So How Peeved Would You Be?

[Nyquist]

So this past weekend we had a strengthening storm system pass through the state. I'm working on Saturday and Sunday and write several discussions online and go on-air to say that we could see a few hours of blizzard-like conditions Monday night with really fast winds--we had some gusts up to 47 kts and sustained winds of 25 kts.

Where we goofed was on the temperatures. We got a rogue shot of warm air that caused much of the new and very fine snow to crust over, so we didn't truly get a blizzard (visibility needs to be at or below 0.25 miles for three hours). Roads did ice over in a hurry though once the temperature dropped below 30F which we called.

One other thing is I guess we weren't completely clear to some people on the timing of the winds because many things were cancelled a bit earlier than they needed to be. Of course, they could have been watching someone else too.

So my question is would you guys have been really PO'ed if a weather guy went on-air and cautioned about this despite the fact that it was relatively slow to arrive and the other conditions stated? Just curious.

 

[highe]

it happens, don't worry.

we get three different forecast a lot
in fort wayne.

 

[Gary Allan]

The only time that I've been annoyed is when some substantial storm was predicted ..causing the senseless knee jerk reaction of fueling and grocery buying for a (MAX) 1 to 2 day event (that no one will be driving in anyway if it is indeed that severe - nor would it breach the normal grocery shopping day - yet shop they do) .....and have it 100% NOT show up.

You could start an underground "over and under" betting pool ..and (knock-knock- opportunity calling) influence the "line" for a piece of the action.

 

[Johnny]

All you can do is forecast the weather, God controls it. Our weather man said last night our wind chills this morning would be -30F and it is actually -16F. Does not change the fact that I'm getting ready to go outside and clear the 5" of blown snow we got last night and freeze my butt off.

 

[Pablo]

You haven't seen wrong forecasts until you live here. 180° off is pretty darn close for this group of TV weather wankers. If I have this lot as a frame of reference, they usually do one of two things with the wiff on 3 strikes:

a) never mention just how wrong they were
b) say they came pretty close by mentioning some similar call earlier

I prefer the never used option c) explain why you actually missed, list 3 or 4 factors that had the weather do what it did. People will understand.

Don't worry though, they will talk bad about the weatherman at work. Can't change that!

 

[John_K]

I only get peeved if they're totally off, like the time I left something outside because the local weathermen said the night before it wouldn't rain until after noon, and my wife wakes me at 4 am to tell me it's starting to rain. As long as the general idea is right I dont' get mad if storms, etc. aren't exactly as predicted.

John

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

Hey stuff happens... I prefer Pablo's option C though..

 

[eljefino]

It helps a lot if you get a NWS blizzard warning to back you up.

 

[Nyquist]

Forgot to mention that there was a blizzard warning out along with wind chill advisories (wind chills lower than -20F).

It was a tough situation. The reason I posted is because I got some really nasty e-mails after that event, and was just curious what casual observers would think as well.

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[Schmoe]

I think most intelligent people know that forecasting weather is not yet an exact science. But when you warn them "something" bad is going to happen, they know "something" is coming and to plan accordingly. I wouldn't sweat it one bit. It's like forecasting tornadoes here in Oklahoma. You can be in a watch or warning area, but to accurately know if a tornadoe is coming, look out the window but you are aware that "something" will probably happen.

 

[WishIhadatruck]

My wife gets upset about this type of thing (events/school cancelled for no reason) but I don't worry about it. Weather cannot be 100% predictable. Do the best you can and don't worry about it. Of course living on the east side of Lake Michigan creates a nice challenge for our weather forcasters so inaccurate forcasts are probably a little more common here.

 

[Nyquist]

Originally Posted By: WishIhadatruck
My wife gets upset about this type of thing (events/school cancelled for no reason) but I don't worry about it. Weather cannot be 100% predictable. Do the best you can and don't worry about it. Of course living on the east side of Lake Michigan creates a nice challenge for our weather forcasters so inaccurate forcasts are probably a little more common here.


I know some of those guys over there. They seem like a good bunch.

 

[Cutehumor]

I wouldn't be peeved. I always say "weather guys can't predict the future"

 

[Steve S]

I still would like to know if N. Calif will have normal rainfall this season?

 

[kkreit01]

You're in IA, why are you posting wind speeds in Nautical Miles per hour?

My parents and sister are in (NW) IA. They stated it went from 30 to -5 within a few hours.

 

[Samilcar]

I think the only people who would write nasty e-mails about such a thing would be professional cranks. If they're people who have lived in Iowa for any length of time during the winter, they should realize that snowfall predictions are notoriously difficult.

 

[Tempest]

The GW folks should get together with the weather folks since their computer models "accurately" predict weather conditions years in advance...

 

[Cutehumor]

three days ago, weather.com said it was going to snow on thursday 1/15. now they are saying it will be sunny. I'm happy

 

[GMGuy]

Quote:
So my question is would you guys have been really PO'ed if a weather guy went on-air and cautioned about this despite the fact that it was relatively slow to arrive and the other conditions stated? Just curious.


If you got the weather map behind you and can provide a logical forcast based on conditions, no. If your a media sensationalist playing up a potential storm, I ignore you anyway. =-)

 

[eljefino]

So I switch master control at a ~#80 market non-big-4-affiliated station and a lot of TV's gone through my eyeballs.

Ran into my station's weatherman in Home depot once and absent mindedly said "hi, Pete" while wondering at the same time if strangers say hi to him 300 times a day, or if he'd recognize a faceless engineering dept employee.

I would come up with a graphic of what a blizzard is defined as and how close you came. Pander to the kooks and whiners; the weatherman is usually the "good cop" and you might get the real eccentrics to claim, in ratings books, to watch that nice young man/woman morning noon and night without fail!!!

Besides, it's going to be the oddballs who still get their weather from TV news anyway. Some weathermen go to elementary schools... that's fun... if I were you I'd go to the nursing homes... and make sure everyone has their DTV boxes up and working.