Whether the weather is windy, rainy or sunny or there are four seasons in one day, one thing that remains constant is the fact that the local media cannot imagine their lives – or weather stories – without the ever-present Weather Guru.
In fact, South African Weather Services (SAWS) spokesperson in Nelson Mandela Bay, Garth Sampson, also known as the Weather Guru, has been supplying media with reliable weather-related information for decades. He recently celebrated 40 years at the SAWS.
Known for his trustworthy information, sharp wit and a no-nonsense approach when it comes to encouraging residents to save water, Sampson also relays important information on a daily basis regarding the critically low dam levels in the metro.
According to Sampson, he was just shy of 18 years old when he walked into the Weather Office at the old Port Elizabeth Airport Operations block.
“After being welcomed by Oom Fred, a real English gentleman and Oom Willie, a very grumpy and angry-looking man, the first people I met were Allen Wood and Willie Watts,” he said.
“For people that never knew them, Allen Wood looked like and had the character of Charles Manson and Willie Watts looked like a skeletal railway telegrapher with his little peak, and no teeth.
“Add to that Willie’s first question being whether I believed in black holes and the third dimension. Huh?! Incidentally they are astronomical terms.
“Any sane person would have run a mile upon meeting those extremely strange people. Then the next person, Des Pyle, asked me if I was mad to want to work for the then Weather Bureau. I thought he was joking at first, but after a few weeks I was soon to learn what he was talking about.”
Sampson explained that due to staff shortages, leave days were a luxury, while night shifts and 16-hour Sunday shifts were the order of the day.
“One thing I can say is that I have met and worked with some good, as well as strange, people throughout these 40 years.”
Despite doing the job for four decades, Sampson said that he actually landed at the weather service coincidentally as he was sent there for the six months after school before he had to join the army. He also excelled at geography in school.
“I always wanted to do art, but through the years I got a real passion for all things weather-related. I then obtained a National Diploma in Public Management, majoring in statistics and did the normal internal courses required in those days,” he said.
Sampson added that some of the highlights of his career included the 1981 floods, the fog in Walvis Bay, thunderstorms in Ondangwa and the first time he saw frost in Molteno.
“I am always excited when I am able to be part of or witness an extreme weather event.
“Recently, it must be the snow at De Hoop near Uniondale. My dream is still to see a tornado in the former Transkei or America. I still hope to be around when the next flood hits Nelson Mandela Bay, not that I wish for it; it is inevitable.”
Apart from being a weather expert, Sampson is also a family man who enjoys 4×4 trips into the mountains, where he is an avid photographer.
“I married my high school sweetheart, Elmarie, more than 40 years ago. We had two severely disabled children, Keagan, who passed at 16 years and Brittany who passed at 24 years. They had a very short life expectancy of about seven years but outlived their life expectancy by far.
“I can only attribute this to the fantastic love and caring of my wife.”
When asked if he has any advice for those wanting to pursue a career at the weather service, Sampson said, “Like everything, if you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. You must have a keen interest in weather. The shifts are a killer and one must be really dedicated.
“Fortunately or unfortunately nowadays everything is computer/mathematically and scientifically driven, so those are the subjects to concentrate on.”
