Bogus Weather Hype

[Jay Honeck]

Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off the
deep end?

Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings" in the Midwest
that have turned out to produce a few inches of snow. As one station
(primarily the Weather Channel) starts to hype the coming "huge storm" all
the local stations feel compelled to jump on the bandwagon. They, in turn,
start running live segments of "Doppler Radar" and serious talking heads
showing all of us that it is -- *gasp!* -- actually SNOWING outside!

Imagine! In Iowa! In January!

Then, the inevitable school closings follow, as the head of the school board
is showed wringing his hands on live TV, pining for the "safety of the
kids." This is followed by dire warnings not to travel unless "absolutely
necessary"...

Meanwhile, the storm peters out after a few inches of snow, the kids play
outside all day, the malls are packed, and the adults laugh it off as just
another screwed up weather forecast.

Sorry, but this situation seems to have NOTHING to do with meteorology. I
took weather classes in college, and have been a keen observer of it all my
life. I was able to take one look at the radar and satellite pictures, and
knew immediately that they were blowing sunshine up our butts yet again.

I think it's all about ratings, and the public is being misled on a grand
scale, at an annual cost of hundreds of millions of dollars in lost
productivity. Worst of all, NO ONE is taking their warnings seriously
anymore (except the schools, who love the paid time off), so when we really
DO get hit with a blizzard, no one will be prepared.

When I was a kid in Wisconsin, if they had closed school every time we got 3
inches of snow, we'd have had the whole winter off!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Colin W Kingsbury]

Slow News Week. The tsunami story is getting old (and expensive to cover),
the Iraqi elections are still three weeks away, and things are pretty quiet
in Washington.

To be fair, traffic is worse and people's commutes are longer than they used
to be. OK, I think the TV weathermen are nuts too, but are you just
beginning to notice this?

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:CgZCd.620242$wV.514014@attbi_s54...
> Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off the
> deep end?
>

[Dave Stadt]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:CgZCd.620242$wV.514014@attbi_s54...
> Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off the
> deep end?
>
> Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings" in the Midwest
> that have turned out to produce a few inches of snow. As one station
> (primarily the Weather Channel) starts to hype the coming "huge storm" all
> the local stations feel compelled to jump on the bandwagon. They, in
turn,
> start running live segments of "Doppler Radar" and serious talking heads
> showing all of us that it is -- *gasp!* -- actually SNOWING outside!
>
> Imagine! In Iowa! In January!
>
> Then, the inevitable school closings follow, as the head of the school
board
> is showed wringing his hands on live TV, pining for the "safety of the
> kids." This is followed by dire warnings not to travel unless "absolutely
> necessary"...
>
> Meanwhile, the storm peters out after a few inches of snow, the kids play
> outside all day, the malls are packed, and the adults laugh it off as just
> another screwed up weather forecast.
>
> Sorry, but this situation seems to have NOTHING to do with meteorology.
I
> took weather classes in college, and have been a keen observer of it all
my
> life. I was able to take one look at the radar and satellite pictures,
and
> knew immediately that they were blowing sunshine up our butts yet again.
>
> I think it's all about ratings, and the public is being misled on a grand
> scale, at an annual cost of hundreds of millions of dollars in lost
> productivity. Worst of all, NO ONE is taking their warnings seriously
> anymore (except the schools, who love the paid time off), so when we
really
> DO get hit with a blizzard, no one will be prepared.
>
> When I was a kid in Wisconsin, if they had closed school every time we got
3
> inches of snow, we'd have had the whole winter off!
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"


Don't forget the "deadly" wind chill that will freeze exposed flesh in 30
seconds. It's pure BS as are the "winter storm warnings" which get
broadcast if it looks like a half inch of snow might fall. Our one foot if
snow today has amounted to 3 inches. Maybe they use a different ruler.

I wonder how our ancestors survived all these deadly weather attacks without
the benefit of modern media warnings.

[Richard Russell]

On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 21:48:18 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
> wrote:

>Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off the
>deep end?
>
>Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings" in the Midwest
>that have turned out to produce a few inches of snow. As one station
>(primarily the Weather Channel) starts to hype the coming "huge storm" all
>the local stations feel compelled to jump on the bandwagon. They, in turn,
>start running live segments of "Doppler Radar" and serious talking heads
>showing all of us that it is -- *gasp!* -- actually SNOWING outside!
>
>Imagine! In Iowa! In January!
>
>Then, the inevitable school closings follow, as the head of the school board
>is showed wringing his hands on live TV, pining for the "safety of the
>kids." This is followed by dire warnings not to travel unless "absolutely
>necessary"...
>
>Meanwhile, the storm peters out after a few inches of snow, the kids play
>outside all day, the malls are packed, and the adults laugh it off as just
>another screwed up weather forecast.
>
>Sorry, but this situation seems to have NOTHING to do with meteorology. I
>took weather classes in college, and have been a keen observer of it all my
>life. I was able to take one look at the radar and satellite pictures, and
>knew immediately that they were blowing sunshine up our butts yet again.
>
>I think it's all about ratings, and the public is being misled on a grand
>scale, at an annual cost of hundreds of millions of dollars in lost
>productivity. Worst of all, NO ONE is taking their warnings seriously
>anymore (except the schools, who love the paid time off), so when we really
>DO get hit with a blizzard, no one will be prepared.
>
>When I was a kid in Wisconsin, if they had closed school every time we got 3
>inches of snow, we'd have had the whole winter off!

You've addressed one of my pet peeves. The weather
reporting/forcasting in the Philadelphia area (and everywhere else,
probably) is enough to make you sick. Hey, maybe that's what happened
to you!

At the risk of sounding even older than I am, I don't remember getting
very many days off from school in New England when I was a kid. And
we got a lot of snow. We walked to school, uphill both ways.

When we get a "big" storm now, they have all day coverage. You can
actually sit there all day, if you want to, and watch the storm on TV.
It's not only the weather either. I can no longer stomach the local
news shows at all.
Rich Russell

[Jose]

> Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings" in the Midwest
> [...]
> showing all of us that it is -- *gasp!* -- actually SNOWING outside!

Of course it's about ratings. But it's also about liability. I
remember reading about some people who went out boating on a lake in
upstate NY on a gorgeous day after seeing weather forcasts that were
equally glowing, and a freak storm came up and they drowned. The
weather station lost the lawsuit. (no, I don't have a cite, maybe
somebody else remembers)

If the forecasters go overboard with "Oh my god it's raining STAY
INSIDE!", then a lot of money can be made by putting out calming and
supportive weather information. Those stations will be more accurate
more of the time, their reliability will become known, they will make
more money, and then one day they will make a mistake.

Every agency that relied on their sunny forecast and is now stuck with
a foot of snow, six dead children, and schoolbusses stuck sideways
across the guardrails will forget all the time, money, and lives saved
by =not= overreacting in the past, and will eat their lunch.

Think "VFR not reccomended" is any different?

Jose
--
Money: What you need when you run out of brains.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Casey Wilson]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:CgZCd.620242$wV.514014@attbi_s54...
> Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off the
> deep end?
>
> Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings" in the Midwest
> that have turned out to produce a few inches of snow. As one station
> (primarily the Weather Channel) starts to hype the coming "huge storm" all
> the local stations feel compelled to jump on the bandwagon. They, in
> turn, start running live segments of "Doppler Radar" and serious talking
> heads showing all of us that it is -- *gasp!* -- actually SNOWING outside!

Har! Har!

Jay, (gasping for breath between chortles of hysterical laughter.....)
you should see what happens up here in the north end of California's share
of the Mojave Desert when it snows. Honest, it does that every three or four
years. Back in '83... why, we had ten inches!
Two years ago, about four inches fell, and stuck, just before sunrise.
Would you believe about one out of six or seven cars rattled down the street
with chains! Some of those didn't think about what that extra eight inches
or so of chain was going to do to the fenders, if they didn't tie it down.
Yep, school was dismissed. The city declared a skeleton workday. Half
the Navy employees failed to show up for work. A few days later, a citizen
wrote a letter-to-the-editor condemning the Highway Patrol for not
establishing emergency escorts on the highways.

[Jim Burns]

Rant=overboard

It's absolutely become a joke, and it has what should be the smarter public
officials acting like Chicken Little. We've had a total of about 12 inches
of snow this year in central Wisconsin. 8 inches of that came in one night.
It's actually all melted now and everything is ice covered. The snowmobile
trails are closed because there isn't any snow, but I bet we've had over 20
winter storm warnings and watches. We had one yesterday, it didn't even
snow last night or today. I'm sure we'll have a few issued tonight. My
television screen has burning across the bottom from the Winter Storm
Warning ticker.

No school here this past Monday. Too much ice. Funny how our 55 employees
all made it to work. Funny how they made it to work alive, heck nobody even
ran in the ditch! Funny how the 10 semi's we loaded all delivered their
loads all around the state and then miraculously made here to pick up our
loads. Funny how every other business around was able to operate, but the
business of educating our kids has to stop every time the sun doesn't shine.
When I was little and lived in town, they would still have school for the
kids that could walk to school, even if they couldn't pick up the kids on
the bus route. Nowadays the "norm" is school is cancelled and you listen to
the radio to find out the days that you actually HAVE school! If it does
start snowing, more often then not, they will cancel school but keep the
kids there just until after lunch because then they can count it as a full
school day.

And it isn't just in the winter, the weathermen do the same thing in the
summer. If we would get 1/10th of the rain, hail, thunderstorms, high
winds, and tornados that they predict, this state wouldn't be fit to live
in.

Just off of MSNBC in a desperate million word per minute fashion...."So in
addition to the rain and the snow and the freezing temperatures that will be
blasting the midwest and moving up into New England, we will get all the
effects of those conditions as well, with over 10 to 12 inches of snow
expected for much of the area....." No ****?? Really? Now that's a
newsflash... never before have I had to experience the actual effects of the
rain, snow, freezing temperatures and bitter windchills... somehow it was
all surreal.... All that stuff must have happened while I was in school.

Oh, and if I hear the term "Wintery Mix" one more time, I think I'm going to
gag.

As far as weathermen being nuts... our local weatherman years ago was
actually arrested two or three times for public nudity.

Jim

[Jay Honeck]

> Would you believe about one out of six or seven cars rattled down the
> street with chains! Some of those didn't think about what that extra eight
> inches or so of chain was going to do to the fenders, if they didn't tie
> it down.

Hee hee!

I remember seeing this on a road trip to the Gulf of Mexico back in the
'80s. The south was getting hit with a rare ice storm, and the locals had
NO idea what to do. (We, of course, kept sailing warily along without
difficulty, as the natives careened gracefully into the ditch...)

We saw one guy with a beautiful Cadillac that had chains on his back wheels
that were installed incorrectly. There were a loose ends about 5 inches
long that were absolutely ripping the **** out of his wheel wells as he
drove, apparently oblivious to what all that racket meant was happening to
his car.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Viperdoc]

We had the same doom and gloom reports of people running to the stores to
hoard bread and batteries, since we have up to three inches of snow forecast
here in eastern Wisconsin!

I don't get it- this is Wisconsin in winter, aren't we supposed to get snow
and not flip out? I think the worst part about any snow accumulation is the
fact that I'll need to shovel in front of the hangar door before it gets
frozen and impossible to remove.

Don't the networks and local news people have anything better for the
current news cycle?


"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:CgZCd.620242$wV.514014@attbi_s54...
> Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off the
> deep end?
>
> Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings" in the Midwest
> that have turned out to produce a few inches of snow. As one station
> (primarily the Weather Channel) starts to hype the coming "huge storm" all
> the local stations feel compelled to jump on the bandwagon. They, in
> turn, start running live segments of "Doppler Radar" and serious talking
> heads showing all of us that it is -- *gasp!* -- actually SNOWING outside!
>
> Imagine! In Iowa! In January!
>
> Then, the inevitable school closings follow, as the head of the school
> board is showed wringing his hands on live TV, pining for the "safety of
> the kids." This is followed by dire warnings not to travel unless
> "absolutely necessary"...
>
> Meanwhile, the storm peters out after a few inches of snow, the kids play
> outside all day, the malls are packed, and the adults laugh it off as just
> another screwed up weather forecast.
>
> Sorry, but this situation seems to have NOTHING to do with meteorology.
> I took weather classes in college, and have been a keen observer of it all
> my life. I was able to take one look at the radar and satellite pictures,
> and knew immediately that they were blowing sunshine up our butts yet
> again.
>
> I think it's all about ratings, and the public is being misled on a grand
> scale, at an annual cost of hundreds of millions of dollars in lost
> productivity. Worst of all, NO ONE is taking their warnings seriously
> anymore (except the schools, who love the paid time off), so when we
> really DO get hit with a blizzard, no one will be prepared.
>
> When I was a kid in Wisconsin, if they had closed school every time we got
> 3 inches of snow, we'd have had the whole winter off!
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

[Bob Gardner]

Do they shut down programming, and have a talking head taking calls from the
local area? "We have Joe from Bothell on the line, and he says that there is
a half-inch of snow out there!" "Chris, from Bellingham, is on the line. How
bad is it up there, Chris?" "It's snowing, but it's not sticking." "Now
let's switch live to our Mimi Linguini who is monitoring the freeway. Any
accidents yet, Mimi?" "No, but slush is beginning to collect on the road
surface." On and on ad infinitum. Urp.

Bob Gardner

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:CgZCd.620242$wV.514014@attbi_s54...
> Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off the
> deep end?
>
> Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings" in the Midwest
> that have turned out to produce a few inches of snow. As one station
> (primarily the Weather Channel) starts to hype the coming "huge storm" all
> the local stations feel compelled to jump on the bandwagon. They, in
> turn, start running live segments of "Doppler Radar" and serious talking
> heads showing all of us that it is -- *gasp!* -- actually SNOWING outside!
>
> Imagine! In Iowa! In January!
>
> Then, the inevitable school closings follow, as the head of the school
> board is showed wringing his hands on live TV, pining for the "safety of
> the kids." This is followed by dire warnings not to travel unless
> "absolutely necessary"...
>
> Meanwhile, the storm peters out after a few inches of snow, the kids play
> outside all day, the malls are packed, and the adults laugh it off as just
> another screwed up weather forecast.
>
> Sorry, but this situation seems to have NOTHING to do with meteorology.
> I took weather classes in college, and have been a keen observer of it all
> my life. I was able to take one look at the radar and satellite pictures,
> and knew immediately that they were blowing sunshine up our butts yet
> again.
>
> I think it's all about ratings, and the public is being misled on a grand
> scale, at an annual cost of hundreds of millions of dollars in lost
> productivity. Worst of all, NO ONE is taking their warnings seriously
> anymore (except the schools, who love the paid time off), so when we
> really DO get hit with a blizzard, no one will be prepared.
>
> When I was a kid in Wisconsin, if they had closed school every time we got
> 3 inches of snow, we'd have had the whole winter off!
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>

[G.R. Patterson III]

Jay Honeck wrote:
>
> Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off the
> deep end?

Yet another reason to be glad I don't watch TV.

George Patterson
The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.

[G.R. Patterson III]

Viperdoc wrote:
>
> We had the same doom and gloom reports of people running to the stores to
> hoard bread and batteries, since we have up to three inches of snow forecast
> here in eastern Wisconsin!

Yeah. Here it's bread, eggs, and milk. I wonder what it is about impending
snowstorms that causes this insane desire to make French Toast?

George Patterson
The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.

[Blueskies]

"Dave Stadt" > wrote in message om...
<snip>

> I wonder how our ancestors survived all these deadly weather attacks without
> the benefit of modern media warnings.
>


They didn't!

[Blueskies]

"Casey Wilson" <N2310D @ gmail.com> wrote in message news:_b_Cd.12923$1U6.6740@trnddc09...
>
> "Jay Honeck" > wrote in message news:CgZCd.620242$wV.514014@attbi_s54...
>> Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off the deep end?
>>
>> Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings" in the Midwest that have turned out to produce a few
>> inches of snow. As one station (primarily the Weather Channel) starts to hype the coming "huge storm" all the local
>> stations feel compelled to jump on the bandwagon. They, in turn, start running live segments of "Doppler Radar" and
>> serious talking heads showing all of us that it is -- *gasp!* -- actually SNOWING outside!
>
> Har! Har!
>
> Jay, (gasping for breath between chortles of hysterical laughter.....) you should see what happens up here in the
> north end of California's share of the Mojave Desert when it snows. Honest, it does that every three or four years.
> Back in '83... why, we had ten inches!
> Two years ago, about four inches fell, and stuck, just before sunrise. Would you believe about one out of six or
> seven cars rattled down the street with chains! Some of those didn't think about what that extra eight inches or so of
> chain was going to do to the fenders, if they didn't tie it down.
> Yep, school was dismissed. The city declared a skeleton workday. Half the Navy employees failed to show up for
> work. A few days later, a citizen wrote a letter-to-the-editor condemning the Highway Patrol for not establishing
> emergency escorts on the highways.
>

We did the So. California to visit grandma and grampa for Christmas last week and were greeted with the severe winter
storm warnings. It must have rained a whole 3-5 inches the entire time we were there. It is a hoot to watch the wx
forecasters with the live 'outside' reporters bundled up for the frosty 50° temps. They were getting so wet their makeup
was running. There were wreaks all over the place, pretty amazing ( I used to love it when it rained; I could fly the
car so to speak).

I concur with the other writers statement about the liability thing. It is also better for the stations to keep you
glued to the screen...

[Peter]

Richard Russell wrote:

> At the risk of sounding even older than I am, I don't remember getting
> very many days off from school in New England when I was a kid. And
> we got a lot of snow. We walked to school, uphill both ways.

I went to elementary school in the midwest (ND) in the late '50s -
early '60s and I don't think the system for school closings was
any better then.

We had a rather predictable alternating-storm ritual. The first
storm would be forecast but no schools would close despite
limited visibility in the morning and rapidly growing drifts.
Finally around noon the storm would be at its peak and the
schools would be declared closed. The town had few school busses
so parents were asked to come pick up their kids, but most fathers
were stuck at work with the only family car. So most of us were
shuttled into the auditorium or gym and watched old movies
while waiting hours for a ride home. Naturally the school
officials were deluged by irate phone calls.

Then there would be a forecast for another possible snowstorm.
Schools closures were announced as soon as a few flakes fell
early in the morning. By 10 am or so the clouds dissipated,
the sun came out, kids had snowball fights on the school
grounds. School officials are again deluged by irate
phone calls.

Repeat until spring.

[[email protected]]

Bob Gardner wrote:
> Do they shut down programming, and have a talking head taking calls
from the
> local area?
>
We had a storm that passed through AZ on Mon and Tue that was
generating that kind of hype. "Weather Alert"s every 15 min.
Granted, it was a good sized weather system that brought some much
needed moisture to the region. But, all of the hype was just a bit
over the top. Last night I watched 15 min. of a half-hour newscast
devoted "Storm Coverage". What it really amounted to was the fact that
it rained a few inches in some locations and snowed a few feet on the
tops of the mountains. I think the effect is brought on by what is
called a "slow news day".

John Galban=====>N4BQ (PA28-180)

[Jim Burns]

ROFL! Yep! And then they have reporters, "out on the scene" with their
faces pointed into the wind acting like they are in a real blizzard sticking
rulers into the snowbanks that the plows have created multiplying the actual
snowfall by an astronomical number. Every time I see one do that I think to
myself that I'm glad I'm not married to that idiot or their idiot producer.
I wouldn't want to be seen in public after acting that stupid for millions
of viewers.

CNN actually had a story about how one of the northern midwest states, North
Dakota or Minnesota I think, was going to use a radar type device to
"officially" measure snowfall. Sheesh! Does it really matter?! Last I
heard, the snow usually melts in the spring anyway.

Jim



"Bob Gardner" > wrote in message
...
> Do they shut down programming, and have a talking head taking calls from
the
> local area? "We have Joe from Bothell on the line, and he says that there
is
> a half-inch of snow out there!" "Chris, from Bellingham, is on the line.
How
> bad is it up there, Chris?" "It's snowing, but it's not sticking." "Now
> let's switch live to our Mimi Linguini who is monitoring the freeway. Any
> accidents yet, Mimi?" "No, but slush is beginning to collect on the road
> surface." On and on ad infinitum. Urp.
>
> Bob Gardner

[Nathan Gilliatt]

In article >,
"Blueskies" > wrote:

> We did the So. California to visit grandma and grampa for Christmas last week
> and were greeted with the severe winter storm warnings. It must have rained
> a whole 3-5 inches the entire time we were there. [...] There were wrecks
> all over the place, pretty amazing

The thing about Southern California is that a foot of rain is all they
get in a year. The roads have a buildup of oil and muck that doesn't
wash off with the first drops, so the roads are slippery until it rains
enough to wash them off. The really scary part is the runoff into the
channelized rivers, which are dry until they flood. Then they run fast
and furious, and you can't just climb out the side if you fall in. Lots
of drama for the fast-water rescue teams.

I thought I saw much higher rainfall totals for SoCal last week, too.
But I did get a chuckle when our local (NC) news picked up the story of
snow in SoCal, near LA--without mentioning what, exactly, I-5 does north
of the LA area...

http://www.thealpacastore.com/grapevinecam/page2.html

[Colin W Kingsbury]

"Casey Wilson" <N2310D @ gmail.com> wrote in message
news:_b_Cd.12923$1U6.6740@trnddc09...
>
> Two years ago, about four inches fell, and stuck, just before
sunrise.
> Would you believe about one out of six or seven cars rattled down the
street
> with chains! Some of those didn't think about what that extra eight inches
> or so of chain was going to do to the fenders, if they didn't tie it down.

Chains!? Where do they get them? I grew up in upstate NY, on a steep dirt
road that often iced over, and I don't think we even owned a set of chains,
let alone put them on cars.

-cwk.

[john smith]

It all depends.
Here in Columbus Ohio, the television stations coverage runs a 60 mile
radius, +/- a few. Thats 120 miles difference in the coverage area.
Two weeks ago, the storm that dropped 10 inches on communities ten miles
west of Interstate 71 coated the communites east of Interstate 71 with
heavy ice. That ice knocked out the power to 300,000 people some for up
to 8 days. The total width of the precipitation band was less than 50
miles. The precipitation tracked southwest to northeast. In the
southwest corner of Ohio, 70 miles away, snowfall ranged from 12 to 20
inches. Again, it was a very narrow band of precipitation.

We have had steady rain for the last three days. The temperature
difference between Columbus and Findlay (40 miles northwest) was 20 degrees.

Ohio has some interesting geographic features which create local weather
effects. Water to the north (Lake Erie), water to the south (Ohio
River), hills to the east, flat land to the north and west. Interstate
70 is commonly a dividing line between dry and precipitation and rain or
snow, or snow and ice.

Do the air heads hype it? Of course. But then again, they are playing to
a broad audience.

[Gene Seibel]

TV is called an idiot box for a reason. Toss it out the window.
--
Gene Seibel
Gene & Sue's Aeroplanes - http://pad39a.com/gene/planes.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.

[Icebound]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:CgZCd.620242$wV.514014@attbi_s54...
> Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off the
> deep end?
>
> Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings"

Well, this particular storm may have affected Iowa a little less than they
expected, but it is not *ALL* hype.

St. Louis had almost 2.5 inches of rain in the last 24 hours.
Temperatures in the low thirties all day... just on the lucky side of the
rain-snow boundary, or it would have been two feet of snow. Or freezing
rain.

Indianapolis 1-3/4, equivalent to 8-10 inches snow.

I haven't studied the storm in detail, but 2.5 inches of water in one place
is a *significant* system. And you have the added factor of a rain-snow
boundary and freezing rain possibilities.

Kansas City had freezing rain for more than 12 hours... I don't know how
much or how steady....

Now I agree that it was pretty difficult to see the main storm effects
moving north into Iowa, based on the system setup and the expected direction
of movement of the pressure system... but you *were* on the edge of it, and
a little error in the forecast path might have turned out different.

This is a *significant*, though certainly not an exceptional, storm, and
some concern was warranted. Still is, for the people to the northeast of it
.... LIKE US!!...

I don't see your TV coverage, and I am sure they did overhype it, but don't
let that distract you when the next one comes along.

[C J Campbell]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:CgZCd.620242$wV.514014@attbi_s54...
> Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off the
> deep end?
>
> Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings" in the Midwest
> that have turned out to produce a few inches of snow.

Heck, Jay, out here in Puget Sound we get "severe weather warnings" if they
just think it *might* snow.

[Dave Stadt]

"Icebound" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
> news:CgZCd.620242$wV.514014@attbi_s54...
> > Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off the
> > deep end?
> >
> > Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings"
>
> Well, this particular storm may have affected Iowa a little less than they
> expected, but it is not *ALL* hype.
>
> St. Louis had almost 2.5 inches of rain in the last 24 hours.
> Temperatures in the low thirties all day... just on the lucky side of the
> rain-snow boundary, or it would have been two feet of snow. Or freezing
> rain.
>
> Indianapolis 1-3/4, equivalent to 8-10 inches snow.
>
> I haven't studied the storm in detail, but 2.5 inches of water in one
place
> is a *significant* system. And you have the added factor of a rain-snow
> boundary and freezing rain possibilities.
>
> Kansas City had freezing rain for more than 12 hours... I don't know how
> much or how steady....
>
> Now I agree that it was pretty difficult to see the main storm effects
> moving north into Iowa, based on the system setup and the expected
direction
> of movement of the pressure system... but you *were* on the edge of it,
and
> a little error in the forecast path might have turned out different.
>
> This is a *significant*, though certainly not an exceptional, storm, and
> some concern was warranted. Still is, for the people to the northeast of
it
> ... LIKE US!!...
>
> I don't see your TV coverage, and I am sure they did overhype it, but
don't
> let that distract you when the next one comes along.


It's winter in the Midwest. Snow and ice are the norm and sometimes it's
rain, that's why it is called winter. Several inches or even a foot of snow
hardly qualifies as a "storm."

[Matt Barrow]

"Dave Stadt" > wrote in message
om...
> I wonder how our ancestors survived all these deadly weather attacks
without
> the benefit of modern media warnings.
Right there you hit it pretty much on the head.

If all they said is "Kinda crappy weather...no big deal" they could not sell
subscriptions and their subsequent advertising revenue would plummet.
Hysterics sells!!

Matt
---------------------
Matthew W. Barrow
Site-Fill Homes, LLC.
Montrose, CO

[Matt Barrow]

"Blueskies" > wrote in message
om...
>
> "Dave Stadt" > wrote in message
om...
> <snip>
>
> > I wonder how our ancestors survived all these deadly weather attacks
without
> > the benefit of modern media warnings.
> >
>
>
> They didn't!

So how did YOU get here?

[Matt Barrow]

"C J Campbell" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
> news:CgZCd.620242$wV.514014@attbi_s54...
> > Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off the
> > deep end?
> >
> > Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings" in the
Midwest
> > that have turned out to produce a few inches of snow.
>
> Heck, Jay, out here in Puget Sound we get "severe weather warnings" if
they
> just think it *might* snow.
>

Around here, if there isn't a major snow warning coming, the skiers get
grumpy.


Matt
---------------------
Matthew W. Barrow
Site-Fill Homes, LLC.
Montrose, CO

[Neil Gould]

Recently, Jay Honeck > posted:

> Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off
> the deep end?
>
So much so that I've taken to calling weather reporters "weather
terrorists". If we took them at their word, we'd never risk straying
outside again.

Neil

[Jay Honeck]

> Do they shut down programming, and have a talking head taking calls from
> the local area? "We have Joe from Bothell on the line, and he says that
> there is a half-inch of snow out there!"

Last night one of our local TV stations began "live coverage" from "Winter
Blast 2005", with reporters standing miserably on street corners with
rulers, measuring the snow depth!

I almost died laughing. What a bunch of maroons!

Storm's over now. We got 9 inches of light, fluffy snow, which took almost
24 hours to fall. If the stupid snow plow crews hadn't been listening to
all the hype about "Winter Blast 2005", they could have easily kept up with
the gentle (if persistent) nature of this snowfall.

But, of course, they "pulled the crews off the roads" overnight (in
anticipation of things getting much worse), and now have to clean it all up
in one fell swoop.

Idiots.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Jim Burns]

5 inches here on top of our layer of ice and it's still snowing. The snow
makes it more slippery than before. No plows on the roads YET! A 78 year
old guy was found dead due to a collapse of bridged up salt in a salt
warehouse yesterday. County officials made a huge deal about how they
didn't give him permission to be in the building.

Weird weather brings out weird people with weird ideas.
Jim

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:X0dDd.27396$3m6.20651@attbi_s51...
> > Do they shut down programming, and have a talking head taking calls from
> > the local area? "We have Joe from Bothell on the line, and he says that
> > there is a half-inch of snow out there!"
>
> Last night one of our local TV stations began "live coverage" from "Winter
> Blast 2005", with reporters standing miserably on street corners with
> rulers, measuring the snow depth!
>
> I almost died laughing. What a bunch of maroons!
>
> Storm's over now. We got 9 inches of light, fluffy snow, which took
almost
> 24 hours to fall. If the stupid snow plow crews hadn't been listening to
> all the hype about "Winter Blast 2005", they could have easily kept up
with
> the gentle (if persistent) nature of this snowfall.
>
> But, of course, they "pulled the crews off the roads" overnight (in
> anticipation of things getting much worse), and now have to clean it all
up
> in one fell swoop.
>
> Idiots.
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>
>

[Jay Masino]

Jay Honeck > wrote:
> Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off the
> deep end?

I think, probably, that the weather and news people really don't have any
other choice but to over-hype. If they down played the forecast, and it
ended up being worse, they'd be burned at the stake.

--- Jay


--
__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.oceancityairport.com
http://www.oc-adolfos.com

[Icebound]

"Dave Stadt" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> "Icebound" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
>> news:CgZCd.620242$wV.514014@attbi_s54...
>> > Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off
>> > the
>> > deep end?
>> >
>> > Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings"
>>
>> Well, this particular storm may have affected Iowa a little less than
>> they
>> expected, but it is not *ALL* hype.
>>
....snip...
>> This is a *significant*, though certainly not an exceptional, storm, and
>> some concern was warranted. Still is, for the people to the northeast of
> it
>> ... LIKE US!!...
>>
>
>
> It's winter in the Midwest. Snow and ice are the norm and sometimes it's
> rain, that's why it is called winter. Several inches or even a foot of
> snow
> hardly qualifies as a "storm."
>
>

Maybe not..., but it depends on your perspective... Give it any name you
want, but nine inches at O'hare does appear to quality as "significant".
Even if you can call it the "norm", it still qualifies as worthy of warning
of widespread disruption:

http://cbsnewyork.com/topstories/topstories_story_006103936.html

[Icebound]

"Blueskies" > wrote in message
om...
>
> "Dave Stadt" > wrote in message
> om...
> <snip>
>
>> I wonder how our ancestors survived all these deadly weather attacks
>> without
>> the benefit of modern media warnings.
>>
>
>
> They didn't!


Sure they did....

When it was winter, they *dressed* for winter... all of the time.... and not
in fancy topcoats, low shoes and thin gloves, with no hat.

They travelled by a means and at a speed that were suitable to the
conditions.

And they knew enough that there was nothing so urgent that it could not wait
for a day or two and be done later... so they stayed put until the weather
improved.

[SFM]

I agree although we got 11" of snow from the storm. Still I think the most
fun was that the Chicago news crews went out on the expressways to show that
they were all moving normally and ended up causing a huge gapers block that
doubled travel time. The news people are now covering a story about how news
crews affect traffic, Geesh!

In the Chicago area we get an average of almost a foot of snow in January.
Well we hit our average in a 24 hour period, worth mentioning but hardly a
major news event, after all it snows every January in Chicago since the
Silurian epoch!

But we have 24 hour news and weather so they have to talk about something,
lord knows they could not actually cover something in depth so just make
hype out 1 or 2 things.

Scott

--
------------------------------------------------------------------
Scott F. Migaldi, K9PO
MI-150972
PP-ASEL-IA

Are you a PADI Instructor or DM? Then join the PADI
Instructor Yahoo Group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PADI-Instructors/join
-----------------------------------
Catch the wave!
www.hamwave.com


"I can accept that Bush won the election. What I have a hard time
swallowing is that I live in a country where more than half the
population is willfully ignorant, politically obstinate, religiously
prejudiced, and embarrassingly gullible."

-------------------------------------
"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:CgZCd.620242$wV.514014@attbi_s54...
> Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off the
> deep end?
>
> Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings" in the Midwest
> that have turned out to produce a few inches of snow. As one station
> (primarily the Weather Channel) starts to hype the coming "huge storm" all
> the local stations feel compelled to jump on the bandwagon. They, in
turn,
> start running live segments of "Doppler Radar" and serious talking heads
> showing all of us that it is -- *gasp!* -- actually SNOWING outside!
>
> Imagine! In Iowa! In January!
>
> Then, the inevitable school closings follow, as the head of the school
board
> is showed wringing his hands on live TV, pining for the "safety of the
> kids." This is followed by dire warnings not to travel unless "absolutely
> necessary"...
>
> Meanwhile, the storm peters out after a few inches of snow, the kids play
> outside all day, the malls are packed, and the adults laugh it off as just
> another screwed up weather forecast.
>
> Sorry, but this situation seems to have NOTHING to do with meteorology.
I
> took weather classes in college, and have been a keen observer of it all
my
> life. I was able to take one look at the radar and satellite pictures,
and
> knew immediately that they were blowing sunshine up our butts yet again.
>
> I think it's all about ratings, and the public is being misled on a grand
> scale, at an annual cost of hundreds of millions of dollars in lost
> productivity. Worst of all, NO ONE is taking their warnings seriously
> anymore (except the schools, who love the paid time off), so when we
really
> DO get hit with a blizzard, no one will be prepared.
>
> When I was a kid in Wisconsin, if they had closed school every time we got
3
> inches of snow, we'd have had the whole winter off!
> --
> Jay Honeck
> Iowa City, IA
> Pathfinder N56993
> www.AlexisParkInn.com
> "Your Aviation Destination"
>
>

[Blueskies]

"Matt Barrow" > wrote in message ...
>
> "Blueskies" > wrote in message
> om...
>>
>> "Dave Stadt" > wrote in message
> om...
>> <snip>
>>
>> > I wonder how our ancestors survived all these deadly weather attacks
> without
>> > the benefit of modern media warnings.
>> >
>>
>>
>> They didn't!
>
> So how did YOU get here?
>
>

I'm here...Where?


;-)

[Blueskies]

"Nathan Gilliatt" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Blueskies" > wrote:
>
>> We did the So. California to visit grandma and grampa for Christmas last week
>> and were greeted with the severe winter storm warnings. It must have rained
>> a whole 3-5 inches the entire time we were there. [...] There were wrecks
>> all over the place, pretty amazing
>
> The thing about Southern California is that a foot of rain is all they
> get in a year. The roads have a buildup of oil and muck that doesn't
> wash off with the first drops, so the roads are slippery until it rains
> enough to wash them off. The really scary part is the runoff into the
> channelized rivers, which are dry until they flood. Then they run fast
> and furious, and you can't just climb out the side if you fall in. Lots
> of drama for the fast-water rescue teams.
>
> I thought I saw much higher rainfall totals for SoCal last week, too.
> But I did get a chuckle when our local (NC) news picked up the story of
> snow in SoCal, near LA--without mentioning what, exactly, I-5 does north
> of the LA area...
>
> http://www.thealpacastore.com/grapevinecam/page2.html

The funny thing is they already had the rain earlier to wash the roads off. The flood control is much better now than it
was back in hte early 70's - there was very little 'flooding' under the overpasses.

I know what you mean about the Grapevine - sort of a sleeping giant. I remember trying to get an old '59 microbus up
that grade, down to second gear with big rigs passing us...

[Blueskies]

"Colin W Kingsbury" > wrote in message
nk.net...
>
> "Casey Wilson" <N2310D @ gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:_b_Cd.12923$1U6.6740@trnddc09...
>>
>> Two years ago, about four inches fell, and stuck, just before
> sunrise.
>> Would you believe about one out of six or seven cars rattled down the
> street
>> with chains! Some of those didn't think about what that extra eight inches
>> or so of chain was going to do to the fenders, if they didn't tie it down.
>
> Chains!? Where do they get them? I grew up in upstate NY, on a steep dirt
> road that often iced over, and I don't think we even owned a set of chains,
> let alone put them on cars.
>
> -cwk.
>
>

We never use them here (Kalamazoo, MI) either, but the California CHP will not let you through some of the mountain
passes in 'severe weather' without them on...

[Casey Wilson]

"Blueskies" > wrote in message
. com...


> We never use them here (Kalamazoo, MI) either, but the California CHP will
> not let you through some of the mountain passes in 'severe weather'
> without them on...
My stunt when the snow is light and dry is to put the chains on at the
required point, drive until I'm out of sight and have safe room, then take
the things off. Sometimes, infrequently, they are helpful.

[Matt Barrow]

"SFM" > wrote in message
...

> Are you a PADI Instructor or DM? Then join the PADI
> Instructor Yahoo Group at
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PADI-Instructors/join
> -----------------------------------
> Catch the wave!
> www.hamwave.com
>
>
> "I can accept that Bush won the election. What I have a hard time
> swallowing is that I live in a country where more than half the
> population is willfully ignorant, politically obstinate, religiously
> prejudiced, and embarrassingly gullible."

I love how Democrats love democracy...but only when they win.

[[email protected]]

Jay Honeck wrote:

> Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off
the
> deep end?

Yes. For this reason I now use only the web for meaningful forecast
information. For excellent analysis of the synoptic situation and an
unhyped forecast, check out

http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/textversion/states.html

Click on the state, then "forecast discussion", then scroll down to the
area of interest (there are separate forecasts for each "zone" within a
state). This comes from NOAA meteorologists whose forecast drives what
the TV weather-person is going to say anyway.

www.wunderground.com

Type in the 3-character airport identifier or city,state and get the
current forecast. No fuss, no hype. Also has local and regional radar
that can be put into motion. With all this, I don't even bother with
the TV forecast any more.

Forecasts from the numerical models is available at

http://weather.unisys.com

The "eta" and "avn" models are the primary resources for 2-3 day
forecasts, and "mrf" model for longer forecasts (up to 9 days). The
output from these models forms the basis of much of the discussion in
the "iwin" site mentioned above.

Jim Rosinski

[G.R. Patterson III]

Colin W Kingsbury wrote:
>
> Chains!? Where do they get them? I grew up in upstate NY, on a steep dirt
> road that often iced over, and I don't think we even owned a set of chains,
> let alone put them on cars.

I've been told that they're illegal in New Jersey - that may also be the case in
New York. I have at least two sets I acquired in Georgia and Tennessee. I
stumble across them in the garage every so often.

George Patterson
The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.

[G.R. Patterson III]

wrote:
>
> This comes from NOAA meteorologists whose forecast drives what
> the TV weather-person is going to say anyway.

Well, that explains a lot of what goes on around here. Forecasts for New Jersey
are not available. I suppose they just assume that we'll get whatever New York
or Pennsylvania gets.

George Patterson
The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.

[Morgans]

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Colin W Kingsbury wrote:
> >
> > Chains!? Where do they get them? I grew up in upstate NY, on a steep
dirt
> > road that often iced over, and I don't think we even owned a set of
chains,
> > let alone put them on cars.
>
> I've been told that they're illegal in New Jersey - that may also be the
case in
> New York. I have at least two sets I acquired in Georgia and Tennessee. I
> stumble across them in the garage every so often.
>
> George Patterson
> The desire for safety stands against every great and noble
enterprise.

With some combinations of wet snow over ice, like we get more often than not
in NC, with a 2 wheel drive truck or van (light in the back) you will not go
anywhere without chains. I carry mine all winter long. (full sized Chevy
work van)

I drove for many years in Ohio snow with little problems in the snow, but I
have discovered that "all snow is not created equal". It is really wicked,
most of the time, around here. Some of the problem also lies in the fact
that since we get less snow, it is not economical to have mega tons of salt
on hand, and not a plethora of snow plow trucks in the sheds.
--
Jim in NC

[vincent p. norris]

>Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings" in the Midwest
>that have turned out to produce a few inches of snow.

The storm may have taken pity on Iowa City, Jay, but a few states east
of there, we've had trees down, floods, thousands of homes in this
area without power and most probably will not get it restored for
another day or so.

One family not far from here lost about 20 feet of driveway because it
slid down the hill, like the slides they have along the California
coast.

Didn't I hear that a large number of passsengers were milling around
in the ORD terminal because their flights had been grounded?

vince norris

[Dave Stadt]

"Icebound" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Dave Stadt" > wrote in message
> . ..
> >
> > "Icebound" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >>
> >> "Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
> >> news:CgZCd.620242$wV.514014@attbi_s54...
> >> > Is it just me, or does it seem like weather forecasting has gone off
> >> > the
> >> > deep end?
> >> >
> >> > Once again, we've been deluged with "Winter Storm Warnings"
> >>
> >> Well, this particular storm may have affected Iowa a little less than
> >> they
> >> expected, but it is not *ALL* hype.
> >>
> ...snip...
> >> This is a *significant*, though certainly not an exceptional, storm,
and
> >> some concern was warranted. Still is, for the people to the northeast
of
> > it
> >> ... LIKE US!!...
> >>
> >
> >
> > It's winter in the Midwest. Snow and ice are the norm and sometimes
it's
> > rain, that's why it is called winter. Several inches or even a foot of
> > snow
> > hardly qualifies as a "storm."
> >
> >
>
> Maybe not..., but it depends on your perspective... Give it any name you
> want, but nine inches at O'hare does appear to quality as "significant".
> Even if you can call it the "norm", it still qualifies as worthy of
warning
> of widespread disruption:
>
> http://cbsnewyork.com/topstories/topstories_story_006103936.html
>

"A winter storm that put much of the Midwest in the dark inched its way east
Thursday, spreading a treacherous mix of freezing rain and snow from the
Great Lakes to New England"

This article from CBS is what you use to defend yourself? You have got to
be kidding. The article is a joke. I live in the Midwest and heard of no
power outages. It was simply a winter snow that dropped less than a foot of
snow in 24 hours. There was no widespread disruption. Of course O'Hare
gets screwed up. What airline in their right mind would pick a Midwest
airport as a hub?

[Jay Honeck]

> The storm may have taken pity on Iowa City, Jay, but a few states east
> of there, we've had trees down, floods, thousands of homes in this
> area without power and most probably will not get it restored for
> another day or so.

Oh, it was a fun storm all right. I spent four hours clearing snow at the
hotel today, and another hour at the hangar. We got about 9 inches of the
white stuff.

But, sheesh, it's January. That's what is *supposed* to happen at this
time of year.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[[email protected]]

Matt Barrow wrote:
> "SFM" > wrote
> > "I can accept that Bush won the election. What I have a hard time
> > swallowing is that I live in a country where more than half the
> > population is willfully ignorant, politically obstinate,
religiously
> > prejudiced, and embarrassingly gullible."
>
> I love how Democrats love democracy...but only when they win.

My reaction to the quote is somewhat different. To me it reeks of
"Everyone who voted for Bush is an idiot". If Democrats can't shed that
arrogant (and provably false) view, they'll never win another
presidential election.

Jim Rosinski

[Mutts]

On 6 Jan 2005 22:31:34 -0800, wrote:

>
>Matt Barrow wrote:
>> "SFM" > wrote
>> > "I can accept that Bush won the election. What I have a hard time
>> > swallowing is that I live in a country where more than half the
>> > population is willfully ignorant, politically obstinate,
>religiously
>> > prejudiced, and embarrassingly gullible."
>>
>> I love how Democrats love democracy...but only when they win.
>
>My reaction to the quote is somewhat different. To me it reeks of
>"Everyone who voted for Bush is an idiot". If Democrats can't shed that
>arrogant (and provably false) view, they'll never win another
>presidential election.
>
>Jim Rosinski


The truth is, liberalism was rejected by most people. For that is what
the democratic party now represents...liberalism.
They don't want to hear that. They desperately need a reason
why they lost. For if they accept the truth, they must question
liberalism, and that simply will not happen. Their egos will not allow
it. And they will continue to lose elections. Not to mention the
"red states" populations are all projected to rise and the "blue
cities" are projected to fall does not forbode well for the dems.
Another warning sign was the diminishing number of Democrat governors
in the south. They once dominated there. Funny how when Carter and
Clinton carried the south those ol southern boys werent a bunch of
ignorant prejudiced jesus lovers. funny huh?

If I were a democrat, I would be trying to find ways to educate the
public on the merits of liberalism and why it is better.
They really dont try to do that very well do they? wonder why?

I expect them to continue to meltdown in the next couple years.
Enjoy the show.

[Jay Beckman]

> wrote in message
ups.com...
>
> Bob Gardner wrote:
>> Do they shut down programming, and have a talking head taking calls
> from the
>> local area?
>>
> We had a storm that passed through AZ on Mon and Tue that was
> generating that kind of hype. "Weather Alert"s every 15 min.
> Granted, it was a good sized weather system that brought some much
> needed moisture to the region. But, all of the hype was just a bit
> over the top. Last night I watched 15 min. of a half-hour newscast
> devoted "Storm Coverage". What it really amounted to was the fact that
> it rained a few inches in some locations and snowed a few feet on the
> tops of the mountains. I think the effect is brought on by what is
> called a "slow news day".
>
> John Galban=====>N4BQ (PA28-180)
>

John,

Just wait until Monsoon Season 2005 comes around...<Cue Dramatic Music>

Talk about over the top "reporting."

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
Chandler, AZ

[Corky Scott]

On Fri, 07 Jan 2005 00:53:01 GMT, "G.R. Patterson III"
> wrote:

>
>
>Colin W Kingsbury wrote:
>>
>> Chains!? Where do they get them? I grew up in upstate NY, on a steep dirt
>> road that often iced over, and I don't think we even owned a set of chains,
>> let alone put them on cars.
>
>I've been told that they're illegal in New Jersey - that may also be the case in
>New York. I have at least two sets I acquired in Georgia and Tennessee. I
>stumble across them in the garage every so often.
>
>George Patterson

I have a set for my Tacoma that I only rarely use, and only then when
I need to plow out the driveway. They are a PITA to install but can
make the difference between managing to plow out some heavy slippery
slush and getting stuck.

I hate putting them on because I only use them for about 45 minutes,
then have to remove them because I use the truck to commute to work.

It takes a lot of time to install them because if you don't do it
properly, they can rip off things like your brake caliper bleed screw.
Ask me how I know this...

Corky Scott

[Trent Moorehead]

"Morgans" > wrote in message
...
>
> I drove for many years in Ohio snow with little problems in the snow, but
I
> have discovered that "all snow is not created equal". It is really
wicked,
> most of the time, around here.

Amen. Forgive me while I get something off my chest....

I get irritated with folks who move here (NC) from more snow ridden areas
and make fun of the local population's ability to cope with the "wintery
mix". They make fun until we get snow and they realize that the roads don't
get plowed around here. They don't get salted in a timely manner either.
Then the snow turns to ice and, I don't care where you came from, you can't
drive safely on ice. Winter storms in NC really are something to take
seriously. Many times, we only get the ice. Ice storms REALLY suck because
we usually lose power and the roads are simply impassable.

Admittedly, lots of times, we don't get a lot of snow and it is really easy
to get around in what does fall. But you would be amazed at how many people
wreck around here in light snow and ice. Most of the wrecks are
multi-vehicle accidents so you have to reason that if you go driving, you
stand a chance of getting nailed through no fault of your own. That's the
point that I try to drive home to the folks who like to make fun. *You* may
be able to drive in the snow, but it's not much help when your on-coming
traffic is a conversion van that's careening out of control (personal
experience here).

Many of my friends, neighbors, and co-workers are from up north. After a
couple of winters here, NONE of them make fun anymore.

The key to dealing with winter in NC is to treat snow as a good thing. We
don't get it often, it's pretty, and it doesn't stay long. If work isn't
cancelled, I tell my boss that I'll be in late (after all the wrecks are
cleared out).

A good snow in NC is God's way of telling everyone to chill, sit by the fire
and have a hot chocolate. :)

-Trent
PP-ASEL

P.S. Ice storms come from Satan

[Casey Wilson]

Reporting from the northern reaches of California's Mojave Desert,
35°48' N by 117°41' W. Local airport is IYK (Inyokern).
The snow started about 7AM local, this morning. It is 10:30 and we have
accumulated 1.75 inches, as measured on my courtyard. Temperature has risen
from 33.2F (at 7AM) to 35.4F just now. Visibility is more than two miles.
So far, the schools have closed and the children all sent home. The
Naval Air Warfare Center has declared administrative leave for all but
critical infrastructure personnel. My cat absolutely refuses to go outside.
The weather forecasters are predicting perhaps five inches. And, I just
watched one intrepid motorist rumbling by with chains on all four tires.

I understand and agree with Trent's trepidation -- for his area. But I also
think the people who express hyper-anxiety need to get a grip. Chains, for
crying out loud! By mid-afternoon here, the streets will be clear. The sun
will be shining. The kids will have had a great time. The government
employees can kick back and watch the soaps. Me, I'm gonna brew another pot
of coffee.

[Morgans]

"Corky Scott" > wrote

> It takes a lot of time to install them because if you don't do it
> properly, they can rip off things like your brake caliper bleed screw.
> Ask me how I know this...
>
> Corky Scott

The chains' best friends are 4 (per wheel) heavy short black rubber bungee
cords. Added to properly adjusted chains, they make all the difference.
--
Jim in NC

[G.R. Patterson III]

Trent Moorehead wrote:
>
> I get irritated with folks who move here (NC) from more snow ridden areas
> and make fun of the local population's ability to cope with the "wintery
> mix".

Agree. I grew up in East Tennessee and learned to drive there. I drove more in
snow when I lived there than a typical New Jersey native will drive in his
entire life. If the plows aren't on the road shortly after the first flake hits
up here, everybody starts complaining.

George Patterson
The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.

[Icebound]

"Dave Stadt" > wrote in message
om...
>
> This article from CBS is what you use to defend yourself? You have got to
> be kidding. The article is a joke. I live in the Midwest and heard of no
> power outages. >

vincent p. norris posting to an earlier subthread of this, would disagree
with you.

>It was simply a winter snow that dropped less than a foot of
> snow in 24 hours. There was no widespread disruption. Of course O'Hare
> gets screwed up. What airline in their right mind would pick a Midwest
> airport as a hub?
>
>

That may be true, but given that they did, they still require a forecast of
disruptive weather conditions.

>

[Icebound]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:XKoDd.28256$3m6.21111@attbi_s51...
>> The storm may have taken pity on Iowa City, Jay, but a few states east
>> of there, we've had trees down, floods, thousands of homes in this
>> area without power and most probably will not get it restored for
>> another day or so.
>
> Oh, it was a fun storm all right. I spent four hours clearing snow at the
> hotel today, and another hour at the hangar. We got about 9 inches of the
> white stuff.
>
> But, sheesh, it's January. That's what is *supposed* to happen at this
> time of year.

Does this mean that you don't want to have any prior warning of the next one
coming? (The NWS budget of about a Billion could be saved???....)

[Jay Honeck]

>> But, sheesh, it's January. That's what is *supposed* to happen at this
>> time of year.
>
> Does this mean that you don't want to have any prior warning of the next
> one coming? (The NWS budget of about a Billion could be saved???....)

Warnings are appropriate. But false warnings are worse than no warnings at
all.

We're talking about local TV stations placing cold, miserable-looking
reporters on street corners with rulers, measuring snowflakes as they fall,
followed by dire warnings to "stay inside or die!" It's absurd, and leads
to people actually ignoring the warnings, so that when we *do* eventually
get a major winter storm, no one will be paying attention.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Icebound]

"Jay Honeck" > wrote in message
news:DPaEd.30782$wu4.8068@attbi_s52...
>>> But, sheesh, it's January. That's what is *supposed* to happen at this
>>> time of year.
>>
>> Does this mean that you don't want to have any prior warning of the next
>> one coming? (The NWS budget of about a Billion could be saved???....)
>
> Warnings are appropriate. But false warnings are worse than no warnings
> at all.
>
> We're talking about local TV stations placing cold, miserable-looking
> reporters on street corners with rulers, measuring snowflakes as they
> fall, followed by dire warnings to "stay inside or die!" It's absurd,
> and leads to people actually ignoring the warnings, so that when we *do*
> eventually get a major winter storm, no one will be paying attention.
> --


You will not get any argument from me there... I *DO* agree that reporters
over-hype the weather, as they do many other things. Or add nothing to the
information.... for what informational purpose, exactly, were those
endlessly-repeated night shots of Anderson Cooper getting rain-soaked and
windblown in a Florida Hurricane???

Let's face it. In today's world 9 inches of snow is going to tie up
populated centres. Even 2 inches at rush hour will be disruptive. Does
that warrant some sort of *warning*? Probably. Does it warrant hyped-up
"terrible conditions being braved endlessly by our fearless reporters". I
agree with you: certainly useless!


The Midwest weather-system in question *WAS* significant (although not
exceptional) for a portion of the population to the south and east of Iowa,
(including O'Hare). It is always a little scary for forecasters where there
is a rain-snow boundary involved... because of the freezing rain factor, but
also because if they judge the location of the boundary incorrectly.... then
somebody's 2.0 inches of rain (forecast), can become 2 feet of snow
(reality), a much different disruptive effect. If unsure, they may hedge
their bets toward calling for snow.

This particular system also moved fairly rapidly. I expect that they
under-estimated the speed, anticipating a slower system which would also
have produced greater amounts locally. So only southwest Missouri got the
brunt of the water:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/realtime/precip_fig/20050105.precip.gif

Apparently most of it in the form of flooding rains, up to 6 inches.
http://joplinglobe.joplinglobe.com/story.php?story_id=153868&c=87

That could have been really interesting, had it been snow.

Even so, *they* may believe that hype was justified....