Hey … can you write a story about my calendars?

Ask, and you shall receive, Jim Witt!

If you were at the Fall Foliage Festival in Highland Falls on Saturday, Oct. 5, and walked anywhere near the West Point Highland Falls Rotary table, you likely saw something of a local celebrity sitting there, signing calendar after calendar.

It was Jim Witt, a well-known meteorologist in the Hudson Valley, who handles the Saturday morning forecasts on radio station WHUD. What’s not well-known about Witt is that he is the founder of a non-profit organization called the Hope For Youth Foundation.

Founded in 1986, the Foundation, a 501(c)(3), has distributed more than $6 million to better the lives of local youth in the Hudson Valley by funding worthy charities (with a focus on children), scholarships to local high school students and local programs that promote healthy academic, emotional or athletic programs.

Funds are raised primarily through the proceeds of the sales of the foundation’s popular long-range weather calendars, which is what he was signing on October 5. (In fact, you can find him at festivals and markets all Fall with his calendars!)

Witt, who taught science and chaired the Science Department in the Lakeland School District, established and operated a nationally famous secondary school weather program, and was on the faculty of Columbia University and taught a weather program for NASA, as well as taught at other institutes of higher education. From 1970 to 1996, he co-owned Fleetweather, Inc.

He’s received multiple awards for distinguished community service, which, in addition to raising money for the Foundation, he spends his free time talking to local children about weather.

Back to the calendar itself, Witt formulated a complex system that relies on historic weather patterns to predict what the weather will be like years, even decades, ahead. He is especially interested in identifying dates for major weather events like hurricanes and Nor’easters.

“The long-range forecasts are important. Professional meteorologists and amateur weather enthusiasts alike are interested in the predictions. On one hand the calendar allows me to use my passion for weather to generate funds for kids who face a complex array of life’s challenges, and on the other hand, the forecasts can help local and state government as well as everyday folks to be prepared for future adverse weather,” Witt said.

You can purchase the 2025 calendar at Adam’s Fair Acre Farms on Rt. 300 in Newburgh, or order them for $16 (shipping included) at hfyf.org/calendars/. The calendar runs from November 2024 to December 2025, and features local photos by Carol Pedersen, Charlie Gruetzner, Cory Lyons, Ed Mekeel, Giuliano Sista, Heather Ballard, Howard Copeland, Jackie Francone, Mark Rosengarten, Philip Brandon, Roberto Perez and Scott Snell.

“One photo is more stunning than the next and selections are aligned based on seasons,” Witt said.