![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/manchester\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/11\/1-1024x683.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat was too close to home for so many compelled Kirby, at only 8 or 9, to look to the skies to understand better what impacted our daily lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe crazy thing about weather is that weather is one thing that will impact everyone on the globe,\u201d said Kirby. \u201dEveryone has to deal with the weather. No matter what, it\u2019s the most relevant thing in our world.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Weather advisories and updates pinpointing our area are critical, but network coverage seems more focused on the Metro-Nashville area. The day after a major storm hits our community, it may make the television news, but reporting while the storm rages may grow smaller as it moves out of the broadcaster\u2019s location. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, when severe weather moves toward Coffee County, Kirby not only issues the necessary watches and warnings, he pulls on his headphones and goes live on Facebook to keep us safe until the storm passes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome people don\u2019t have satellite or an antenna to watch the news, so they need somebody to turn to when the weather gets bad, or they\u2019re just left in the dark,\u201d Kirby said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kirby launched Shelbyville Weather on Twitter in 2016 and on Facebook in 2019 and expanded his coverage to Coffee County when his family moved to Normandy. Adding Coffee County was a natural fit. The combination solidified when the National Weather Service invited Kirby to join their #tSpotter program. According to the National Weather Service website, the #tSpotter SKYWARN program uses highly trained volunteers to provide their community with localized weather impact and warning information via their Twitter accounts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kirby enjoys meeting the people who rely on his services. After appearing as the grand marshall in the RC Cola Moon Pie Festival parade\u00a0in Bell Buckle this year, he now has faces to connect to the many comments on his posts.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said, \u201cSome people come up to me and say, \u2018I was in my closet during that tornado warning last night, and I was watching your livestream.\u2019 It makes me think, \u2018Oh, my goodness, you trust me so much that you\u2019re going to watch me while you\u2019re taking shelter from a tornado.\u2019 It\u2019s so heartwarming to see all these people gravitating to my coverage.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n He\u2019s preparing for a lifetime of weather service and is majoring in meteorology in his junior year at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. As he completes his education, his vision for the future keeps an eye on the skies. Employment with the National Weather Service would be his first choice, but he\u2019s open to whatever opportunities present themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt just depends on where God wants to lead me and what His plan is. I really hope I can get in at Nashville or Huntsville because there are so many opportunities in those two cities. And even if the National Weather Service doesn\u2019t work out, there\u2019s a lot of private sector meteorology jobs,\u201d said Kirby. \u201cI\u2019m just a normal 20-year-old with this love and passion for weather who wants to keep people safe and informed and give back to my community.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, as the winds change and the clouds gather, we can count on Kirby to guide us and ensure that we\u2019re never left in the dark. GN <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" STORMS DEMAND our attention. They\u2019re no big deal to some and stir crippling anxiety in others. Between those extremes is everyone else. Despite these differences, one thing unites us: our desire for accurate weather forecasting in all seasons.\u00a0 Before the explosion of the internet, most of us depended upon the daily forecasts of local television […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":20942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/manchester\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2023\/11\/2-1024x683.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n