At Home With ... Mike Nelson

“I built my first weatherbox when I was 10 years old. My parents did not have any white paint, so it had to be barn-yellow, and it’s still in my backyard today. The other new-age weatherbox sits high above my yard; it’s kind of like antiquated meets technology.”

“I thought writing a book would be easy. Little did I know that was only a third of the work.”

Mike Nelson is as much of a weather buff at home as he is at work. In fact, he has his very first weather box, which he built when he was 10, alongside its modern digital cousin. “I call into local radio shows in the morning,” Nelson says. “I check the weather box three times a day on the weekend. I can’t stop.”

Growing up in Madison, Wisc., Nelson idolized local broadcast journalists and sportscasters. When he was 18, he finally asked his favorite meteorologist if he could help out around the station. “He thought about it for a month, then agreed, and thereafter when he would go out for dinner, I would cover for him,” Nelson says. Eventually, the two men worked together to create the earliest version of a weather computer in the ’70s. Channel 7 still uses the brand today.

What else does Nelson enjoy? “My pugs, Tinq and Torq, are always the center of attention,” he says. “They are part of the family,” which includes wife Cindy, two children and a pond full of koi. “A favorite evening of mine is calling my wife, telling her to turn on the outdoor hot tub, coming home after the newscast and relaxing with a glass of wine and gazing at the stars. That’s pure enjoyment.”

Mike Nelson’s Interesting Weather Facts

You know the old adage about Colorado weather: If you don’t like it, wait five minutes. It’ll change.

During our photo shoot with Channel 7 Chief Meteorologist Mike Nelson, we learned these surprising facts about Colorado weather.

• Weld County holds the record for the most recorded tornadoes over the last 50 years, the highest amount of any county in the entire nation.
• April brings peak snow pack in the mountains and is the third snowiest month in Colorado, behind March and November.
• Colorado has life-threatening weather every month of the year; from flash floods to avalanches to fires, our beautiful state can be hazardous.
• September and October are the two driest months in Colorado.