Matt Rudkin, whom hundreds of thousands of people in our area rely on for weather forecasts, wanted to be a pilot when he was growing up. But the training was expensive, so instead he became a meteorologist, acting as chief meteorologist at WSBT 22/South Bend for almost 10 years.

He struck out on his own in 2019, creating a free app and a presence on social media, an entertaining and likable meteorologist whose sole focus is weather in NW Indiana and SW Michigan.

He quickly gained an avid audience: He has 150,000 followers on Facebook, 97% of them local to Northern Indiana & Southwest Michigan. His free app has some 120,000 active local monthly users. 

“One of the reasons I have such a large following is that I was on first,” he says of social media and other weather forecasters. “I was the only one there at a time when viewing habits were changing” away from network television.

People love him (just look at those gushing Facebook comments!) with reason. Affable and upbeat, he also has an adorable dog, Doppler. No matter his schedule, he’s online when big weather events are coming down, and is often a reassuring presence when other forecasters are screaming “big storm coming!” 

“Local TV is a for-profit business,” Rudkin says. As a TV weatherman, he “was pushed to create more urgency.” Now, he says, “There is such a thing as the boy who cried wolf. It’s a real thing. It’s important to not get anxious, so then when I do, people pay attention.”

Rudkin also occasionally schools his followers in scientific matters of weather. A recent Facebook post: “WHY HAS IT BEEN SO WINDY: I think that question has been asked to me over 50 times this week alone. So, let’s talk some science! Wind is caused by differences in air pressure (pressure changes are caused by temperature differences!)”. He goes on to provide a perfectly easy-to-understand explanation.

Recently he explained the “mirage” phenomenon that makes the water appear to “float” above Lake Michigan, or the Chicago skyline appear upside down. Short answer: “It’s an optical illusion caused by a sharp contrast in air temperatures (water is still cold + warm air moving over it).” Matt is not afraid to let his geek weather flag fly!

While never overtly political, Rudkin, 37, tells followers who don’t believe in climate change, science or supporting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to go elsewhere. He does it in his direct, friendly way. “While weather will always be the primary focus, I am going to continue being an advocate for science and teaching anyone on this page that wants to learn,” he has written.

What makes Rudkin’s forecasts better than the rest? “It’s how I decipher it,” he says. “Data is data. There’s a bunch of it. But I have 20 years in this local area. When I see something, I know it’s going to do, because I’ve seen it before. Stick me in Denver or Florida and I’d be terrible.”

I don’t really believe that, but I take his point. “I can beat the computers sometimes,” he says. “Winter is my baby. I like the challenge.” Especially the lake effect.

Besides his deep experience with our area, transparency sets his forecasts apart, he says. “If I screw something up really bad, I try to explain what happened. That opens the opportunity to teach. And people are pretty forgiving.”

That could be because he’s so accessible. Though strangers stop him on the street for autographs and selfies, he presents as a regular guy, and as such, his followers are quick to message or email him. On a quiet week he receives 100 to 200 notes. On an active (weather) week, 1,000 plus. He attempts to answer all of them, though it takes some time during “active” weather.

All of this is a side hustle for Rudkin, who has a full-time job planning routes for United Airlines. (He posts photos of his commute to Chicago on the South Shore train from his home in SW Michigan and photos out airplane windows.) Commuting is when he gets a lot of his weather app work done and interacts with his followers, he says.

A handful of local advertisers provide him with enough money to pay for the weather data that powers his app. (It costs a lot.) At the end of the year, he’s happy to break even or make a couple thousand dollars on his hobby, he says. “It’s Doppler’s snack money,” he says, referring to his pooch.

He’s got a waiting list for local advertisers and has turned down national sponsors. “I don’t want to post every three hours just to do something,” he says. “You get rewarded for engaging posts. You can’t just post the current temperature every hour.”

Download Rudkin’s app here and follow him on X, Facebook and Instagram.