Forecast - Head to the Hills!

After 20 inches of snow fell December 20, 2012.
dwm photo

 Here in Wisconsin, mid-November is the edge of winter.  Temperatures fall, snow flurries.

 It also marks a change of seasons from over-hyped thunderstorms to French toast weather as forecasters overpromise the impact of every low pressure system that appears on the horizon.

 This past weekend the forecast predicted 1 to 3 inches of snow in and around Madison.  But to the person in front of the green screen it was a chance to warn his audience with every arrow in his quiver.

 He suggested we check our emergency supplies and make sure we have enough food on hand.

It surprised me to see we were under a winter weather advisory for weather that most of us consider routine. 

I'm in favor of warning viewers about storms, but it needs to be measured.  Don't hype the impact to secure more eyeballs on your channel; give me facts, show me models, provide reasonable percentages of whether we'll get the big storm or are just as likely to see it pass two counties away.

When we lived in the Eau Claire, Wisconsin TV market there was a weatherman who always said there was a 10% chance of rain.  His reason was that even the best forecast can be wrong and on the sunniest day there is still a small chance of rain, snow, or storms.  I thought that was funny at the time, but thinking about it now, he didn't think every dark cloud was a tornado in waiting.

Forget the hype - give it to us straight.