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We get asked all the time, who's behind Metcheck, how does it work, where do you get your data from... so, we thought we'd open the doors and ask the Metcheck founder Andrew Bond (pictured) a few questions about your favourite site.


So, how did Metcheck come about?
Ummm, well it was luck really. I'd been working as a computer programmer during the dot com boom and always had a major interest in the weather.
In 1998, I started a site called The Month Ahead for a laugh and it started getting really popular.
Then in 1999, I realised that I needed a .com but couldn't think of a name. My sister Liz came up with Metcheck and the site was born.

How did you get "into" the weather?
I get asked this all the time and in all honesty I've no real idea. Friends have told me that I used to be interested in it right back to Primary school days, but I don't believe them ;-)

One memory which sticks out was the Great Storm of 1987. I remember waking up in the morning and all the electrics being out. Then when I went downstairs I saw the full extent of the destruction in the garden where our fence was replaced by number 33's shed!

After finding out that there was no school that day, me and my friend Nick decided to take a wander around South London looking at what had happened. The result was amazing, the quiet suburb had been overhauled by a tempest which showed me just how powerful and angry the weather could really be.

I think a mixture of this, plus the annoying habit of taking things apart as a kid (including a piano at one point!) meant that I needed to find out more about this amazing subject. And now, a few (cough!) years later I'm privileged to able to say that my hobby is my job. That makes me very lucky and not a day goes by without me remembering that.

How does the site work?
Jeez, well it's pretty complex. We now have 3 offline servers which obtain raw data from NOAA in the US. During the day the raw data is then processed on our boxes and placed into XML files which are then transferred to both our web servers. The whole process takes around 20 minutes and needs over 10,000 lines of code!

Why is Metcheck different?
'Coz we're weather nuts! :-) All of us working at Metcheck have a chronic passion for the weather. We live it, breathe it and hopefully that enthusiasm comes across to our loyal site visitors. We also put customer service as top priority.

What about corporate clients?
They seem to love us for some reason... We've got some major companies on board and I guess they just like our fresh approach. At the end of the day Metcheck is only popular because of the amount of work we put into getting forecasts right and keeping our clients happy, that's never going to change.

Where is Metcheck going in the future?
Sheesh, you tell me? The site doubles traffic every year thanks to word of mouth and the amount of coverage we get. We're now getting around half a million visitors a day and it's those people which provide ideas and improvements. So as long we keep growing, we'll still be getting great ideas.

What is a typical day like at Metcheck?
Typical? I honestly don't think I've ever had two days the same here which is what makes this job so amazing. Usually the morning is filled with checking the models and writing forecasts for clients as well as lots of coffee. Then a small lunch break ;-). The afternoon is either tracking developments or writing new features for the site which can (and often does) last well into the evening.

But you play hard too?
Oh you bet... we're all snowboarders here at Metcheck and try to get four or five trips away each season, last season we transferred the company to Tignes in the French Alps which was amazing (read the blog for more). Next season we're taking a sabbatical (hehe!) and staying in deepest, darkest Cornwall (St Ives) for the Winter, but we'll be in Banff, Canada for the 2008/9 season.

If you live in Banff, then be afraid... be very afraid hehe.