We are happy to welcome Karl H. Eggestad, Global Sales Director for Metacast, ChyronHego’s weather graphics solution, to our blog. Karl will be sharing his insights on everything weather with you.
Name: Karl H. Eggestad
Title: Global Sales Director for Metacast at ChyronHego
Location: Oslo, Norway
Family: Wife and three kids
Professional background: More than 20 years of experience in the weather field. In 1992, Karl established the companies Metaphor and WeatherOne, bringing the world's first commercially available solution within numerical analysis and weather forecasting data to broadcasters.
Interests: Creating added value for weather broadcasters, flying, food, jazz, skiing & hiking.
Karl's interest in weather began when he was a young child.
"My neighbor and I kept logs of the weather. From our rooms, we counted 21, 22, 23 .... , measured the distance to lightning strikes, and plotted the data on maps of Trondheim, our hometown in Norway,” recounts Karl.
How would you describe your knowledge and interest within the weather field?
Firstly, I am not a meteorologist. I have a degree in Physics and Computer Science, and I have immense respect for those who do forecasting research and devote their life to understanding all aspects of the physics of weather.
After working with broadcast meteorology for decades, I have gained solid experience in applied meteorology and how it makes sense within a broadcasting format. The most important aspect here is keeping your audience in mind. You can have the most accurate and high resolution forecasting model or the best satellite image, but it won't matter if you can’t convey the information and tell the story.
My main interest is in helping meteorologists to be storytellers by providing a platform that enables them to do what they do best: tell the story, convey the basis for public awareness of weather in general, and when necessary, alert the public of the onset of inclement weather — saving people’s lives and livelihoods, and saving governments millions.
Lastly, do you have any special interest within weather?
Actually, I find all weather interesting, but unlike people that chase tornadoes for a hobby, I love looking at snow-capped mountains and summer clouds.