HIs head is in

Andrew Mathieson
Lindsay Smail couldn’t think of anything better than to be out in the rain.
But instead the creator of Geelong Weather Services is stuck glassy-eyed behind a computer screen most wet days.
“When there’s a fantastic, severe storm somewhere, I’d love to be out there watching it,” Lindsay sighs.
“But I’m usually at the desk, watching the radar to see where it’s coming from.
“Some of my friends are storm-chasers – that’s a luxury I can’t afford.”
Time and money are the biggest hurdles, even in his business.
By the time he was half way through high school Lindsay had become fascinated with the process that made rain.
“That’s when I first thought,” he says before pausing and looking out toward the skies, “this is something that strikes a chord with me.”
Lindsay’s eyes start to bulge and his hands motion a trail of wind when he speaks about what drew him to weather.
“I remember when I was 14 or 15 I learned that moisture in the atmosphere can be travelling along and nothing happens except for some clouds,” he animates.
“But all of a sudden there’s a mountain range in the way, so where does the air go? It goes around it or if it goes over the range it gets colder and as it gets colder raindrops fall.”
Lindsay’s interest in weather pushed him to Melbourne University during the 1960s when his attention focused on geography, meteorology, climatology and earth sciences.
A teaching career beckoned afterward, however, at Norlane High School, Oberon High and – including his last 20 years – Belmont High until 1994.
Three years later, though, Lindsay took a risk and turned his hand to starting out an ambitious home business.
He hasn’t looked back.
It’s been inundated with phone calls and emails from admirers all over the world.
A keen university work experience student who wanted to learn the marvels of meteorology got the shock of his life when he visited Lindsay.
“When he got here he was quite surprised that we operated out of a converted bedroom,” Lindsay grins.
“I mean Geelong Weather Services does sound like a bureau but because I offer all these things I had to call it something.”
A network of 40 weather-savvy friends and colleagues, many of whom have their own weather stations, are also on hand to keep Lindsay up to date.
About a fortnight ago Geelong topped the 37-degree mark at its Mt Duneed weather station but only Lindsay and his weather buffs knew it reached 42 at Bellbrae.
Lindsay, who provides Independent readers with a monthly column on local weather, extended his knowledge to a book back in 1998, Weather Wonders in Geelong.
The book made little money and Lindsay admits it needs an update.
“I know it took a lot out of me and it also took a lot of time – you have to go into a lot of depth,” Lindsay says.
“Put those things together and that’s what makes me hesitant this time.”
However, his advice is still keenly sough.
The 63-year-old has advised one farmer that Geelong is too cold to grow cherries, has helped a demolitionist blow up chimney stacks at a Geelong cement works and even determined the forensics of a crime scene affected by weather conditions.
“When you’re dealing with forensics, everything is in the past,” Lindsay says.
“All you have to know is where to look to get the information.
“Basically, forensics takes the pressure off me because there’s no forecasting involved.”