Brian Botley, a Palm City WPTV Weather Spotter, spoke with WPTV First Alert Weather Meteorologist James Wieland about how weather forecasting has evolved over the decades. Botley's interest in weather began when he moved to Oakland Park in 1951, where his father was always plotting hurricanes. He went into the Navy and was picked to attend Aerographer's Mate School in Lakehurst.
Botley's first job was plotting weather maps. Satellites started appearing around 1961 or 1962, but the coverage was nothing like what exists now. Wieland showed Botley the technology used in today's weather coverage and walked him through how computer models and modern radar systems have transformed forecasting. Botley said joining WPTV's Weather Spotter program felt like a natural extension of something he was already doing on his own, explaining that he does weather tracking all the time and thought it might be fun because there are other people involved in the program.