I could have continued this in Mullet's thread on his weather back home, but didn't want to steal his thunder (pun intended). We record the channel 12 5pm news every night, then do the same for Lester Holt at 5:30 and back again with the 6pm version to see if there's anything different. Mark Curtis (the anchor is good) and we like to see how their chief meteorologist Caribe Devine, will showcase the incredible number of wrinkles in her ever-fashionable dress (but that's another story for another time). Last night (Friday July 31) was shameful. There was no news, no sports, only weather. It was so bad that even during Lester Holt's half hour, they kept a window box showing us the storm patterns. In fact, when it came to commercials, they cut-in with Channel 12's weather updates. At first I was laughing about it. Then is struck me, these guys were doing their best to be serious...like a national emergency. They love to use their viewers email photo's and one of the shots was of a dust devil. They went so far as to speculate it may have been a tornado the National Weather Service missed. They had their gang out in the field showing two downed power lines (the residents said there was no wind, they had been replacing them and they just fell over). They kept bouncing around the studio with shots from the upper floors and lower floors. A couple of homes in a trailer park had some minor damage and they even showed a photo of some follower with a wet back yard. Really? Here's yesterdays weather...IT RAINED! And not even that much. Given the fierce storms that have gone on around the country this summer, the property damage and the tragic loss of lives, this was an insult (hyperbole on my part eh) to all of us. Come on guys, get real.
Often the same thing in California. A 10 degree bump in the temp or a few ominous clouds sends in the 24 hour weather network. And many complaints when standing at a traffic light. We just had a few mildly humid days and that was all anyone talked about.
Most weather personalities I've witnessed in the different places I've lived seem to have a theatrical background. I have had the pleasure of having witnessed a few serious meteorologists. The ones that just get excited by the science. You know the ones. The nerds that actually want to teach you something. Them, I enjoy.
