A cardiologist I know put it perfectly to me once: He said, 'A scientist's role is to provide data. "I apply my interpretation based on schooling and experience, but we're talking about science that is founded in data. "I am a meteorologist through and through, and that means letting the data speak for itself," he notes. Six years later, in 2016, he "hopped across the street to Channel 2," he recalls, where he established himself as a forecaster and communicator more interested in accuracy and practical assistance than histrionics and hype. "As of June 1, when my contract is done, I am hitting the ground running, full speed ahead," Makens says.Ī native of Castle Rock who still makes his home there, Makens earned a degree in atmospheric science from the University of Kansas, then worked at outlets in nearby Lawrence, Topeka and Wichita, as well as a gig in Orlando, Florida, before landing at Denver7 in 2010. Instead, he's leaving broadcast TV news entirely to focus on, a new consulting firm that will provide custom-fit forecasting information to a wide range of consumer interests. Makens is leaving Channel 2 at the end of this month, and he's not leaping to another station. And because he's a local product (he grew up outside of Castle Rock), he has enough experience with the vagaries of Colorado weather to know the difference between a legitimate thunderstorm and a passing cloud."Įach word of this praise is richly deserved - but there's a problem. "So praise be to Matt Makens, whose appearances on Channel 2 are marked by a low-key delivery that lets the facts of the day speak for themselves. "Longtime Coloradans have a very low tolerance for forecasters who portray every snow event as a potential life-threatening blizzard and seem to seek out any excuse to drop phrases such as 'bomb cyclone' into their conversation whether they're relevant or not," we wrote. This year's ignominious award goes to Matt Makens of KWGN/Channel 2, whom we named Best Local TV Weathercaster. At Westword, we joke about the "Best of Denver curse." At least once or twice every year, it seems, a terrific person, place or thing honored in our annual Best of Denver issue shuts down, goes away or otherwise disappears before the ink in the print edition is dry.
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