ICE STORM: 2010

Or should the title of this post be: "The Meteorologists who Cried Wolf"? That's certainly a more fitting description of the apocalyptic forecasts that cut into regular broadcasts as "breaking news" and "developing stories"; when will these local news stations come to the realization that weather forecasts are usually not that interesting, and to sensationalize things like precipitation as much as they do really only does more harm than good?

I'm not sure when this edgy, hardcore style of weather forecasting came into vogue exactly, but I'm guessing it started around the same time those 24-hour news and weather channels began appearing on cable. I know there are people out there who can watch the Weather Channel for hours; they're absolutely mesmerized by the 10-minute loop of local, regional, and national forecasts. I, for one, am not one of them. In fact, meteorologists, the less you have to report, the more I tend to like you!

The study of weather is generally not that exciting, and for the life of me, I can't imagine why newscasters are trying to make it exciting. Here in Chicago, for example, snowfall should not be breaking news. Unless we're about to be blanketed in two feet of the stuff-- during rush hour, coupled with 45-mile-per-hour winds-- then save it. There is no need to trump the real news of the day by reporting-- live, from outside the studio-- that it is in fact snowing, or send some rookie reporter to go stand on an overpass so they can confirm that-- live, from the suburbs-- it's snowing there, too. I can look out my window and figure that out!

I know some of the national news agencies like to send meteorologists to the beach to report from the eye of a hurricane or to a corn field in the path of an oncoming tornado to spice up the weather reports and increase ratings. That is also stupid. It is not cutting-edge journalism, it is foolhardy and dangerous, because even the best meteorologist is wrong a fair amount of the time... If only my job(s) allowed even half as much room for error... But back to the latest forecast, which ranged from copious amounts of freezing rain, dangerous ice accumulations, and nightmarish commutes... none of you Chicagoland meteorologists were even close! Maybe that was true in IOWA, but if you wanted to milk your on-air time like that, you should have gone and filled in on an affiliate station over there!

That's why Tom Skilling is my guy; he doesn't get all doomsday over every little upper-air disturbance. He tells it like it is, gets it right more than any of the rest of you, and we can all get on with our day. My only beef with him is that he gets so involved with tracking jet streams and explaining the composition of cumulo-nimbus clouds that-- by the time he gets to the actual forecast-- I've tuned out and have to wait around for another 20 minutes to catch the 7-day at the end of the news broadcast.

So the next time you all decide to forecast the "storm of the century", you had better be able to justify your radical predictions. You're losing your credibility with viewers (like me!), and I'll kindly thank you to quit freaking me out, especially on the days when I have to drive all over the suburbs. And if you aren't already familiar with the children's story about the boy who cried "wolf", I suggest you pick up a copy. I think you'll find it a fascinating read. Oh, and while you're at it, try to see if you can figure out a way to apply the moral of the story to your professional lives... it'll give you something to do on the days (like today!) when there's not much to report from the weather center.