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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, January 16, 2014 | 6 Spotlight "Connected to your Community" Jaclyn Whittal, an anchor at The Weather Network, does an on-air segment outside the station's Oakville headquarters. Filming her is videographer Tim Whiteside. While the sun is peeking through this day, the ever-changing weather and recent extreme weather is all in a day's work at the station. Anchor is in her element in extreme weather by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) The Weather Network is in its element when bad weather strikes. Headquartered at 2655 Bristol Circle in Oakville, the station's team of meteorologists and weather specialists -- it employs nearly 500 globally and 350 in Oakville -- thrive on tracking and forecasting storms as well as delivering up-to-date news on how that weather will affect residents -- here and across Canada. "As you know, the weather never sleeps," said Rachel Douglas, communications manger for Pelmorex Media Inc., the parent company of The Weather Network, in the midst of the recent extreme winter weather. "We actually love this kind of weather, it's our passion." The winter season is the network's busiest, and this year has been no exception with re- cent "weather phenomenon" like the ice storm and deep freeze that followed shortly after. Last weekend, mild temperatures led to a January thaw. When the station's meteorologists forecasted what was to come during the late December ice storm that hit Toronto and the rest of the Greater Toronto Area hard, The Weather Network put up some of its staff in nearby hotels to ensure everyone was safe and on the job. "We all know when to roll up our sleeves and help each other out," said Douglas, adding it's part of the culture created by The Weather Network founder Pierre Morrissette. The newsroom is always prepared and buzzes when there's active weather. Everyone is excited and passionate about their role. Even the chief meteorologist was tweeting at 3 a.m. to share news with residents about the ice storm, she said. Jaclyn Whittal, a The Weather Network an- It's been an intense winter, both in terms of temperature and snowfall. It's been a very active weather season thus far and I expect it will continue this way. Jaclyn Whittal, The Weather Network anchor chor, recalls the anticipation of watching the ice storm close in. With all hands on deck, the former Global TV on-air weather specialist said it was important to the team to get the right message across to viewers -- that this was going to be an impactful storm that could result in massive power outages. Not a lot of people know how to react to an ice storm, admitted Whittal, so it was important to prepare residents, but not over hype the situation. Whittal, who lives in Ancaster, Ont., said she believes the station's team gave the storm the right kind of coverage as predictions were veri ed. Compared to last year's quiet winter, Whittal said it's been thrilling so far covering this season's rollercoaster of weather. "It's been an intense winter, both in terms of temperature and snowfall," she said, noting the lake effect in Ontario makes things interesting. "It's been a very active weather season thus far and I expect it will continue this way." She said weather is always changing, but the network has a dedicated team committed to delivering fast, complete and accurate forecasts around the clock. NEIL OLIVER Vice ­President and Group Publisher DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Halton Region Editor in Chief Volume 52 | Number 7 447 Speers Road, Oakville ON (905) 845-3824 Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Advertising Department (905) 845-3824 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4444 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 DANIEL BAIRD Director of Advertising ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor