Just asking, wouldn't want facts to get in the way of a great scam.

I confess I became a weather geek when my Dad brought me old weather maps based on weather balloons and radiosonde readings in the early 60s from our local airport. We used to find crashed weather balloons all the time, because that's how the National Weather Service gathered all their weather data and developed forecasts. Accurate satellite weather data has only really been available since the 1990s- 30 years.

Your dad sounds like a cool dude!

Yes he was awesome, I should write a book about him (not just for how he raised us but what he did for decades to make the world a better place).