Randy Small starts his days early to capture the sunrise.
“I try to get up for every good sunrise,” Small said. “I check out the window, and if there’s any hint of color, I leave as fast as I can.”
But that’s just the beginning of his busy day. Small, who is best-known for starting the Whatcom County Weather Facebook page – boasting more than 57,000 followers – also works part-time as a pastor at Liberty Baptist Church of Lynden and owns a photography business, among other hobbies.
Small always had an interest in weather, particularly the Fraser Outflow, a weather phenomenon where strong winds are funnelled through the Fraser River Valley and into areas like Whatcom County and the San Juan Islands. He joined weather groups on Facebook and taught himself to read weather maps by researching and asking questions. About 10 years ago, he began doing forecasts on his personal page for friends and family, and was later encouraged to continue his online presence for a wider audience. He started the Whatcom County Weather page in 2017, which quickly snowballed into something bigger than Small had ever anticipated.
“The first storm we had was an ice storm in December of 2017, and I got pictures and video and I livestreamed,” Small said. “Every storm subsequently kept growing the page.”
The real catalyst for the page’s growth was the historic flood and successive cold snap in late 2021.
“We forecasted [the flood] days in advance, but I didn’t forecast that it was going to be a flood of that proportion,” Small said. “You don’t really know until something happens.”
Small remembers waking up that morning and beginning to understand the storm’s severity as he tried to get on the scene to livestream. He got in his car, and although many roads were closed, he was able to make it to Halverstick and Garrison roads in Sumas, where he saw firsthand the extent of the damage.
“I noticed somebody was putting a boat in, and I’m like, ‘They’re trying to rescue people. This is worse than what I even realized,’” he said.
Small used his page to get more boats to the area and help out the overwhelmed search and rescue team. While the effort was chaotic and disorganized, he said it was great to see the real-time effects from his page’s reach.
“It was very eye-opening to see that the people, the general population, did a lot of life-saving that day,” Small said.
Small said he only has two regrets from that day: that a life was lost, and that he felt he didn’t fully prepare people for how bad the storm could have been.
“I try not to scare people, but in hindsight, I wish I would have been a little stronger,” he said of his warnings.
Small said preparation for a storm takes hours, and that running the page requires a lot of work. He said he is grateful to have the help of three other people who assist with the page.
“It’s very hard, and I’m probably working too much,” Small said. “I’m trying to cut back some.”
Small said Whatcom County is due for a wind storm because there hasn’t been a big one for a while. Ultimately, he wants to help people feel prepared and educated when storms do hit.
“I love storms, but I don’t like to see people’s homes destroyed,” he said.
When he’s not chasing the weather, Small enjoys being involved in the community and taking photos for Lynden High School’s football and basketball teams. He and his wife have three teenagers who attend the high school and he affectionately calls himself their chauffeur.
“I’m a very fortunate person, a blessed person and well-appreciated in the community,” he said. “I’m grateful for that.”
Above all, Small said he loves that his weather work involves him in the community, giving him the opportunity to speak at schools, in science classes and in community centers.
“If you were to summarize my life, it’s about people,” he said. “I just like people. I like talking to people probably too much. I like helping people. I like serving.”
Small wears many hats not just figuratively, but literally. At a previous job, he worked outside driving a forklift. One of his coworkers wore an ear flap hat during the cold months, and he decided to purchase one.
Little did he know that hat would become an iconic symbol of his weather forecasting. He wears it when there is a winter storm warning for the lowlands of Whatcom County. The hat’s popularity grew so much with viewers that he eventually sold a few with his logo.
“I’ll put the hat on and everyone knows we’ve got snow coming,” Small said.
For more information on Whatcom County’s latest weather forecast, visit Whatcom County Weather on Facebook. Small’s photography, which he uses to help fund his weather work, is available at randysmall.com.
