But they were much better 25 and especially 30 plus years ago in a comparative sense to what else was out there at that time . This is also back when they nailed some great forecasts with storms in the early to mid 80s for example. The difference was that when the forecast were off at game time it often was because the computers were off hundreds of miles on a low pressure track whereas now its usually under 100.
The NWS forecasts coupled with TWC was kind of unbeatable. There was not the amount of fluff forecasters as later in the 90s and turn of the Century. The period of 1981-1997 on TWC had some of the all time great OCMs. Mark Mancuso, Bill Kenelley, the late Jenetta Jones, Bruce Edwards and Jim Cantore BEFORE he jumped the shark, just to name a few. Those were some great years for weather.