Man behind Central MN WX

Loby Carolyn Bertsch

news@thenewsleaders.com

When storms roll in and skies darken across Central Minnesota, thousands turn to Facebook, not for memes or recipes, but for forecasts. Their destination? Central MN WX.

Behind the fast-growing weather page is Kevin Scheiterlein, a lifelong Sartell resident with an intense fascination for meteorology. Known to some as “the weather man,” Scheiterlein has turned his childhood obsession into a vital resource for more than 26,000 followers – and counting.

“Since I was a kid, I have always had an interest in weather. I grew up watching The Weather Channel,”  Scheiterlein said.

As a child, Scheiterlein had an intense fear of storms. Severe weather alerts filled him with anxiety. But instead of avoiding the subject, he leaned into it, eventually learning everything he could about the systems that once scared him.

After graduating from Sartell High School in 2008, Scheiterlein initially followed a different path. Coming from a family of law enforcement officers, including his grandfather, he earned a degree in criminal justice. But the pull of the atmosphere proved strong. He sprinkled in a few meteorology classes and spent countless hours researching weather systems online, teaching himself the ropes.

For years, Scheiterlein shared weather updates on his personal Facebook page. But six years ago, on Sept. 3, 2019, he officially launched Central MN WX to share more detailed updates with the public. The page covers everything from smoke density alerts, to severe storm warnings, to forecasts for camping trips, to the best nights to spot the northern lights.

The page took off quickly. What began as a passion project has become a second full-time job, one he balances alongside his day job as a security contractor. It’s not uncommon for Scheiterlein to stay up all night tracking storms, only to clock in for work hours later. Yet, it is a labor of love.

“Running the page is kind of therapeutic for me,” he said. “I love it…it’s my stress reducer.”

Ironically, his two worlds once collided. Scheiterlein was hired to provide security for meteorologists from The Weather Channel during their visit to St. Cloud. It was a surreal moment for someone who grew up watching the network religiously.

Even vacation doesn’t keep Scheiterlein from his mission. Just this past June 28, while taking a haunted bus tour in Key West, Florida, tornadoes began touching down across Central Minnesota. From the back of the tour bus, he posted rapid-fire updates. So many people tuned in, that the page gained 9,000 new followers in a single day.

Last year, on June 12, two EF-2 tornadoes, the kind with 111-135 mph winds, tore through parts of central and northern Minnesota. The volume of texts and direct-message activity overwhelmed Scheiterlein’s phone.

“It wouldn’t stop vibrating,” he said. “Then I got a warning saying my phone was overheating – and then it just died. That was a first for me.”

Scheiterlein doesn’t work alone. His weather sidekick is Weather Cat Doug, a 20-pound brown tabby cat who rides shotgun on storm patrols. Doug watches the clouds, checks out the northern lights and tests fresh snow. (Storm chasing, however, remains off the agenda for now.)

Doug was found two years ago as a dehydrated stray kitten in a field near Scheiterlein’s grandmother’s home in Staples. Since then, the two have been inseparable – and Doug has become a fan favorite on the Central MN WX page.

“He’s basically a dog,” Scheiterlein said. “We have an amazing bond.”

Scheiterlein has stayed committed to keeping Central MN WX free of ads, even turning down corporate sponsorship and refusing to let Facebook’s parent company, Meta, place ads on the page.

“My goal was never to make money,” he said. “It’s about providing the weather, not ads.”

In an era where online platforms are crowded with noise, Central MN WX stands out for its accuracy, community focus and intent of keeping Central Minnesotans safe, informed and weather-aware.