The last two weeks have been a lot in the Holderness house. First, Hurricane Helene devastated the western part of North Carolina, where some of Penn’s family still lives. So many people lost their lives and whole towns were wiped out. Before we could even wrap our minds around it, Hurricane Milton was barreling toward my hometown in Florida. Enter an ill-timed panic attack.
Even though my family was safe, just the thought of all the people who weren’t after a natural disaster was so tragic – it was too much. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t stop crying, and we were due to be part of a panel for work and a podcast interview later that afternoon. People often ask how I put up with Penn’s ADHD. It’s because of days like this. When my anxiety got the best of me, Penn never made me feel ashamed. He jumped on the phone, rallied the troops, and handled both the podcast and the interview solo.
I feel very lucky that I have a partner like Penn when my anxiety takes the wheel.
An Amazing College Kid
This week’s podcast interview was with 21-year-old college student and founder of North Carolina’s Weather Authority, Ethan Clark. Ethan has been running the NC Weather Authority since the 7th grade. He has over 600,000 followers and he has not missed a day of posting since 2016. He gained national attention for sharing real-time weather information during Hurricane Helene.
“I had multiple followers send me messages saying ‘you convinced my family to leave and if I hadn’t left my house was gone and I wouldn’t be alive’,” explains Ethan. Not only do people trust his “no hype” weather forecasting, but because of his very active social media following people were rescued who needed help in the Asheville area. Multiple photos and messages from residents were shared through his platforms and connected with emergency services.
He said the fact that his weather page has saved lives has not totally sunk in yet.
Elementary Professions
After we talked with Ethan, we discussed what professions we would have if we followed our elementary school passions. (Inspired by the fact that Ethan discovered his love for weather in the 4th grade!) We also share ways you can help Western NC. We hope you are inspired by Ethan’s story and look to donate if you can.
