weathermedic Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I know there has been lots of weather channel bashing on here in the past. During the past couple of weeks (especially with the Raleigh NC tornado and the St. Louis suburb tornado) I have found their coverage to have been excellent. They have been preempting their regular scheduled programs to cover the outbreaks. Dr. Forbes, arguably one of the best, if not the best in the business was on quite frequently and during the St. Louis outbreak, he was accompanied in studio by Jim Cantore, another excellent and passionate meteorologist to have for these events. Personally I think he's better for viewers in studio rather than out in the field, where perhaps, there's a small chance at best he may experience severe weather (since he has to remain stationary, and cannot "chase" a storm while doing broadcast updates) They show almost constant doppler updates on the storms, including Dr Forbes who shows and explains the many different views (base reflectivity, storm relative velocity, etc) He's pinpointed hail cores and "debris balls" on radar and then approximates where the center of the tornado would be in relation to communities on the ground. When Cantore is on air with him, they also use Google Maps close up satellite views to show the areas that are/were under the gun. It was quite accurate during the St. Louis outbreak where they showed the area on the maps as densely populated with several cul de sac communities. Then low and behold while watching the daylight damage pics, that's where much of the tornado damage occured. They also use Twitter to their advantage with user submitted pics getting on the air almost immediately. I personally follow them on "twcbreaking" "iwitnessweather" and "weatherchannel" Jim Cantore also has his own twitter account. I didn't even think of tuning into them during severe weather outbreaks because over the past couple of years, during serious weather events, they may have broken in at the top and bottom of the hours for a quick update on the weather. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the recent tornado coverage. Just wondering if anyone else has noticed this change. Maybe it's just for tornado season, but I for one think the coverage is excellent. Comments welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJW155 Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Its been going on a for a while I think, but yea it's nice to see them do real coverage. I remember last year Miami/Ft. Lauderdale got something like 13 inches of rain in 3 hours late at night, and they had live coverage of that w/ the flooding and everything. Seems like ever since they went to the HD studio the coverage has been better all across the board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flwxwatcher45 Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Its been going on a for a while I think, but yea it's nice to see them do real coverage. I remember last year Miami/Ft. Lauderdale got something like 13 inches of rain in 3 hours late at night, and they had live coverage of that w/ the flooding and everything. Seems like ever since they went to the HD studio the coverage has been better all across the board. I haven't watched that POS channel in several years. It's nice to hear they have started getting back to covering the weather again, It's about time!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
U_Thant Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 On NBC Nightly News tonight, Mike Seidel from TWC quoted monthly ( "most tornadoes ever in April") and annual ("600 tornadoes so far this year") figures that seem like they were taken from the SPC preliminary tornado REPORTS. While the final number of total TORs is likely to be an April record, shouldn't he know better? Or is there other info that indicates that those numbers are fact? http://spc.noaa.gov/climo/online/monthly/newm.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmagan Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 It is like when they say Bernie Williams has the most postseason home runs in baseball history and compare him to Mickey Mantle. With the population more spread out and more inclined to report severe weather a pseudo-asterisk has to be involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle W Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I'm a closet weather channel watcher (when they are actually doing weather) and Jim Cantore and Dr. Greg Forbes make a great duo... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
U_Thant Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 It is like when they say Bernie Williams has the most postseason home runs in baseball history and compare him to Mickey Mantle. With the population more spread out and more inclined to report severe weather a pseudo-asterisk has to be involved. Right - I'm aware of that and Mike "should" be as well. All I'm asking is that does he have info that suggests or confirms that those numbers he gave, especially the year to date figure of 600+, is accurate, given the number of final reports is usually about 75-80% of the preliminary numbers given, or did he just ballpark 80% of the YTD total of 751 (which would be 600). Surely he's familiar enough with the STAMTS, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJW155 Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 I haven't watched that POS channel in several years. It's nice to hear they have started getting back to covering the weather again, It's about time!!! Yea it's actually not half bad. I mean they still have their moments like cutting from the broadcasting to go to commercial; but overall, it's much better than it was 2 or 3 years ago. Hopefully it was a matter of pride and guys like Cantore basically said there was no way they would be the laughingstock of the weather community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadgerWXman Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 It's really just a function of who they have on the air at the time of the outbreak. Some of their mets are just terrible on the air... but when Cantore gets on there he's in total control of everything, uses a lot of level 2 data including SRV etc and gives actual pertinent info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsley Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Most of the time TWC is still garbage, but with NBC taking them over they have alot more access to great weather footage caught on video. Its like theire goal is more news orientated these days. Yes, still having Cantore and Greg Forbes does add some "real" insight into what is happening with the weather but overall the forecast maps and actual forecasts put out by the TWC are poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flwxwatcher45 Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Yea it's actually not half bad. I mean they still have their moments like cutting from the broadcasting to go to commercial; but overall, it's much better than it was 2 or 3 years ago. Hopefully it was a matter of pride and guys like Cantore basically said there was no way they would be the laughingstock of the weather community. I always liked Cantore and I am surprised he stuck with TWC through all the changes. I will probably take a look again at TWC come tropical season . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master of Disaster Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Had a tour of their HQs last week for the Hurricane Conference. Awesome operations!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalcottWx Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Who cares Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eskimo Joe Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 I'll agree the Weather Channel is getting back to its roots, to a degree. Obviously the information has to be watered down somewhat for John Q. Public, but using technical terms from time to time can really help to educate the populace on the various aspects of meteorology. Hopefully this keeps up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master of Disaster Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Who cares LOL, someones not a Weather Channel fan. You do have to give them props for the idea though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New England Storm Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 They do ok, if you know when to watch. If they want more money for primetime they could do better than all the crazy shows they have. You can still get a forcast and learn a few things. The tornado stuff has been awsome good job TWC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flweathernerd Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Its been going on a for a while I think, but yea it's nice to see them do real coverage. I remember last year Miami/Ft. Lauderdale got something like 13 inches of rain in 3 hours late at night, and they had live coverage of that w/ the flooding and everything. Seems like ever since they went to the HD studio the coverage has been better all across the board. Wow, when did that happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJW155 Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Wow, when did that happen? Some time last year. I remember them showing live footage from NBC in downtown Miami. The coverage started around 10 PM and lasted til well after midnight. I think it was in October if I remember correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-L-E-X Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Some time last year. I remember them showing live footage from NBC in downtown Miami. The coverage started around 10 PM and lasted til well after midnight. I think it was in October if I remember correctly. Hey, this happened back in the 90s when you lived in NJ so you probably remember this-- Long Beach Island, NJ had like 12 inches of rain from a single stationary thunderstorm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJW155 Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Hey, this happened back in the 90s when you lived in NJ so you probably remember this-- Long Beach Island, NJ had like 12 inches of rain from a single stationary thunderstorm. You might be thinking of the one that hit NW NJ. It was in the Newton/Budd Lake/Andover area where I lived. Something like 16 inches of rain in a few hours. I don't remeber the date or the year, but I remember it was a downpour for hours. Much more impressive than any other rain I've ever seen, even down here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Lizard Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Dr. Forbes has cool debris balls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eskimo Joe Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Their coverage tonight has been excellent, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weathermedic Posted April 26, 2011 Author Share Posted April 26, 2011 Coverage later today/tonight should also be excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huronicane Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 As long as they don't let Vivian Brown speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Lizard Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 As long as they don't let Vivian Brown speak. Brown is a few years older than Crystal Eggers, but she has a genuine BS in atmospheric science, not a BA in communications and an MSU short course in standing in front of a green screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantom X Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I do miss the old format of TWC. The old current maps and forecast weather maps showing the front's, contour lines, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flwxwatcher45 Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 As long as they don't let Vivian Brown speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CranberryWX Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Great coverage with the Birmingham tornado realtime! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParanormalWx Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Great coverage with the Birmingham tornado realtime! Yeah, they've been horrible the past few years, but this year, with the outbreaks, they have been very good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaWx Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Great coverage with the Birmingham tornado realtime! Dr. Forbes was absolutely incredible covering the Tuscaloosa to Birmingham tornado via radar. I don't know how anyone could do a better job. The entire team of Forbes, Carl Parker, and Jeff in the field just outside Birmingham was fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.