Battered Houston Donates $20K to Give Weather Guy a Break

GoFundMe page to send Jeff Lindner on vacation smashes its modest $4K goal
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 3, 2017 9:03 AM CDT
Battered Houston Donates $20K to Give Weather Guy a Break
Jeff Lindner   (GoFundMe)

There amid the flooding, the loss, and the devastation of Hurricane Harvey was Houston meteorologist Jeff Lindner, working nonstop to give residents the latest on the storm. And rather than the more typical and cliched complaining about the weather man, a grateful populace decided to chip in to give Lindner a break, reports the Houston Chronicle. "He has provided us with a calm, analytical, and composed presence during an incredibly fluid and complicated situation: never once looking uncertain or overwhelmed while discussing planned releases and changing water levels," reads a GoFundMe page started by Houston resident Blake Ford. The modest goal: $4,000 for the "Let's Buy Jeff Lindner a Vacation" campaign. The staggering reality: Almost $20,000 in two days.

Lindner's response will likely only further endear him to his fans: He thanked Blake for his effort, but says he's donating the money to charity, per the Chronicle. "I've just been doing my job and I really wanted to get out to the residents what I would want to hear if I were sitting on the other end." Lindner, "with his blue button-down shirt, government lanyard around his neck and disheveled, close-cropped hair, has become a no-nonsense hero," as the Wall Street Journal puts it, adding, "Move over, Beyonce, Houston has a new celebrity." Lindner, however, doesn't appear to be taking much of a break from his work: He's actively tweeting weather updates at his account. (More Hurricane Harvey stories.)

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