Our Story
How a basement weather blog grew into a forecasting service trusted by millions of Americans.
A snowstorm nobody saw coming
In January 2018, a surprise snowstorm shut down much of the Midwest with almost no warning. Dana Holt, then a regional meteorologist, watched local forecasts fail thousands of commuters in a single afternoon. She believed the problem wasn't a lack of data — it was that existing weather sites buried the data people actually needed under ads, autoplay videos, and confusing icons.
That spring, Dana teamed up with two former colleagues, a data engineer and a product designer, and started building a weather site from a rented basement office in Columbus, Ohio. The goal was simple: show the forecast first, explain it clearly, and get out of the way.
"We didn't want to build another weather app. We wanted to build the one we wished existed during that storm."
— Dana Holt, Founder
From Basement Office to National Coverage
SkyCast is founded
Dana, Marcus, and a small team launch a single-city forecast site for Columbus, Ohio, built around hourly precipitation timing.
Statewide expansion
SkyCast adds coverage for every city in Ohio and hires its first two staff meteorologists to support severe weather alerts.
National launch
After three years of refining its forecasting model, SkyCast goes live in all 50 states, covering more than 1,500 cities at launch.
Severe weather alert network
SkyCast introduces real-time hurricane, tornado, and heat advisory alerts, partnering with regional emergency management offices.
3,200+ cities and counting
Today, SkyCast Weather serves millions of readers each month with a team of 24 meteorologists and engineers based across the country.
Want to be part of the next chapter?
We're always looking for people who care about getting the forecast right.