Frankie MacDonald

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Frankie MacDonald
Born (1984-04-24) April 24, 1984 (age 39)[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

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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

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External links