Winter Blitz '09!

Well technically, it wasn't even winter yet when the big snowstorm hit this past weekend. (The new season began just before 1:00pm on Monday). I think it's safe to say most of us will remember this event for many years to come. Snowfall records were broken across the area as we topped measurements taken during the big storms of 1993 and 1996.

I figured if this snow storm wouldn't make me finally update my blog, nothing would!

A brief "thank you" to the entire staff of WDBJ. All weekend our viewers "saw" Brent and myself in the weather office, as well as our reporters and anchors - but behind the scenes we were propped up by the best crew in the business. Here are a few specific notables.

Cara Stein; producer, NEWS7 at Six & Eleven Saturday & Sunday: Did an excellent job of communicating with me all weekend. Our conversations were always brief, but she kept me in the loop of the "news" angle of the storm, and the flow of the newscast.

Jamey "James" Tompkins; producer, NEWS7 Saturday and Sunday Morning: Never complained when my scheduled 2:30 weather segments ran over by 30 or 40 seconds.

Rob Chewning; NEWS7 photojournalist/editor: For simply saving my butt. It's a long story, but he stayed late and edited "Birthday's and Anniversaries" for me Sunday night. Thanks a million, Rob.

Brent Watts; Meteorologist and friend: For always thinking hours ahead - and never sleeping. Your creative talents are never-ending. You brought our weather coverage to another level.

Henry Bryant, Megan Kanode, Gordon Myers; NEWS7 weekend floor crew: Thanks for the gallons of drinking water you brought to the weather set. Thanks for warming my soup in the break room. Thanks for reminding me to change out of my "PJ's" and into my suit before the newscasts.

Uncle Mike Pettit; NEWS7 audio specialist: For talking to me about something other than the weather - like Memphis.

Paul Manning & Patrick Old; NEWS7 Saturday & Sunday Morning directors: For loving snow coverage and live TV. Nice ideas.

Johnny Tsi; NEWS7 evening shift director: Thanks for rolling with the punches and always saying "yes".

There are many, many others. Our news director and managing editor came in on their day off. Their leadership was nice; but they paid for pizza - twice - and that was even better! Many, many staff members worked on their normal days off. Kelly Zuber and Natasha Ryan were just a couple. Thanks to Robin Reed for his live phoner from beautiful Twin Cedars, and to Leo Hirsbrunner for his incredibly accurate snow forecast prior to the first flake falling. (It takes guts to slap up a graphic with 18"+ when you haven't seen a storm this big in 14 years!) Thanks to all the NEWS7 photographers who brought back great storm video. Most of it made CBS national news. Master control never skipped a beat, and often came out to the studio just to check on us - that means a lot. Thanks to all the folks who ran audio and chyron all weekend. No mics clipped, no graphics misspelled - at least as far as I could hear/see. Thanks to all those (engineering staff and others) who kept the dishes cleared of snow so we could keep receiving weather data. Thanks to traffic for carving our time for all those cut-ins.

Virginia State Police and VDOT also kept NEWS7 updated with traffic and road information all weekend. Thanks to them.

A very special "thanks" goes out to the men and women who plowed (and are still plowing) our streets and highways. Excellent work.

Finally, my wife. Sorry I was gone all weekend. You will be rewarded on Christmas.

There are others, and I thank you. You are all "Storm Heroes". It's great to work with such a dedicated group of professionals. All I do is clip a mic on my tie, but everyone else makes the world go-round; makes the whole thing happen. Let's do it again - in another 14 years!?!

Day Out With Thomas

Our son Parker absolutely LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine. Last Friday we spent the "Day Out With Thomas" at the North Carolina Museum of Transportation. Parker loved it; but my dad, Sarah and I enjoyed it just as much. If your child or grandchild likes "Thomas", I highly recommend it! The museum is located at the former Southern Railway shops in Spencer, NC, about a 45 minute drive south of Winston-Salem. Besides the train ride aboard Thomas, there were lots of activities for children to enjoy. Above are a few pictures we took of our trip. Hope you enjoy! --Jay

Hurricane Hugo: 20 Years Later

It's the 20 year anniversary of Hurricane Hugo coming ashore just north of Charleston, SC. There are many TV meteorologists who site this storm for sparking their lifelong interest in weather; I'm no exception. I vividly remember our family vacation to Myrtle Beach in 1989, only to watch the news a few weeks later and see the destruction the storm caused. It was Robin Reed's coverage of tracking the remnants of Hugo into Virginia that made me decide as a 12 year old I wanted be become a broadcast meteorologist (on WDBJ). I recall moderate to heavy rain in Giles County as the storm passed. There was no school that day because of impassable roads and lost power.

Hugo was a category four storm on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale at landfall with winds near 140mph. The storm underwent rapid intensification over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream in the hours leading up to landfall, which occurred at Sullivans Island, SC in the early morning hours of September 22. The storm would cause $7 billion in damages in the U.S.; another $3 billion in the Caribbean. Hugo struck at high tide, making the 12-15 foot storm surge even worse. Some surge was reported over 20-feet, the highest tidal surge ever along the U.S. east coast. Heavy rain fell. Edisto Island, SC received over 10". Several inches were reported in southwest Virginia as well.

I was in Myrtle Beach just about a month ago. Twenty years later, it appears vacationers have long forgotten about the storm. However, a small photo album in the leasing office of our condo shows residents think about it often. The album, simply titled "Hugo, 1989" is full of old pictures showing the damage. A reminder of a storm that won't soon be forgotten by the residents of the Palmetto State.

(Pre)School Days Are Here

After a summer of much anticipation, Parker has started preschool. I took the day off last Wednesday so my wife and I could drop him off, and then pick him up when the day was done. He did great; but the day was harder on my wife. When we drove to the unloading area of his school, and his teacher came to get him out of his car seat, he asked, "Mommy, will you take me inside?" An innocent enough question, and one we had prepared for, but instead of letting the teacher whisk him away, my wife hopped out of the car and disappeared into the school for the better part of 20 minutes. When she returned (with a tear in her eye), I asked why she caved in to Parker's request. I was promptly told to stuff it. It was a quiet ride back to our house.

Three hours later, we returned to Parker's preschool to pick him up. I'll never forget the smile on his face. He ran toward our car, jumped in and said, "Mommy and daddy, I had a great day - it was lots of fun!" I was by far more emotional when we picked him up than when we dropped him off.

A week later, he's already learned so much. He's talking about his new friends, bringing home homework (a.k.a. busy work for parents), and bragging about the awesome sandbox at his school. It's truly amazing how much he's blossomed in just a few days.

We'll sit back and enjoy the ride. Before you know it, it'll be time for kindergarten, high school, then college. On a side note, my wife and I had a meeting last night with our financial planner. He says we should be saving about $300 a month NOW for Parker's college education! On that note, I'm ending this blog and going to sale some lemonade at $0.25 a cup.

Busy Summer

It's been a busy summer, and my blog has fallen behind. My mom has reminded me of this several times the last week; so here's an update, complete with a picture of her!

Here are a few highlights of the summer:

• Planned to have a big yard sale and clean out my garage. That never happened. Garage still full of junk.
• Had a relaxing vacation at Myrtle Beach. I can never get there often enough, but it's always good to see the sand! I gained seven pounds in a week. Thankfully, I've lost all that at this point.
• Our dog Niles slipped a disc in his back. He's been on steroids. Just today he pulled up limp again. I called the vet and made another appointment for him. Hopefully he'll mend.
• We (NEWS7) extensively covered the 40th anniversary of Hurricane Camille. The storm flooded Nelson County in 1969. It was interesting to go back through old photos and video of the aftermath. I met some very knowledgeable people who lived through that part of our state's history. Overall: fascinating.
• Michael Jackson died. I bought a lot of his music and put it on my iPod.
• Michael Vick got out of jail and will make 1.6 million this year. Washing machines deserve second chances - not him.
• I cleaned my wife's SUV and found four happy meal toys, three empty cans of hair spray, a dead cell phone, and a little over five dollars in change.
• Celebrated my parents' 35th wedding anniversary.
• Celebrated my mom's 39th birthday (again). See picture above of Parker with "Gung" and "Crank" taken last week at The Farmhouse in Christiansburg.

As you can tell, it's been a busy few months. As we gear up for fall, my schedule gets little rest. Big things will happen in September. I promise to keep you informed on this blog over the next few weeks. Be good! --Jay

Sometimes, you just have to laugh!

48 hours after the fact, it was brought to my attention that something was very wrong with my live shot on the SkyTracker7 Weather Deck last Thursday. NEWS7 Lynchburg newsroom chief Tim Saunders told me his mom was watching NEWS7 at Noon that day, and noticed something weird. Above are a few screen grabs from the newscast. Can you see the mistake? Look at the microphone. Somehow, someway, the "cube" or "mic flag" was put on upside down. If you caught this on Thursday, good for you! No one here noticed it - including me.

Hope you have a great week! Thanks for watching Your Hometown Station - WDBJ7.

Salem plays host to the Diner

(NEWS7 photographer Rob Chewning standing in the bed of a pickup truck getting the perfect shot for the Weekend Diner. Kroger Chef Steve Alls and I on the "Chef's Circle" set)

If you're a regular viewer of NEWS7 Sunday Morning, you've likely seen our Weekend Diner segment. If not, you're missing out! One of the coolest things I get to do in my job is host this part of the newscast. Each Sunday, people cook for me - what could be better? Those who know me best know I love weather, but the Weekend Diner segment allows me stand away from meteorology for a few minutes every week and clear my mind!

This past Saturday, NEWS7 photographer Rob Chewning and I drove over to Salem to shoot a segment with Kroger Chef Steve Alls. We set up our camera at the Salem Farmer's Market on the "Chef's Circle" set. "Chef's Circle" is a creative idea the city came up with several months ago while demolishing some houses in a flood plain. From one of the houses that was slated to be torn down, crews ripped out an actual kitchen, put it on a trailer with hydraulics, painted it up, and now has local chef's such as Steve cook and entertain crowds every weekend. The set is complete with running water, a stove and a refrigerator.

I could tell "Chef's Circle" is a big crowd pleaser. If you have the chance, I highly recommend you bring a lawn chair and watch local chef's do their thing each Saturday now though the end of August (note: no Chef's Circle this weekend per July 4). The chef's will prepare recipes using ingredients from the farmer's market. They'll also answer your questions, plus you'll be able to taste the dish!

Thanks to Mike Stevens (former NEWS7 Sports Director now Communications Director for Salem) and Beth Carson (Salem Horticulturist and Market Director) for allowing us the opportunity to showcase Chef's Circle!

Meteorologist Turned Plumber

One of my favorite things to do is tinker around the house. My wife and I have owned two houses, and I've learned some things through the years.

First, when doing a project, come up with list of expenses. When you add up the total cost of what you plan to spend, double it. That way, you're not surprised when you go over budget.
Also, become really familiar with Murphy's Law.


Both of these were true recently when I decided to remodel our half bath. My plan was to put up a chair rail, paint, install new fixtures and some new lighting. I usually take great pride in painting. I'm a perfectionist. In this case, I tried to cheat and not paint behind the tank of the toilet. Bad idea. I had the top of the toilet tank laying in the floor while I was curled up trying to paint as much as I could. I moved my knee which slammed the porcelain top of the tank into the porcelain base of the throne. Porcelain vs. porcelain. That's never good. While I thought I had just chipped the toilet, but upon closer inspection, there was a crack all the way up to the seat.


$250 later, there's a new "chair" against the new chair rail in our bathroom. While I enjoy home improvement, I think I'll take a break for awhile. Consumer note: I highly recommend the 5-Star flushers; if you're in the market!

A Must Read Blog!

Life has been busy since my last blog post. Here is the CliffsNotes version.

Have you noticed? There's a fresh look to wdbj7.com. I can't take one ounce of credit for this, but I can tell you it's user friendly and loaded with awesome weather information. Meteorologist Brent Watts has devoted months to this puppy, and it shows! Among the new features, he researched and added a new Interactive Radar. Feedback has been very positive from what I gather. Now, you the user, and manipulate the radar just as we do in the SkyTracker7 HD Forecast Center. Awesome work, Brent!

Severe weather has been common during the late-spring. Hopes of updated my blog last week were dashed by a tornado warning for Franklin and Pittsylvania counties. Robin, Brent and I were on the air for two straight hours Thursday warning folks in the path of the storm.

22 schools, 1552 students, and 2312 miles later, I've wrapped up my 2008/2009 school visit tour. I enjoy driving around the NEWS7 viewing area teaching students about weather and climate. The longest trip this year was to Eureka Elementary School in Charlotte County. Another trip to South Boston fell just shy of that. Thanks to all the teachers who invited me into their classrooms!

NEWS7 has been honored with the Regional Emmy for Best Weekend Newscast. WDBJ notables such as Robin Reed, Hollani Davis, Joe Dashiell and News Director Amy Morris traveled to Washington D.C. this past weekend to accept the Emmy. I'm proud of our work because the newscast we entered was "weather-driven". You may remember the wind storm of February 2008. Power outages, wildfires, property damage. I've covered a lot of severe weather the last 10 years, and that ranks as one of the most prolonged events I can recall. We had five or six hours of battering gusts. Our WeatherBug station at WDBJ had a 69mph gust that day - almost hurricane force!

Finally, and most importantly, it's vacation time. That's right, it took a vacation to find the time to update my blog!

For more frequent updates, follow me on twitter at: OnAirWeather

The Day The Earth Shook

I must say, Saturday was quite an interesting day at the station. From flash flooding, to severe thunderstorms, and even an earthquake - it was busy!

My day started around 3:30am when my alarm went off. I try to get to WDBJ around 4:00am on Saturday to get ready for the show. Knowing I would be rolling in around 4:15am, I called my producer (Jamey) just to let him know I was up and would be there soon. As soon as he answered the phone, I could hear every line in the newsroom ringing. I asked what was going on, and he told me viewers were calling the newsroom saying they had felt an earthquake. I knew it was going to be a long day. I told Jamey I'd be at the station in a few minutes. Upon arriving, I logged on the USGS website an instantly saw in fact there had been a minor earthquake. Jamey and I prepared for a live cut-in and within a few minutes, we were on the air reporting on the tremor. It must have worked, because after the cut-in, the phones stopped ringing!

After reading over 27 pages of viewer posts on wdbj7.com, I think the one thing that stands out in my mind is how many people didn't know Virginia can have earthquakes. A quick search on the internet will reveal that our state has had many earthquakes in our history. In fact, the strongest earthquake in Virginia occurred in the NEWS7 viewing area, in Giles County, in 1897 with a magnitude of 5.8. Even that quake caused little to no damage.

At least now a whole lot more people know first-hand we can have earthquakes in Virginia; and while Saturday morning's focus was on the movement of the earth, I had to quickly turn my efforts to severe storms and flooding by the afternoon! Needless to say, it was a busy day!

Get a Job!

Recently, NEWS7 sports anchor/reporter Chris Miles and I traveled to George Wythe High School to meet and greet students at their annual career fair. Many local businesses were on hand to provide information to sophomores, juniors and seniors. I've found this is a fun time of the year. Since the fall, SkyTracker7 HD meteorologists have traveled from one corner of our viewing area to the other talking about weather and climate to thousands of students. While that's fun, it's a nice change of pace to go to high schools and talk with older kids about broadcasting. Many are familiar with the "on-air" part of the job, but few have a clue about the "behind the scenes" work. They are often thrilled to know about jobs such as graphic production, audio, directing, producing and sales. Students also are usually interested in how they should continue their education beyond high school.

Thanks to GWHS for inviting Chris and I to attend. I have a few more career fairs to visit the next few weeks. I look forward to meeting more students who may eventually decide on a career in the ever-changing broadcast news industry.

Home Show Friends

Just a quick blog to express "thanks" to all the viewers who came out to The Home Show at the Salem Civic Center this past weekend. The WDBJ promotion department requested the four SkyTracker7 meteorologists meet-and-greet viewers for the three day show. My day was Friday. I was amazed - not at the volume of people coming to our booth - but at the number of folks who thanked us for providing them a forecast in High Definition! One gentleman even noted he could see a "blimish" on my forehead last weekend! (True, it was there! Makeup can't fix everything!)

WDBJ has been providing you the area's only HD forecast for a year now, and viewers are saying they can really "see" the difference! Here's a bonus for our HD weather fans; we're now beginning to rollout new HD cameras on our WeatherBug sites. Baywood Elementary near Galax has already launched, and there will be more coming - very soon!

Thanks again to everyone who came out to The Home Show - and thanks for watching, in HD!

Severe Weather Coverage

Earlier this month, WDBJ sister station KWCH in Wichita, Kansas was put in an uneasy situation for broadcasters. When a tornado threatened, KWCH meteorologists "cut-in" over programming to deliver life-saving information. While this was valuable information for some of the viewing audience, it was distracting for other viewers who were not in harm's way. KWCH covers 67 counties in the Wichita area. It goes without saying that there could easily be severe weather in one part of this enormous viewing area, while completely sunny and pleasant somewhere else. Many KWCH viewers, not affected by the storm, were upset by the weather coverage which interrupted a KU basketball game. KWCH President/General Manager Joan Barrett discussed the station's action plan in a web post. In part, Barrett wrote:

"It's clear that we have made many fans upset. For that, I apologize. As you might imagine, it is certainly never our intention to frustrate or annoy our viewers - that's not a great business plan. I can't apologize for carrying severe weather coverage, it is what we do. It is something that we take very seriously." (Click here for full response from Barrett)

I bring this up because as severe weather season approaches, we could have the same thing occur around the WDBJ viewing area. For example, at the same time an EF-0 tornado touched down in Roanoke last summer, most of the viewing area experiencing "quiet" weather. Our storm coverage meant overriding prime time programming.

At WDBJ, we cover 26 counties across southwest and central Virginia. The FCC requires us to keep you, our viewers, informed of life-threatening weather events. We can't just ignore a severe weather warning because CSI, Survivor, The Price is Right or any of your other favorite CBS shows are on. On the other hand, SkyTracker7 HD Meteorologists try our best to provide you the information in a short, concise and detailed manner, thus returning you to regularly scheduled programming as soon as possible.

Just something to keep in mind as we wait for our first round of storms this spring! Fair winds! -Jay

I'll get back to you...

I'm not a technology guy. While my job has sparked an interest in technology in me I never thought I had, I'm not a technology guy.

What's a "technology guy" anyway? Anymore, it's more than knowing how to Google something. It's more than having an email account (or multiple ones). It's Twitter, texts, Facebook, Skype, instant messaging and more. My rough definition of a "technology guy" is someone who can actually manage all this stuff. They have unbelievable time management skills. I have "good" time management, but sometimes I wonder if it's good enough for 2009. I'm a perfectionist - but lately I find myself responding to emails typing in lowercase only. Texts don't have punctuation. It reminds me of an art teacher I once had. She told me while water coloring one day, "Jay, don't do it 'neat', just get the paint on the canvas. Just get it on there!" That's me, anymore. Just getting it done, but not perfect, at least in my opinion.

I "do" Twitter. I "do "Facebook". I read your texts. I get your messages on my cell phone. Despite recently figuring out some important emails were going to my "junk" folder, I get your emails and respond to them promptly.

Here's my problem...

There's simply not enough time in my day to monitor all the messages I get, whether that's on a social networking site or electronic apparatus.

Here's what I like...

Family time. Yard work. Grilling. Watching my NCAA bracket vaporize on TV before my eyes. Golf. A peaceful drive to the Shenandoah Valley on Route 11. Art. Model railroading. The list goes on...

The solution...

Maybe I need to realize every call, email, Facebook message, isn't worth responding to. It's always been my thought that if someone took the time to email me, I should email them back. I think it's time to only start responding to the really important, pressing stuff. The other day, for example, I received nearly 25 emails (on two different accounts), 4 texts, 3 missed Skype calls, 10 incoming calls to my cell phone, a few direct messages on Twitter, endless Facebook chatter, and 1 missed call on my answering machine at home. Most of these people just wanted to say, "hi".

I could sit in front of my computer all day and watch this stuff come in, and respond to it all. Instead, I'm "off" tomorrow and I'm not going to turn my computer on all day. Think of it as going Green. No juice running to this puppy all day!

Unfortunately, it's come to the point unless you're on my "short list", chances are it'll be a few days before I get back with you. Come on, you know you are wondering - who's on the short list? In no particular order: my parents, my wife, the weather team, and at the moment, my CPA.

Back to my original thought. A "technology guy" will probably respond to you instantly. I'm not a technology guy. Let me get your message, ingest it, process it, and... I'll get back to you.

Little Sis Visits the Weekend Diner

If you watched the Weekend Diner this morning, you saw our very special guest. My sister Suzanne made an appearance on NEWS 7 Morning and treated us to Tex-Mex Ravioli Casserole. Try it - it's fantastic! The morning crew ate every bite of it within a few minutes of wrapping up the newscast. It's an easy dish that can be prepared in a matter of minutes. For the recipe, check out our recipe page on wdbj7.com http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/category.asp?C=59666

In her prime (she would argue she hasn't hit her prime yet), Suzanne "a.k.a. Suz" was quite the basketball star. She scored over 1,000 points as a student at Narrows High School playing in the Mountain Empire District, and later scored around 900 points playing for the Lady Maroons of Roanoke College. We dug up some of her old footage from the NEWS7 sports archive and played that on the air this morning. You can tell Suz not only knows her way around the kitchen, but the basketball court as well.

I'm always looking for new guests on the Weekend Diner. Contact me at jwebb@wdbj7.com if you'd like to come on the show. All you need to do it cook and smile for the camera! --Jay

Success! The Joys of Parenthood

I'm so proud of our little boy, Parker! He has just about mastered potty training. This "obstacle" was probably one reason my wife and I (or at least "I") waited so long to have a child in the first place. Honestly, it's never been something I've been looking forward to - at all! The thought of it makes my stomach turn! Truth be told, my wife and our awesome child-care provider have done a lot of the training, and it's paying off!

Tonight, just before dinner, Parker announced to us he had to go to the potty. He was insistent to go by himself. I've seen him do "number 1" before, but never "number 2". After a few minutes, he called out to my wife and I to "come see!" He was so proud of his first successful "splash down" all by himself in the "big boy potty".

His reward, after praising him with "great job!" several times was a new pair of "big boy" Thomas the Tank Engine underwear. I'm going to have to get a matching pair, I'm afraid.

High Wind Forecast

High Wind Warnings have been posted for portions of the NEWS7 viewing area. A strong and fast moving cold front, will move through the area tonight, kicking up winds in its wake. Isolated thunderstorms are also possible along the boundary. The recent string of warm days will come to an end by tomorrow.

Some gusts tonight could top 50mph. NOW is a good time to tie down anything that you have outdoors like trashcans and lawn chairs. Bring them inside if you can. NOW is the time to prepare and protect your property.

It was only a year ago another strong cold front barreled through the area bringing damaging winds. On February 10, 2008 the cold front caused winds in excess of 60mph all over the NEWS7 viewing area. Here were some of the gust reports:

Hot Springs: 74mph; Fairfield: 75mph; Christiansburg: 70mph; Roanoke (WDBJ studios): 67mph. For a complete list, visit this NWS site: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rnk/events/2008/Feb10-11Winds_Wildfires/KRNKPNSRNK_20080211_1619.txt

This high wind event also helped fuel many wildfires across the region. Over 8,200 acres burned in the NEWS7 coverage area. There were about 200 wildfires throughout Virginia.

Every year, the National Weather Service in Blacksburg releases a "Top 5" list of weather events for our area. In 2008, that High Wind event was listed as number one!

So learn from recent history. Prepare for tonight's gusty winds. We'll stay windy into Thursday as well!

Winter Continues! (or does it?)

At 7:30 this morning, Punxsutawney Phil was removed from his hole in the ground by handlers John Griffiths and Ben Hughes. Phil's forecast: 6 more weeks of winter weather!

Legend has it that if Phil sees his shadow on February 2, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he doesn't, expect an early spring.

Groundhog Day is a tradition in the small Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney. It dates back to the 1880s. Over the years, Phil has seen his shadow 98 times. 15 years he has not. So, is Phil good at his job? In a word: NO. He is only accurate about 39% of the time. Ouch!

This morning, while most of Pennsylvania was still celebrating the Steelers victory in Super Bowl XLIII, the weather was 29-degrees with overcast skies on "Gobbler's Knob" when Phil made his prediction.

So, for another year, Phil will retreat to his climate-controlled home at the Punxsutawney Library eating his favorite diet - dog food and ice cream - only to return next February with his furry forecast.

Highly Trained Weather Boys

Recently, our promotion and art departments got together with the SkyTracker 7 Meteorologists for a photo shoot. You'll probably be seeing a lot of fresh shots of us in the coming weeks - so here's a preview. I may have lost 23 pounds the last year, but that 6 year old suit still looks good!