New Jersey-born Nick Pittman got an early start in the weather business. In elementary school, he volunteered to deliver the morning weather announcements. At age 17, he was hired by an Atlantic City TV station, making him one of the youngest on-air weather forecasters in the U.S. He became known as “Nor’Easter” Nick.
When his TV-station job was shuttered due to corporate consolidation, Pittman founded his own company, NorCast Media Group, which delivers hyper-local weather information about South Jersey and the surrounding areas via digital platforms. His husband runs the marketing and production side of the business, while Pittman is the public face and the main on-air personality.
In his new memoir, Rain Date: Unpredictable Lessons from My Life Forecasting the Weather, Pittman writes about his turbulent childhood, being a gay meteorologist and launching NorCast.
Wander+Lust talked to Pittman about the book, being an out meteorologist and his travels with his husband.
You had a childhood fear of thunderstorms. Is being a weathercaster a form of aversion therapy?
When I do public-speaking events at schools and whatnot, I teach people that when you immerse yourself in a subject and try to fully understand it and educate yourself, it becomes far less scary. When you understand the why behind the what, then you have a place of calm to go to. So my fear, an intense fear, turned into an intense passion. Now I’m the guy on TV telling you, “Don’t go out, stay at home. This is going to be a nasty storm.” Then, as soon as I’m done, I’ll jump in the car and find the worst part of the storm, and plant myself there and just watch it go by.
You don’t see yourself moving to, oh, Los Angeles, where the weather doesn’t change very much?
My god, that would be the most boring job ever. I love Southern California, but it’s too boring weather-wise. Here in New Jersey, it’s constantly in flux. We have microclimates and all kinds of different situations where people need a dedicated human to walk people through what’s happening.
What made you want to write a book about your upbringing and your career?
It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time. I had a rough childhood. I was given away as a toddler and raised by my grandmother, who developed dementia when I was a kid. So I had to grow up really quickly, and I was still able to live out my dreams, get into TV at 17 years old, all while dealing with a lot of mental anguish when I moved back in with my parents. I went through multiple TV station closures, then ultimately broke out on my own and built my own business.
I want to teach other people who may be struggling that you can make it out the other side okay and be successful regardless of the trials and tribulations of your life. It’s a book about building a business, but it’s also a self-help book, motivation for people who may find themselves at a low spot in life.
What was the toughest thing about writing it?
I think I’ve got a touch of ADHD. I’m all over the place. Trying to devote the time to get all my thoughts down and organized, to create a timeline and a story from all the factual stuff that happened, that was the most difficult part. I started the book before I got married, and then I took a long hiatus during COVID. It was my New Year’s resolution in 2024 to get this done. And I did.
Weather is one of the key elements that can make or break a trip. What’s your approach to dealing with weather-related delays and cancellations?
My situation is unique, because I feel like I’m cursed. My husband and I travel 10 to 15 times a year, and every time we travel, there’s something going on. It’s inevitable that you’re going to encounter issues. The best piece of advice I can give anybody is: always know what the forecast is going to be in your destination and along the route. This time of year we start to get a lot of winter storms. You have to plan it out and be prepared for accidents.
When flights are delayed, do you feel like an insider?
We’ve been in circumstances a few times where we’ve been delayed by a thunderstorm, and I’m looking on radar thinking, “Good, we’ll be able to take off in 20 minutes or so.” Then lo and beyond, there we go. One of the most frustrating things is airlines using weather as an excuse because the layperson isn’t going to question that. Just this past April, we were coming home from Italy, and the captain came on to say that we were going to have to go around Newark a few times because of the wind, which delayed us for about an hour. But there was literally no wind, looking at the upper-air profile, looking at the surface speeds.
Do you ever call them on it?
I won’t, but my husband will. He’s the Karen of the relationship, so I’ll type up something for him.
When I think of weathercasters I’ve seen on TV, often they’re the funny one on the team, but they’ll still be wearing a suit. Can a meteorologist be camp and gay? Is there room for sparkle?
Absolutely. You look at any broadcast team and the meteorologist is always going to be the most popular. It’s just the way it is. People connect because it’s really the only thing on the news that immediately impacts their life. But if you don’t have a personality and showcase yourself, viewers are going to lose interest. There’s a fine line, though. You can have fun with typical daily forecasting, but if there’s a tornado or something serious, you have to bring on the serious tone. There’s no room for jokes.
Have there been challenges being an out gay meteorologist?
In my 16 years of doing this, I can honestly count on one hand the issues I’ve had, which is amazing because of where I live. New Jersey is pretty conservative. But the people around here are very accepting, and we’ve never had to have any tough discussions or experienced any hate or anything like that. You get an off-the-wall comment here or there, but I don’t take any of that to heart.
People can politicize anything, but weather’s something you can’t argue with and probably something you don’t argue about. Or not?
You’d be amazed. Chemtrail conspiracies and ideas about weather manipulation are popular these days. Unfortunately, I’ve had to dedicate a lot of time to putting out the actual science and explaining how condensation trails work. I’ve come to realize that it’s a losing battle with some people, and I’ve basically blocked out those terms on my page, so if people post about it, I won’t see it.
What surprised you most about running your own weather-related company?
I guess the need for something like this, and the need for local businesses to get their message out by advertising with us. You think of them as traditionally going to TV and radio, but they came flocking to us, and that was a huge surprise.
What’s it like having a domestic relationship and a business relationship with your husband?
He’s a perfectionist. We have little quarrels every now and then, because we both think we’re both right all the time. But he wants to make sure that everything is done 100 percent. I’m more of a big-picture guy. So we complement each other very well.
How did you meet?
We met on Grindr. It was 11 years ago. I had just started looking to talk to guys. I dated girls all through high school. He was the first guy I ever talked to and went on a date with. Here we are 11 years later.
What initially attracted you to him? His photos? His stats?
I was 21. He was 18. I was into the cute skater-boy look—he had that going on for him. Initially he ignored me, and then I sent more pictures. Once he realized I was the guy from TV, he was more interested.
What was the wedding like?
It was on the beach in Atlantic City. The local mayor at the time, Don Guardian, another gay man, married us. It was a brunch. It was a great day.
When you travel with your husband, what are your roles? Who’s making sure everything is packed?
It is 100 percent him. He takes care of the planning from A to B. The dinner reservations, everything you could possibly think of. I don’t have the attention span for that. I just write the cheques. “Here you go, here’s my credit card.” It’s worked all these years. When we go to Europe, I have no idea what we’re doing until we get off the plane when we get there.
What’s your number one travel destination?
It’s hard to pick one place in Italy, but it would have to be Florence. We’ve been there three times. Everything dates back to the 12, 13, 1400s. You walk on the cobblestone streets, and you see how life is not as serious and face-paced as it is in the United States. Everybody is welcoming and everybody wants to have a conversation. You’re in a valley, but then you go up into the mountains to take a pasta-making class.
Are you the kind of guys who check out the gay nightlife in the places you travel to?
My husband is. I am not. I’m somebody who will stay back at the hotel or the Airbnb while he and our friends go out. I’ve never been into the club scene or anything like that. I’m reserved that way.
Is there a place you’ve visited that you wouldn’t return to?
Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, 110 percent. We’ve been a couple of times. Not by choice but for destination weddings. Both times we got some kind of stomach bug. The food was absolutely horrible and nobody warned us, especially the first time.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
