NBC4 Is Set to Weather Cast from Greenbelt Backyards

Alice, a Greenbelt resident, was watching NBC4 Washington one night, when chief meteorologist Doug Kammerer came on screen. He wanted to start giving weather forecasts from backyards this summer.

"I thought, I'd like to take him up on that," Alice said, and she did. Now Kammerer will be weather casting from Greenbelt on Friday during the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Channel 4 shows.

When Alice was deciding whether to make the offer, she noticed her two neighbors out in their yards, and the concept evolved. Alice walked out her gardenside door and approached them with a new idea -- a three-yard weather cast.

"I cautioned them that they could tell me this was a completely nutsy idea, and we were not going to do this," Alice recalled. But to her surprise they were intrigued and gave her the green light to explore it further.

She pitched the three-yard idea to Channel 4 and sent them digital pictures, hoping to catch Kammerer's eye. Alice and her two neighbors enjoy spending time in their yards, she said, "So we spiff them up."

It wasn't long before Kammerer contacted Alice, saying he really liked the three-yard idea.

It's a grand plan, but the yards are small. So Alice has asked Greenbelters not to flock to her neighborhood on Friday. She's aiming for a small group, "to stick with the feel of a few neighbors getting together in their backyards," she said. This is not a City Council event, not a City of Greenbelt event but a local weather cast, Alice pointed out.

NBC calls it Doug Kammerer's Backyard BBQ. Neighbors are planning to bring munchies and drinks, plus have a good time in the process.

All of Greenbelt can join in the fun by tuning in to NBC4 Washington on Friday and crossing their fingers and toes for clear skies.