Frankie MacDonald

Frankie MacDonald
Born (1984-04-24) April 24, 1984[1]
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Nationality Canadian
Known for Internet weather forecasts

Frankie MacDonald (born April 24, 1984) is a Canadian amateur weatherman from the Whitney Pier[2] area of Sydney, Nova Scotia.[3][4][5] MacDonald, who is autistic,[3][6] is known for his boisterous online weather forecasts.[7] He posts the videos to his YouTube channel (dogsandwolves),[6] where they have received more than 10 million views.[2][7] He also maintains a Twitter account and blog.[8] Weather reports MacDonald has produced include warnings for his home province of Nova Scotia, a snowstorm in Winnipeg, heavy rainfall in Vancouver,[9] a storm in Minnesota,[10] New York, Australia,[8] and Bermuda during Hurricane Gonzalo of 2014.[11]

Videos

People of Toronto, be prepared. Order your pizzas and order your Chinese food and five cases of pop because it’s going to be a terrible snowstorm to hit Toronto, Ontario... have your iPads and your iPhones charged just in case the power goes out... do your grocery shopping right now. Don’t wait for the last minute. Do it RIGHT NOW."

--A sample of a forecast by Frankie MacDonald.[6]

As a child, MacDonald wanted to be a weather forecaster.[12][13] He made his first scenery video on December 27, 2007.[2] On December 16, 2009, he made his first YouTube video.[2] MacDonald gained recognition in Canada for his posts to the Weather Network's website.[2]

His forecast predicting a Vancouver earthquake was featured on the program Tosh.0[9][14] and BuzzFeed called his Hurricane Isaac forecast, "the only forecast you need for Hurricane Isaac."[15]

MacDonald's videos have turned him into a "internet weather-broadcasting sensation," with several hundreds of thousands of views for some videos;[16] his Minnesota forecast video reached over 150,000 views.[10] His forecasts have been picked up by media throughout the world, [17] and he has given weather forecasts for the Nova radio network in Australia.[18] MacDonald has presented the weather on the CBC[19] and has been featured in an online video series for Nova Scotia Power.[20]

Reaction

MacDonald was included in CBC News's "Top 10 Newsmaking Stories of 2013 in Nova Scotia,"[21] Additionally, MacDonald was awarded the Vital Cape Breton Excellence Award which honours Cape Breton islanders who have made significant contributions in the community.[2] He was also recognized for his work by Member of Parliament Mark Eyking in the House of Commons on 4 February 2015 during the Statements by Members session.[22][23] MacDonald has had his likeness made into a bobblehead and had his "be prepared" catchphrase featured on clothing.[24]

The videos have received both positive (including people thanking him for weather warnings) and negative feedback on YouTube, and MacDonald tries to "ignore" the latter, insisting they are "rude and disrespectful."[6] The hosts of The Roz & Mocha Show on Toronto's Kiss 92.5 have been accused of being disrespectful when interviewing MacDonald,[7] but they deny this, claiming they are fans of MacDonald.[25] In 2013, false rumours of his death circulated online.[26]

Parody

On January 30, 2015, the Halifax, Nova Scotia daily newspaper The Chronicle Herald published an editorial cartoon by their staff cartoonist, Bruce MacKinnon which featured Frankie MacDonald giving a forecast of the "Massive Boondoggle" of the overbudget reconstruction of the schooner Bluenose II.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Security Check Required".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jala, David. "Frankie MacDonald, Cape Breton's weatherman extraordinaire". Cape Breton Post. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  3. 1 2 Edwards, Rob (28 February 2014). "Canadian Weather Enthusiast Really, Really Wants Missouri to Prepare for Winter Weather [VIDEO]". KSIS Radio. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  4. ↑ Garrison, Chad (28 February 2014). "Weather Amateur Weatherman's Warning for Missouri Is Kinda Spectacular". Riverfront Times. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  5. ↑ Bartholomew, Dustin (4 December 2013). "Internet sensation Frankie MacDonald posts weather warning for Arkansas". Fayetteville Flyer. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Curtis, Rush (26 February 2013). "Weather reports cause storm: Autistic Frankie MacDonald tells critics "I have a good heart"". Toronto Star. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 Goodyear, Sheena (27 February 2013). "T.O. DJ slammed for treatment of autistic Cape Breton YouTube star". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Edmonton Snowstorm: Frankie MacDonald Warns Of Winter Weather (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  9. 1 2 Ferreras, Jesse (15 November 2014). "Frankie MacDonald Weather Warning For Vancouver (VIDEO)". Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Frankie MacDonald, amateur forecaster, busy with winter storms". CBC News. 20 December 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  11. ↑ "YouTube Star warns Bermuda about Gonzalo". bernews. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  12. ↑ "Frankie MacDonald, amateur weatherman, makes international news". CBC.ca. Jan 29, 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  13. ↑ Pottie, Erin (28 January 2015). "Whitney Pier’s top weatherman ‘a national treasure’". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  14. ↑ "Tosh.0 Tuesday, Jun 29, 2010". Tosh.0 (Comedy Central). Jun 29, 2010.
  15. ↑ Laessig, Gavon. "The Only Forecast You Need For Hurricane Isaac". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  16. ↑ "Cape Breton amateur weather man is a viral video star". CBC News. 25 February 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  17. ↑ "So, what does Frankie have to say about all this?". Cumberland News Now. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  18. ↑ "Frankie McDonald doing the Nova weather". Nova 96.9 Radio. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2014. Popular Youtube user Frankie McDonald was kind enough to record a weather report for Kate Ritchie and Sam Mac on Wednesday the 26th of June!
  19. ↑ Barrell, Ryan (29 January 2015). "Autistic Weather Enthusiast Frankie MacDonald Given His Own Segment On Cape Breton News Show". Huffington Post. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "Frankie MacDonald makes cameo in Nova Scotia Power online videos". 31 December 2015.
  21. ↑ "Top 10 newsmaking stories of 2013 in Nova Scotia". CBC News. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  22. ↑ "Recognizing Frankie MacDonald". Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  23. ↑ "Whitney Pier Youtube sensation's star on the rise". Cape Breton Post. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  24. ↑ "The forecast calls for Frankie MacDonald bobbleheads!". The Chronicle Herald.
  25. ↑ "The Roz & Mocha Show LOVE Youtube Weather Icon Frankie MacDonald... CBC Nova Scotia Says Otherwise". Kiss 92.5. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  26. ↑ Lomax, John Nova (30 October 2013). "Bad Weather For HOUSTON TEXAS". Houstonia. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  27. ↑ "2015-01-30 - Editorial Cartoon". Chronicle Herald. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.

External links

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