After years of experience with Michigan’s often tumultuous winters, Brighton High School Spanish teacher Mr. McMahon has gained a reputation for his ability to accurately predict snow days and update fellow teachers and students on the terrible winter conditions and weather to come.
This is McMahon’s fortieth year teaching Spanish 3, 4 and 5 at BHS—though he has taught all Spanish classes before—and he continues to carry on the position of the school’s “weatherman.”
When asked how he got into weather and snow day forecasting, McMahon said, “I have two older vehicles, and one is very good in the snow—which is my Jeep—and the truck, which is [parked] in the garage. So, if there’s bad weather out, I do not take the truck out. It’s so silly, I know!”
Though it may seem shocking, McMahon doesn’t use fancy devices or hardware to generate these forecasts. Instead, he has a process that involves monitoring conditions ahead of time.
“Well, I start about ten days early, and it doesn’t change a whole lot, even in Michigan… then a day or two before, I let people know what I think,” McMahon said.
Though Michigan’s weather is known to be unpredictable, McMahon seems to have a great understanding of its tendencies. He said his predictions are “pretty great, except for the ice days; ice days are hard to predict… but maybe 85%.”
When asked how it feels to be considered the school “weatherman,” McMahon chuckled and said, “ I had no idea that was my nickname until recently! It’s kind of flattering, and of course, it’s always nice being right, but it’s pretty great to share. I like it a lot.”
Though the winter season is drawing to an end, McMahon continues to discuss weather forecasts and temperatures with his students in room D09, continuing his position as not only one of Brighton’s Spanish teachers but as BHS’s very own weatherman.
