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 Henry Seed Farms in southern Wisconsin, 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, La Londe Contractors, 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. Wolf River Valley Seeds based in White Lake, WI has repeatedly marveled at how accurate our forecasts are. They rely on us heavily in the fall when the threat of frost appears. There have been times when the National Weather Service was predicting a frost but we told them that they would be ok based on our experience and recognition of certain weather patterns. As such they were able to put off the harvest of their seed corn for another 2 weeks which allowed it to dry down and ripen to a more optimal level.

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. Tony has over 20 years of forecast experience in the Upper Midwest and has a keen awareness of the particular needs of each type of client. Our employees all have broad meteorological backgrounds that bring a great skill set to our clients' benefit. Great Lakes Weather Service appreciates the relationships and trust that has and will continue to develop with our clients. We're confident Great Lakes Weather Service will continue to be the place to turn for exceptional weather forecasting for decades to come, in a friendly, personal manner.