Weather Channel

Weather Channel: Good or Bad Hype

By Lee Davis

February 8^th 2015

 

Weather Channel Logo

Growing up I thought the Weather Channel was a reliable source of weather forecasting. Over the past several years I have begun to think otherwise. Weather Channel is turning into a drama show, of hyped up forecasting and headlines. Now I’m not saying that the Weather Channel is not reliable at all, but I do question their forecasting sometimes. Weather Channel has come under fire lately from people who say that they hype forecasts for TV ratings. This may be true as of lately. Their winter forecast predictions have been wrong most of the time this winter. At the same time, their coverage of major severe weather events have saved numerous lives and changed the way we look at Weather Forecasting. Weather Channels use of forecast hype can be viewed in both a negative and positive way.

Why People do people like the Weather Channel?

“Huge Storm to Affect South” is not a headline you want to see. But are these headlines telling the truth? Many positives and negatives come from headlines such as these. Lets start with the positives. First this headline is good because its gets the viewers attention, because it is so powerful. It makes the viewer aware that something huge is coming, which gives the people time to prepare. Time to prepare means getting supplies such as milk, bread and the main essentials for survival during a major event. It makes people plan ahead. Road crews can begin to prepare for the event. The government revolves around these forecasts in case of a major event. Lives are saved by headlines like these. An example of a positive effect of the Weather Channel Forecast is the Pilger Nebraska Event on June 16^th 2014. The event in Pilger, NE was one of the worse severe events of 2014. Coverage of these events such as Pilger save numerous lives. When you feel in danger, many people turn on the Weather Channel for coverage of the event. The Weather Channel strives to keep great coverage for major events such as these. In this event, storm chasers reported to the weather channel what was going on minute by minute. The attitude of the Weather Channel broadcasters was firm and positive. They stayed on the storm till the end of the event. There are many other things that keeps the Weather Channel on the top of weather forecasting.  The Weather Channel also has a good use of Weather Graphics. They get your attention with these colorful graphics. Along with this the Weather Channel has a huge lineup of Meteorologists, such as Severe Weather Expert Greg Forbes and Jim Cantore. With so many big names it’s hard for the Weather Channel to lose their popularity.

The Nebraska severe weather event was one of the most powerful events of the year in weather. The Weather Channel had great coverage of the event. Coverage like this saves lives.

Why don’t people like the Weather Channel?

Big titles such as “Huge Storm to affect the South” has a negative connotation as well. When you see a headline like this, businesses cancel the workday, schools close and people go out and buy the necessities to survive. But what if the forecast is wrong? This title can negatively affect the economy. But these headlines don’t hurt the ratings of the Weather Channel they help them. Why? It grabs your attention. It says hey look over here, a huge storm will affect your area.  Before the storm strikes these headlines gain ratings, but if the forecast is wrong ratings go down because who would want to trust the Weather Channel after a huge bust.  The Weather Channel is a national source of weather and can be viewed on any tv with basic cable. It is not a local source of forecasting. It gains views from different parts of the country even ones that are not affected by the event. A current example of bad forecast hype was the Blizzard that affected the North during early January 2015. The storm was called to be historic. New York City was supposed to receive a record 20-30 inches.

New York City received only 7 inches. Many people were upset that the event was a bust. Long Island received upwards of 20 inches of snow. It’s hard to predict the weather perfectly. There is always going to be that forecast that is wrong and people must move on.

A graphic for the predicted snow totals for Winter Storm Juno. The storm was mainly a bust for New York City, but places like Long Island received 20 inches.

Synopsis

            Forecasting is hard thing to do, especially to get right. People underestimate the challenge of forecasting. Even the most advanced meteorologists get the forecast wrong because Mother Nature is unpredictable sometimes. Even though the Weather Channel has had their bad moments of hyping weather forecasts, we must focus on their good moments of hyping up Weather Forecasts. Weather forecasts and live coverage of events such as the Nebraska Tornado event of June saved countless lives. Coverage like this warns people and tells them to take cover. Weather Forecasts will be wrong time to time and we must accept that. The guessing game will continue.  May the weather hype continue… -LD

2 Tornadoes Spin over the Nebraska Countryside on June 16th 2014. The tornadoes captured the attention of the Meteorology Community.