Bogus Weather Hype

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.

"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.

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"

"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...

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

"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...

"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.

"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...

"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.

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.