Longtime meteorologist Matt Noyes and his friendly face will no longer greet morning viewers on NBC10 Boston, but the beloved forecaster says he will still be delivering critical weather info to locals.
Noyes and his wife Danielle, also a meteorologist, plan on launching a weather website and app to “meet the public where they’re at,” he told the Herald on Thursday as he took a trip down memory lane while looking ahead.
On Wednesday, Noyes said goodbye to his NBC10 and NECN family after more than two decades there.
“It’s been a crazy 24 hours,” Noyes told the Herald. “Folks have been surprised but very supportive, which is lovely.
“It’s a nervous time, but at the same time it’s an exciting chance at a new beginning,” he added. “It was very amicable and a wonderful ending to a great career there.”
So what’s next for Noyes? He shared that he’ll be heading into the digital-first weather market with his wife, who has been freelancing with NBC10 Boston — and who previously competed against Noyes when she was with WBZ.
The couple is planning on launching a weather website and app.
Noyes cited a recent YouGov poll that showed only 43% of respondents turned to local TV news for weather information, while 53% of people used an app. However, only 34% of respondents found those apps to be very accurate.
“There’s been a huge shift in the way people consume weather information,” Noyes said. “And my mission statement since college has been wanting to deliver the best forecast possible to the greatest number of people possible.
“Local TV is still critically important, but I’m going to stick with my mission statement and pivot to follow the viewers,” he added. “We’re going to launch a digital entity, and meet the public where they’re at.”
Noyes didn’t reveal the name of the website and app, but that should be shared soon.
“My focus has always been on Boston and New England, and that will remain my primary focus,” the Haverhill native said. “At the same time, it’s not a far leap to build a national data set, so we will end up bringing this to a national level as well.”
While Noyes was looking toward the future, he also reflected on some of the most memorable storms during his time at NECN and NBC10 Boston.
The “most impactful event” was the June, 1, 2011 tornado in western Massachusetts. That destructive storm was the strongest tornado in nearly 60 years to rip through the Bay State.
“That was a scary day for a lot of folks,” he said. “We were ready for it, and tracked it at the street level, and people really appreciated that.”
When Noyes first arrived at NECN, he never imagined working a snow storm like the Blizzard of ’78. Since he started in Boston, multiple storms have dumped higher one-day snow totals — including on Jan. 29, 2022 and Feb. 17, 2003.
“We’ve outdone the single storm snow record, the 24-hour snow record, the coastal flooding record,” Noyes said, noting the significant impact of climate change. “It has not happened all at one time, but we’re living through a period of historic weather now.”
There was also the 2015 winter snow blitz when storm after storm pounded the region.
“We had a seasonal snow record, but it didn’t start until the end of January,” he said. “That was incredible.”
Noyes also looked back on the deluge of rain that sparked severe flooding along the Merrimack River in the mid-2000s, along with tracking Hurricane Irene in August 2011.
There was also the big “wintercane” storm on Dec. 9, 2005. The monster delivered 100-plus mph winds to Cape Cod, where not much snow fell, while 9 inches fell in Boston and about 13 inches fell in Worcester.
Noyes said, “There have been these extreme events that when I started my career, I thought I’d see one of these happen, not thinking I’d see all of these happen over the last 20 years.”
25 years ago I knew my career mission: deliver the best weather info possible to as many people as possible. Thank you, Boston & New England, & NBC Boston/NECN, for an incredible ride. A lot has changed in two decades – I'm excited to make the necessary change, to stay with you. pic.twitter.com/b9qiZtWp0d
— Matt Noyes (@MattNBCBoston) March 28, 2024
