Great Lakes Weather

History

Great Lakes Weather Service began around 1970, thanks to Fred Wagner in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Fred had previously worked for another weather forecasting and consulting firm in Chicago when he moved to Green Bay to accept a TV broadcasting job. One of the main reasons Fred left the Chicago firm was that he felt they were becoming a "mass production" facility that was not catering to the clients on an individual level. In the late 1970's, Great Lakes Weather Service moved its headquarters to Wausau, Wisconsin.

Fred's committment to produce quality and personalized forecasts payed off. A good number of his longtime clients are still with the company, some for over 20 years! Examples are KLKS radio near Brainerd, Minnesota, Nub's Nob Ski Area in Harbor Springs, MI, the City of Rochester, MN, and WJJQ Radio in Tomahawk, WI.

Great Lakes Weather Service has become such a trusted commodity to the KLKS coverage area that between 50 and 75 people call KLKS on Thursdays and Fridays from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to get the forecast for the weekend getaway in Brainerd. Many people from the Twin Cities "head north" to the Brainerd area for the resorts and lakes. Even though many of our road paving clients including Vinton Construction, Lunda Construction, and Michels Corporation, check weather conditions on their own using the Internet, etc... they still frequently need us. They have told us, they simply cannot replace the value of talking to a trained meteorologist on demand for second opinions and making decisions when the forecast is not clear cut.

In 1999, Shockley Communications Corporation purchased Great Lakes Weather Service, combining the experience and trained personnel of Shockley Communications and WAOW-TV. Tony Schumacher, who was employed with Great Lakes Weather in the early 1990s began managing Great Lakes Weather Service in 1999 and took over full ownership from Quincy Newspapers, Inc. in 2001. We're confident the current Great Lakes Weather Service will meet the changing needs of weather clients for decades to come!