.

“Everybody looks at the forecast,” says BGE communications manager Richard Yost, “and we might anticipate days before a storm hits being able to share certain resources to help another state. But we were also within the possible track of the hurricane, and the first priority is to take care of own customers.”

So the utilities in the Carolinas looked further afield to have extra crews on stand-by—this time including crews from Florida, Mississippi, and Arkansas—in case the worst occurred. And it did, so far killing more than 40 people in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, setting records for rainfall from hurricanes in both Carolinas, and causing nearly $50 billion in damages.

But it was just a year ago that BGE helped out in a similar situation: More than 200 employees and contractors were deployed to help restore electric service to customers in the Southeast affected by Hurricane Irma, joining hundreds of others from sister companies owned by Exelon, BGE’s parent.

It’s gone the other way, too, such as in March when a powerful nor’easter caused more than 435,000 outages in the Baltimore metro area. Among those working around the clock to get the lights back on were crews from BGE’s Exelon sister utility ComEd in Illinois, as well as from 13 states including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Canada.

“It makes the utility industry pretty unique to have this system of cooperation to restore our systems as fast as possible,” Yost says.

But about that electric bill: No, it generally won’t be affected by the millions of dollars spent on trucks, travel, wages, food, and lodging for the crews sent to help another state: Says Yost, “All the costs of that are reimbursed by the requesting utility.”

From water mains breaks to climbing energy bills, a myriad of issues arise as temperatures inevitably fall each winter.

“People might not think about this, but even if you keep your thermostat at the same temperature you always do, your heating furnace will have to work harder to maintain that same temperature,” said BGE spokesman Richard Yost. “So even if you’re not turning up the heat, you may end up using more energy.”

Here are some tips to help you (and your furry friends) through these frosty winter months without breaking the bank.

Use the sun.
Just opening the curtains and letting the sun’s natural heat do some of the heavy lifting on those cold days will help to keep your thermostat at a reasonable temperature. Just be sure to close them at night to keep the cold air outside where it belongs.

Ceiling fans can help in the winter, too.
If your home is equipped with ceiling fans, have them circulate clockwise on a slow speed to get the hot air stuck in your ceiling down to you.

If your health permits, lower your thermostat.
“The simplest thing to do is to adjust the temperature—especially when you’re sleeping,” Yost said. “If you dial it back 10 to 15 degrees, it might sound like a lot, but if you’re under your blankets you won’t notice it.” BGE customers can save up to 5 percent on heating costs every degree the thermostat is lowered. It’s also a good idea to wear socks and long sleeves when in the house to help keep your thermostat at a reasonable temperature.

Make sure your home is properly insulated.
Frozen and burst pipes are so common in the winter months due to poorly insulated plumbing. BGE customers can take advantage of the quick home energy checkup to have a licensed contractor come to your home to assess your insulation.

Keep your outdoor gas vents clear.
Homes with natural gas appliances have outdoor vents—typically at knee or thigh height. When it snows or gets icy, it is important to keep those vents clear so that the exhaust is not trapped in the home.

Make sure pets are safe.
Speaking of outdoor, we can’t forget about our furry family members in these brutal temps. By law, if the temperature is below 10-degrees, pets are required to have heated housing. Pets exposed to cold temperatures for a long period of time can experience hypothermia. Signs include low body temperature, violent shivering, and blue gums.

“If it’s too cold for you, it’s too cold for your pets,” said executive director for BARCS Jen Brause. “It may seem like common sense, but we still see pets come in with hypothermia, half frozen.”

Dogs with short coats should wear a jacket.
Unlike breeds such as shepherds, huskies, malamutes, and retrievers, breeds that do not have an undercoat can get cold quickly.

Pets should avoid salted roads.
It’s not only very toxic if ingested, but it’s very coarse and painful for their paw pads. If they happen to come in contact with it, wipe the pet’s paw off with a lukewarm washcloth to remove any residue.

Keep pets inside.
We know they have to go outside at some point, but shorter walks and potty breaks make all the difference. Less time outside may result in a bored pet, but it’s the safest place for them when the temps get below freezing. The best thing to do is find fun things to do with them indoors like training games and food puzzles.

“This is a great opportunity to interact and play with your pets,” Brause said. “It’s perfect, you can snuggle each other and keep warm.”

As the Caribbean and Florida brace for the impact of Hurricane Irma, residents in Houston are still dealing with the dire consequences of Harvey, which touched down nearly two weeks ago. While households, schools, and animal shelters are all in need of supplies, the owners of Houstonia magazine (our Texan counterpart) have been devising ways to help.

“I’ve spent the last several days feeling helpless and continually weepy, not something I’m accustomed to, as I watch my friends and family members navigate this devastating event,” wrote Nicole Vogel, president and co-founder of Houstonia’s publisher SagaCity Media in an email. “We think we are in a unique position to offer perspective and assistance.”

Besides continuing to report on stories of heroism and tragedy while its reporters themselves are in peril, the magazine has launched a website called Houstonia Helps to continually assess the needs of the city, research what local relief organizations and shelters require, and collect donations to support the cause.

Currently, the website is benefitting a half-dozen local organizations including The Foundry Church, PetSet Houston, and Impact Church of Christ. They are accepting everything from diapers and baby formula to toilet paper and bug spray. Of course, during the beginning of the school year, backpacks, school supplies, and new uniforms are also in high demand.

As Vogel describes the Houston community, the similarities to Baltimore are undeniable.

“It’s a city that has the spirit of a small town,” she wrote. “I have been equal parts frustrated and awed by the sheer inability to get out of Houston coffee shop in under 20 minutes. Clerks, people in line, people holding doors, not only greet you . . . but follow up with questions, comments, niceties about your kids, etc. It appears that this was always a sincere reflection of caring that is deeply rooted in Houston.”

Baltimore staff members saw this welcoming spirit first-hand when we attended the annual City Regional Magazine Association (CRMA) conference in Houston last May, spending time in the Houstonia offices—which thankfully suffered no damage—and the city at large.

This is why we jumped at the chance to help. In our upcoming November issue, you’ll find a 32-page insert that will include content about heroic acts in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, as well as information about local nonprofits to which you can donate.

“There have been so many acts of heroism that it’s difficult to even get our heads wrapped around them,” Vogel wrote. “The package will be diverse and inspiring, but also attempt to put the disaster into some perspective for readers.”

In the meantime, you can donate to Houstonia Helps for a chance to donate items that will be collected in the Houstonia offices and be given to area shelters and organizations in need.

With messy winter weather forecasted this week, driving on slick roads can be hazardous. Due to this, AAA is urging motorists to take every precaution when traveling in potentially dangerous conditions.

We spoke with Ragina Cooper Averella, public and government affairs manager at AAA Mid-Atlantic to find out the safest ways to travel in this crazy Baltimore weather.

“The first rule of thumb during severe winter weather, particularly icy conditions, is not to drive unless it is absolutely necessary,” Averella says. “We are echoing the warnings of law enforcement officials in advising motorists to stay off the roads until road crews have treated the roads for ice and then not until conditions are favorable to drive.”

If you do have to drive, she says, be sure that your car is ready. This means your tires should have excellent tread and are capable of handling slick conditions. Additionally, new windshield wipers and a full wiper fluid reservoir are essential for visibility on those snowy trips. If your car is good and ready and you must hit the road, here are the best winter-driving tips.

Bridges Freeze First

“They also melt last,” Averella adds. Therefore, use extra caution because the roadway leading to a bridge may appear clear but the bridge itself may be a sheet of ice.

Accelerate and Decelerate Slowly

This is the easiest way to regain traction and avoid skidding. Accelerating slowly will increase the tire’s grip on the road. Remember, it takes longer to slow down on icy roads, so brake gently. Slamming on the brakes in snow or ice drastically increases your risk of losing control of your car. It’s also good to know what type of braking system your car has. With anti-lock brakes (ABS), the pedal should be held down—do not pump, as the system will do that for you. If your vehicle isn’t equipped with ABS, then apply the brakes firmly. If the brakes begin to lock up, slowly release the pedal until the tires are no longer skidding.

This Isn’t Talladega

Speeding on slick roads is a sure-fire way to cause an accident. Everything takes longer when driving in snow and icy conditions. Take your time. Driving at safe, slow speeds may take a little longer, but at least you will make it to your destination one piece. Also avoid using cruise control and tailgating, allowing more time to react to road conditions. This leads us to…

Allow Extra Space

According to the National Highway Transit Safety Administration (NHTSA), during normal conditions, the acceptable distance between cars is about three to four seconds. Everything takes longer when driving in the slippery weather, like stopping and turning, so this will ensure that there’s sufficient time to brake for a sudden stop. Also, be sure to drive in the clearest lane on a highway and avoid changing lanes or driving over built-up snow on the roads.

Beware of SUV Overconfidence

“Motorists should remember that cars and ice don’t mix,” Averella says. “Driving a car on cold, slippery surfaces is an extremely dangerous activity.” Having four-wheel-drive is great for winter weather because it does a good job of gaining traction on slick roads. However, once those SUVs are on the move, they face the same difficulty with stopping and maneuvering as other vehicles. They are also far more prone to tipping over, especially when traveling at higher speeds.

Distraction Free is Key

This rule applies to driving during normal conditions as well; it is important to drive with a clear and distraction free mind. “We found that looking away from the road for just two seconds doubles your risk of being in a crash,” Averella says. If you are traveling with a passenger, have your passenger pull up that Waze app or Spotify playlist. If you’re traveling alone, it can wait.

Emergency Road Kit

“It is important for motorist to be prepared in the event of an emergency,” Averella says. “We urge motorists to store a winter weather kit in their car.” Your kit should include: a blanket, flares, ice scraper, flashlight, batteries, jumper cables, paper towels, a bag of salt or cat litter, a shovel, and a fully charged cellphone.

The man at the end of the human chain who slips and is nearly swept away himself is Jason Barnes, the owner of All Time Toys, another Main Street business that was caught in the flood.

According to WBAL, Barnes, who had just purchased the toy and collectibles store two months ago after working there for 10 years, was working when the water virtually erupted through his basement door.

“He went ahead and started to exit the basement as his door imploded in and all that water came rushing in,” Barnes’ stepfather Chris Penning told WBAL. “As he went upstairs, he knew virtually all of his inventory was gone and everything he dreamed of for the last 10 years was quite possibly lost in all this.”

Barnes, who had once dreamed of writing stories about superheroes, then saved 29-year-old Jamie Knight from the floodwaters.

Interviewed the next day, Knight told a reporter how grateful she was for the heroics of Barnes and fellow rescuers.

“Thanks a lot, man,” she said. “I really owe you. I wish I could repay you somehow.”

A list of Ellicott City businesses damaged by the flood reads like a Chamber of Commerce roll call, including restaurants such as Portalli’s Italian Restaurant, The Rumor Mill Fusion Bar & Restaurant, and Bean Hollow coffee shop; boutiques such as Sweet Elizabeth Jane and Craig Coyne Jewelers; and businesses such as Insight180, a branding agency, and Shoemaker Country, a family-owned furniture-making business.

The extent to which each business is affected will likely vary depending on its position along the steeply sloping Main Street and whether or not the business owner had flood insurance. Some on higher ground are hoping for the best, but most business owners have not yet been able to survey the damage as officials barred access to Main Street while emergency crew worked Sunday and Monday to clear the approximately 180 vehicles and other debris left behind after the waters receded. Determining a monetary value for property lost in the disaster could take months.

On Sunday, Gov. Larry Hogan and Rep. Elijah Cummings toured the downtown with Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman. Kittleman’s spokesman Andrew Barth told Baltimore that “like most people,” the governor “was shocked by the severity of the damage. There are just big, empty holes there.”

Retiring U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski also visited Monday morning, saying, “I have never seen devastation like this.”

Speaking at a press conference after her tour of the destruction, Mikulski said that officials “are working as Team Maryland from every level of government” to aid in the recovery process. Indeed, the county and state have already declared the site a disaster area, and U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin attended a community meeting about the flooding Monday evening.

The storm has already become politicized, with one Maryland lawmaker suggesting the severe storm may be a result of climate change and others pointing out the inadequacy of storm management systems in towns and cities all over the country.

At the Monday evening community meeting, County Executive Kittleman told the overflow crowd that he believed the disaster could not have been prevented, but acknowledged that he has tasked the Howard County planning department with drafting a master plan to address flood-prone areas.

“It is an opportunity to make some changes,” he said. “Make no mistake, we will rebuild.”

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Baltimore City Businesses Hit, Too

Though Ellicott City was hit the hardest, North Baltimore also saw devastating effects after the Jones Falls jumped its banks and flooded Woodberry’s Meadow Mill complex with more than 13 feet of water, leaving cars in the parking lot stacked on top of each other.

The converted industrial property—which houses local businesses such as La Cuchara and Nepenthe Homebrew, as well as production facilities for Stone Mill Bakery and Mouth Party Caramel—has seen similar devastation occur during major floods throughout the years, the most recent being in April 2014.

Anticipating significant damage, Stone Mill Bakery owners Alfie and Dana Himmelrich instructed their staff to evacuate before the storm hit. Fortunately, the crew was able to move its delivery vehicles and necessary equipment to higher ground and, after an intense day of cleanup, the bakery is back up and running.

“We had been through it before, so we knew what to do,” Dana says. “Especially for businesses like us where we bake everything fresh daily, being down for any length of time is damaging, so the sooner you can get back up, the better.”

Neighboring business Nepenthe Homebrew, a shop that sells specialty beer-making tools and ingredients, wasn’t as lucky. After locking up at 6 p.m. Saturday, husband and wife owners Brian Arnold and Jill Antos returned to their store Sunday morning to find it completely wiped out. The flooded space was riddled with ruined merchandise and shelves that had toppled over—a sight which they had seen before in the aftermath of the 2014 flood.

“Our first thought was ‘Not again,’” Arnold says. “This time, it happened really suddenly.”

Nepenthe saw $100,000 worth of damage two years ago, and though an exact estimate has yet to be made, its owners anticipate that the destruction is worse this time. Though this has happened once before, Arnold explains that complex commercial leases are tough to negotiate, so moving wasn’t an option.

“Our shelving somehow managed to stay upright the first time, so we were able to salvage some of the merchandise from the top shelves,” Arnold says. “But we’ve been expanding inventory over the past two years, so now there’s more that we’ve lost.”

Arnold says that, though the destruction is severe, the outpouring of support from the community has been overwhelming. A GoFundMe page supporting cleanup efforts has raised more than $8,000 in one day. Neighboring Hampden restaurant Le Garage has also pledged its support, launching its own initiative to raise funds. Throughout August 7, Le Garage will donate a portion of all Restaurant Week prix fixe and beer flight sales to Nepenthe’s fundraising campaign.

“The debt of gratitude that we owe people who have helped, donated, and even just sent well wishes, is bottomless,” he says. “Last time, I remember standing on the banks of the river just watching the water and sobbing because we had no idea what to do. This time, I went straight home, posted on social media, filed a flood claim, put together a to-do list, and got to work. We didn’t have that emotional reaction until we started getting messages from people.”

Adds Dana Himmelrich: “In times like this you see how people come together to help however they can, and that was really evident yesterday. If there is a bright side to be had, it’s that.”

See a full list of fundraising events and opportunities to help rebuild the flooded areas.

Justin Berk is distracted. 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.

His preoccupation, as always, is the weather. A storm system is headed for Maryland and is moving in faster than anticipated. 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.

“I’m sorry. I hate to be rude,” he says in his rapid-fire patois that still retains a hint of his native “New Yawk” accent. “Oh my God, this is crazy. Look,” he continues, turning his computer to reveal a radar map.

“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. “Now how do you [explain] that without putting people to sleep?” he asks, his eyes alight with all the delight of a kid on a snow day.

He finds ways. 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, JustinWeather.com, Berk’s populist touch can’t be denied. 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. 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.

But he has accumulated a small, vocal contingent of detractors, as well. A parody Twitter account (@NotJustinBerk) regularly mocks his forecasting skills, his catch phrases (“Faith in the Flakes,” “stickage,” et al.), and his general persona. 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.

Somehow, this self-described “weather nut” has touched a nerve, becoming one of Baltimore’s most divisive media figures. The irony is that Berk comes across like an inveterate people-pleaser. When an elderly man needs a chair at the packed Panera, Berk grabs one for him. When the issue of climate change is raised, Berk begs off, saying he’s trying to avoid the issue these days because it’s “too polarizing.” (Contrary to the vast majority of climate scientists, he believes that global warming is due solely to the Earth’s natural temperature fluctuations.) And when Cool Kids Campaign, a Towson-based charity for pediatric cancer patients and their families, needed an emcee for one of its American Girl model search events this month, guess who agreed to host?

“He pretty much agrees to anything we throw at him,” says Sharon Perfetti, the executive director and co-founder of Cool Kids Campaign. “[The model search] means interviewing hundreds of American Girl hopefuls on a Saturday on his own time. If he sets a goal or says he’s going to do something, you can count on it being accomplished.”

“People were dropping F-bombs on stage. I don’t do that.”

This includes visiting schools most weeks to teach lessons about weather and raise money, and hiking and biking across Maryland. Last August, Berk spent a week trekking 321 miles from Wisp to Ocean City to raise money for Cool Kids, a trip he plans to repeat this summer. He averaged dozens of miles per day and developed excruciating blisters. Despite this, he refused to cut corners. Because pedestrians and cyclists are not allowed on the Bay Bridge, he took a boat to the Eastern Shore. But rather than sit back and enjoy the breeze, he insisted on riding a stationary bike on the boat during the crossing.

What’s the source of this almost maniacal drive? “I survived a lot,” he says.

Berk was born in the Bronx in 1973. His parents split up when he was 3, and it got ugly. “I remember everything. It was not fun,” he says, though he declines to elaborate. The resulting custody battle lasted two years, one of which Berk spent in and out of foster care. Finally, Berk’s father was given full custody of Berk and his older brother. His father soon remarried, a welcome development that stabilized the family. “I got to see something not work, and then I got to see something that worked better than most,” Berk reflects.

But money remained tight, and the family bounced between the Bronx, where both his parents were public-school teachers, and the suburbs, a more middle-class existence made possible by his father’s willingness to work extra jobs. These included weekend shifts at Caldor department store and selling IRAs and bonds.

“He’d be out until 11:30 at night,” Berk remembers. “We couldn’t afford to live in a close suburb, so we had to live way far out to get to something better. So his commute was about an hour and a half each way. He is the most generous person I know—and I’m not just saying that because he’s my dad.”

Through it all, weather remained an abiding fascination. It started when he was 5 or 6 years old and a blizzard forced New York City schools to close. It continued out in the ‘burbs when he noticed that the TV weather reports didn’t match what was happening outside his door. “We were getting different weather,” he recalls. “I really wanted to understand why.”

Berk’s curiosity extended to cutting out the weather sections from various newspapers, leaving playtime with friends to watch the weather forecast on the TV news, and, of course, watching lots of the then-nascent Weather Channel. “It got to the point where, sometimes, I’d go into the bathroom in front of the mirror and pretend I’m pointing to a weather map and doing the forecast,” he says sheepishly.

A shy kid, weather became a source of confidence for Berk. “My friends would be calling me up saying, ‘Do we have to study for the test tomorrow?’ The first time I [correctly predicted the weather] I was like, ‘This is pretty cool. I’m helping people out, but it’s nice to know what’s going to happen ahead of time.'”

But another crisis loomed. At the end of eighth grade, Berk was hospitalized for what some doctors thought was cancer but turned out to be a staph infection. After surgery, Berk spiked a fever and his leg swelled, leading one doctor to suggest amputation. Though the doctor reconsidered, Berk wasn’t out of the woods. He developed an allergy to penicillin and was forced to try a relatively new drug, which he thinks “fried” his thyroid and stunted his growth. It took a few years before Berk felt back to his old self.

“I was told by my doctor they weren’t sure if I’d fully recover. I think I did.”

It is because of this experience that Berk is so devoted to the Cool Kids Campaign, and, perhaps, why he reacts the way he does to adversity. “I think it’s a good example for anybody. You can hear ‘No,’ and still go,” he says.

And go he did, first to Cornell University, where he earned a degree in meteorology, and then to stations in Syracuse and Binghamton, NY, before landing in Baltimore at WBAL and then WMAR.

His tenure at WMAR ended abruptly in January 2012 when contract negotiations broke down forcing his departure. According to Berk, the major sticking point was his Facebook page. He had created a page to “explain weather as I wanted to, when I wanted to, not just when I was at work,” but management wanted the ability to access and change it at will.

“It’s a good example for anybody. You can hear ‘No,’ and still go.”

“They could remove me from my own page, and then I’d turn into Steve Jobs version 1.0—kicked out of my own company,” he says.

His Facebook page had about 5,200 followers at that point. But the harder the station pushed for access, the more he resisted. “Honestly, I doubled down,” he says, figuring, “I must have something more valuable than I realize.”

Though leaving television after nearly 20 years for social media was a massive change, it was not wholly unwelcome. Berk was tired of the early mornings and wanted more flexibility in his schedule.

He can now spend more time with his two sons, ages 9 and 5. (He is currently separated, but he and his wife live near each other north of Baltimore and plan to share custody.) In fact, it was his oldest son who pointed the way forward with an idea for a kid-friendly weather app that was released in November 2012. Called Kid Weather, it has been downloaded in 55 countries. Berk has another app, WUSUP: Weather You See, in development that will offer “crowd-sourced” weather updates. And, of course, he’s working on further monetizing his website.

But social media can be a double-edged sword. And though Berk remains largely unscathed, the few nicks he has sustained continue to sting. Chief among them is that parody Twitter account, which, though only followed by 195 people, counts many of his old TV colleagues as fans.

The account’s “bio” reads in part: “Even when it rains and I’m calling for snow, I am always 100% the man.” When asked to explain the motive for the snark, the anonymous poster behind the account said, “EGO. [It is] larger than Maryland’s population.”

Berk sees the account as cyberbullying at best and litigious at worst. He claims current WMAR employees who have retweeted the account are in violation of the station’s social-media policy. But he also says to sue would “not be my style.” (WMAR general manager Bill Hooper had no comment.)

Berk’s frustrations boiled over publicly last fall at the Mobbies, The Baltimore Sun‘s annual online media awards. Accepting one of two awards he won that night, he accused some members of the audience of helping “to propagate” the parody account. “I actually had to hire an attorney because it got so bad,” he continued as the crowd murmured and tittered. “I’m sitting on such a tremendous amount of information that, if I went public, would actually be extremely detrimental, if not destroying some careers.”

Then, changing tack, he said: “I’ve decided to take the high road. I decided to focus on the good stuff.” He finished by quoting lyrics to Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” and grabbing his crotch. A video of the speech was uploaded to YouTube and made a minor splash in local media with City Paper editor (and former Baltimore senior editor) Evan Serpick commenting that the account is “frankly something a C-list local celebrity like Berk should probably be honored to have.”

But Berk remains defiant. “I was at a snarky event to begin with. People were dropping F-bombs on stage. I don’t do that. . . . I briefly mentioned that with my award and many good things, my past year was not all fun and games,” he explains.

And it is precisely this attitude that infuriates his detractors. What Berk sees as uncompromising and moral, his critics view as petty and egotistical.

Meanwhile, his fans are unaware—or at least uninterested—in this media tug of war.

Near the end of the interview, Berk is distracted once again, but this time not by the weather. A young blonde woman is staring at him, and he is sure he knows her from somewhere. As she approaches Berk asks, “Have we met before? You look really familiar.”

“I don’t think so,” the woman admits. “I follow you on Facebook though, so maybe that’s part of it.”