Weather at Littleton, MA (K1MGY)

About Todd Gross

Mr. Gross has been forecasting New England's weather for over 25 years, starting with the two blizzards of 1978, and right through his nearly 22 year tenure at Channel 7 in Boston as Chief Meteorologist. Todd includes astronomy and natural phenomena in his weathercasts and blog information. He is also a two time Emmy winner for Best Weathercaster in New England. {Courtesy, ToddGross.com}

I joined Todd's Weather Spotters a while ago and regularly supply data to his former employer WHDH-TV, Channel 7 in Boston.

Todd's Emmy may have been for his personality, but his experience in our unique New England weather patterns deserves an award, too. His forecasting is top notch and can still be enjoyed at his web site.

About WeatherUnderground

Established in the late 1990's by Mr. Jeff Masters (a former "hurricane hunter" with the National Weather Service), WeatherUnderground has grown into a resource of significant proportions for both amateur and professional use. We've supplied data to WeatherUnderground for years and find their forecasts to be quite accurate.

About me

My name is Mark Richards and I've been a weather science enthusiast since my high school days when our "Weather Club" made daily observations (including the use of an old sling psychrometer) and took a stab at forecasting. I may have been one of the original geeks of my time, as our club had a handful of members, as did the Amateur Radio club in which I was enthusiastically involved. There was something about Morse Code that clicked. I learned it early on and quickly gained proficiency. Even today, years later, I can copy about 35 words per minute, and carry on a conversation at the same time.

Now, that's pure geek.

My professional work history was greatly influence by my grandfather who was a self-taught electronics engineer. He took good advantage of the Great Depression in the 1930's and worked during the day for the WPA and studied mathematics and electronic theory at night. He eventually landed a job in a factory that produced a line of electrical fuses and circuit breakers. For a fellow who never stepped into a college classroom, his accomplishements included almost 40 patents - most for unique production line induction heating processes - and a well-earned retirement.

I began my work history in my early 20's as a radio broadcaster. These were the days when we'd "rip and read" news copy from our old UPI teletype machine. My mentor, the famous John Evans from WJIB fame, would often intone the advice, "Never get into radio", realizing that we were already both in it. John loved old time radio and especially "bloopers" - those events that happend live when there was no "tape delay" to bail you out. What was said went immediately over the air. During my stint at several stations, in keeping with tradition, I managed to stumble into a few bloopers of my own.

John was always good for a laugh. One day, during an argument with his wife at the station, she tried to get the last word in before slamming the door, yelling: "My mother told me to never marry a man!". In the style of the old radio show, "The Bickerson's", of which Evans was quite fond, he quickly replied, "What.. you'd marry a woman?". Of course, this was in the 70's - today the joke would fall flat.

I became involved in the engineering side - my true interest - and served for a while maintaining AM and FM broadcast facilities. Yes, I've used up a few of my allotted 9 lives, one of them gone after stupidly coming across a 5,200 volt circuit while cleaning a transmitter. The announcer said he saw a "bright blue flash" and a body flying through the air". I landed in a heap, woke up a few minutes later (maybe after one of those long dark tunnel moments) and asked the brilliant question, "What happened?". Then I nursed my arm and hand for a few weeks, hoping the tingling would stop.

Planning a longer existence, I eventually moved into digital hardware engineering (5 volts) and eventually software. No, I'm not artsy (evidence this page) but know a lot of the "innards" and "back end" server stuff that makes the internet tick. I also like to write, and author the opinion page of our local paper now and then. I'm the exhausted father of 3 year old twins, kenchan and kumichan (boy and girl), who provide all the razzle-dazzle.

If you have questions or comments, write me at this address: