The media, weather coverage...(hopefully a lighthearted thread)

[poohandwendy]

I just hear a reporter say "If this shifts even a few hundred miles...you will have the potential for people to be hit by a category 5 hurricane without warning..." Huh? I am in Pennsylvania and I feel like I have been warned.

I realize it is hard to come up with 24/7 stuff to cover a storm...but seriously, think about what you are saying...

Anyone else have recent ridiculous media quotes to share?

[Lisa loves Pooh]

B/c the cone only goes so far...a few hundred mile shift would have areas in the cone that were not there before.


While not a 5...Punte Gorda is a case example of little to no warning.

In 2 hours, Charley went from a 2 to a 4 and did more than wobble..he practically took a right turn and slammed into Punte Gorda. It was very unexpected. They expected the side affects of a 2..maybe a snowball's chance that it could come a little too close for comfort....getting slammed with a 4...just wasn't on the radar.

And then all those from Tampa who evacuated to Orlando---got a direct hit anyway.

My favorite ones, during the storm...."Don't come out here--this is what it looks and feels like"....just before shrapnel nails the reporter...or they get blown down. (The quote isn't exact..but we had 2 morons who said something similar just as they became a near casualty of the storms they were covering).

[Jimbo]

This dates back to Katrina, and it's from memory so it's not technically a quote...

In the aftermath of the storm, Greta van Sustern said that it was difficult to communicate with the stranded people because "they don't have Blackberries." Thinks she's a little out of touch with the common folk?

[Neelloc]

Maybe 12 hours before Katrina made landfall, I was watching the Weather Channel. They had just downgraded Katrina from a 5 to a 4, but she was still a high 4.

The anchorperson reported that she had just been downgraded to a Cat 4, and then said (and I'm using caps to show that this guy was practically shouting...) "So, Katrina has been downgraded to a category 4 hurricane. You may think that's good news, but it's really not! It's a difference of 1 mile and hour! THAT'S NOT A BIG DIFFERENCE HERE PEOPLE! THIS STORM IS STILL VERY POWERFUL AND THIS IS NOT REALLY THAT GOOD OF NEWS!"

I almost fell off my chair!

[Lisa loves Pooh]

This dates back to Katrina, and it's from memory so it's not technically a quote...

In the aftermath of the storm, Greta van Sustern said that it was difficult to communicate with the stranded people because "they don't have Blackberries." Thinks she's a little out of touch with the common folk?


What in the world is a blackberry?

[ThAnswr]

I just hear a reporter say "If this shifts even a few hundred miles...you will have the potential for people to be hit by a category 5 hurricane without warning..." Huh? I am in Pennsylvania and I feel like I have been warned.

I realize it is hard to come up with 24/7 stuff to cover a storm...but seriously, think about what you are saying...

Anyone else have recent ridiculous media quotes to share?

No ridiculous quotes, but we only had about an hours warning for Charley. First it was to hit Tampa, then it hit Ft. Myers, and then it went out in the Gulf was heading north. Then Charley made a sharp right turn and the next thing we saw was the "red arrow" pointing straight into Charlotte Harbor!

We can laugh about it now, because it was like the Keystone Kops. So now the quote around her is: If you receive a warning a Category 4 hurricane is headed your way within an hour, hunker down because you're screwed.

The fact is, you can follow the track of a hurricane, but they are highly unpredictable. At this point, I wouldn't guarantee it'll hit Texas. Likely, but not 100%

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My super favorite was actually when I was doing my college degree..college news station...and the weather anchor meant to say "Ball-sized Hail". But instead...said "Hail-sized...( use your imagination)". And then just looked at the camer like--okay, now what do I do? He just kept on going.

He made the blooper reel. ;)

[AllyandJack]

I love Anderson Cooper. Every storm he reports on he says the same thing: "I've never experienced anything like this!" It just keeps getting worse and worse for Mr. Cooper because every storm is something he's never experienced.

For everyone in the MA viewing area.....we know a storm is going to be bad when they force Shelby Scott down to Chatham or up to North Andover. I miss Shelby Scott in her blue parka standing in the wind.

[ThAnswr]

B/c the cone only goes so far...a few hundred mile shift would have areas in the cone that were not there before.


While not a 5...Punte Gorda is a case example of little to no warning.

In 2 hours, Charley went from a 2 to a 4 and did more than wobble..he practically took a right turn and slammed into Punte Gorda. It was very unexpected. They expected the side affects of a 2..maybe a snowball's chance that it could come a little too close for comfort....getting slammed with a 4...just wasn't on the radar.

And then all those from Tampa who evacuated to Orlando---got a direct hit anyway.

My favorite ones, during the storm...."Don't come out here--this is what it looks and feels like"....just before shrapnel nails the reporter...or they get blown down. (The quote isn't exact..but we had 2 morons who said something similar just as they became a near casualty of the storms they were covering).

Tell me about Charley. :) The funniest part was I picked up my 86 year old mother who lives in Englewood and only a block from the Myakka river. A storm surge is a very real possiblity for her.

So she comes here and experiences the full force of Charley. Her home in Englewood didn't even lose a leaf on a tree.

Our neighbor across the street didn't want to go through Charley alone, so she went to stay with a friend...........in Charlotte Harbor. My neighbor claims she actually saw the roof start to separate from the walls and could hear the hardware giving way at her friend's house.

Whatta day that was.

[Mackey Mouse]

You gotta love poor Shelby, they do send her out in the worst storms..

A blackberry is some new fangled toy for business people....sorry could not help myself as my son in law has one.....it is always with him.

check this out: http://www.blackberry.com/na/index.shtml

[ThAnswr]

I love Anderson Cooper. Every storm he reports on he says the same thing: "I've never experienced anything like this!" It just keeps getting worse and worse for Mr. Cooper because every storm is something he's never experienced.

For everyone in the MA viewing area.....we know a storm is going to be bad when they force Shelby Scott down to Chatham or up to North Andover. I miss Shelby Scott in her blue parka standing in the wind.

Was it Anderson Cooper who got hit in the head with some flying debris during Charley while he was on the air?

[Jimbo]

What in the world is a blackberry?It's a little wireless device that's primarily used to access email. Media types don't go anywhere without one. Supposedly they're pretty addictive, in fact they're nicknamed "Crackberry" by some.

[ThAnswr]

You gotta love poor Shelby, they do send her out in the worst storms..

A blackberry is some new fangled toy for business people....sorry could not help myself as my son in law has one.....it is always with him.

check this out: http://www.blackberry.com/na/index.shtml

I looked at the website and I still don't know what it is.

[theSurlyMermaid]

You gotta love poor Shelby, they do send her out in the worst storms..

A blackberry is some new fangled toy for business people....sorry could not help myself as my son in law has one.....it is always with him.

check this out: http://www.blackberry.com/na/index.shtml

My husband has one too...his firm pays for it. It's quite the little wonder...it's a cell phone, but you can connect to the internet from it, send and receive emails, and also take pictures.

It's pretty handy when you are looking for a good restaurant, but he is sort of shackled to it so it has its downfalls.

[poohandwendy]

B/c the cone only goes so far...a few hundred mile shift would have areas in the cone that were not there before.


While not a 5...Punte Gorda is a case example of little to no warning.

In 2 hours, Charley went from a 2 to a 4 and did more than wobble..he practically took a right turn and slammed into Punte Gorda. It was very unexpected. They expected the side affects of a 2..maybe a snowball's chance that it could come a little too close for comfort....getting slammed with a 4...just wasn't on the radar.

And then all those from Tampa who evacuated to Orlando---got a direct hit anyway.

My favorite ones, during the storm...."Don't come out here--this is what it looks and feels like"....just before shrapnel nails the reporter...or they get blown down. (The quote isn't exact..but we had 2 morons who said something similar just as they became a near casualty of the storms they were covering).

The difference is that this one has already hit cat 5 status...and everyone in the gulf area knows it will hit somewhere there... hurricanes are always shifting slightly. I can see them saying that they will get more than expected, but to say that there is no warning (to anyone within a few hundred miles of the cone?)...sorry, that is just stupid.

They should all be on alert. Every hurricane has taught us at least that much.

[AllyandJack]

Was it Anderson Cooper who got hit in the head with some flying debris during Charley while he was on the air?

I think so. I think during Katrina he had to duck behind a newspaper dispenser to avoid being hit with something else. Imagine being his cameraman? You get hired by CNN....a dream come true....and they assign you to Anderson Cooper. :earseek:

He's a brave guy to keep going back for more.

[poohandwendy]

The fact is, you can follow the track of a hurricane, but they are highly unpredictable. At this point, I wouldn't guarantee it'll hit Texas. Likely, but not 100%That is exactly my point...so to say that someone within a few hundred miles of the cone would be hit without warning is ridiculous.

[Lisa loves Pooh]

sorry, that is just stupid.


We'll have to agree to disagree.

[poohandwendy]

We'll have to agree to disagree.LOL, no problem:)My super favorite was actually when I was doing my college degree..college news station...and the weather anchor meant to say "Ball-sized Hail". But instead...said "Hail-sized...( use your imagination)". And then just looked at the camer like--okay, now what do I do? He just kept on going. LOL...too funny...I'll bet he never lived that down.

[bsnyder]

Re: Charley forecast:

Associated Press

02:57 PM Aug. 14, 2004 PT

Hurricane Charley's 145-mph force took forecasters by surprise and showed just how shaky a science it still is to predict a storm's intensity -- even with all the latest satellite and radar technology.

"Sometimes our models just aren't good enough to get everything that happens in the atmosphere," National Hurricane Center meteorologist Robbie Berg said Saturday afternoon from Miami, 24 hours after Charley slammed into Florida's western coast. "Strangely enough, we're better at track forecasting. It's the intensity forecasting we're still struggling with a bit."

Charley quickly grew from a Category 2 to a Category 4 storm Friday and its course took a sharp turn to the right, which put it some 70 miles south of the originally projected bull's-eye.

With so much media focus on Tampa and St. Petersburg, many residents in and around Punta Gorda were caught unprepared. The hurricane left at least 15 people dead in its wake -- a wake that might not have been nearly as big if the storm had stuck to its original path and struck the big evacuated cities farther up the coast.

Berg said that all along, the hurricane center had issued warnings for coastal residents from the Keys all the way up to Tampa Bay.

"We're kind of surprised that people were caught by surprise," he said.

Although Charley's path had the storm heading toward the Tampa area, Berg said the warning swath encompassed a much larger area -- as far south as Punta Gorda, in fact. The swath takes into account any errors, he said.

"We were not saying Tampa. We were saying the west coast of Florida," Berg said. The media's fixation with "Tampa, Tampa, Tampa," gave the public the wrong idea, he noted.

Everyone had "ample warning," Berg said. "It's just unfortunate that certain people didn't evacuate."

Charley's turn to the right was not a big deviation, but because the hurricane was moving parallel to the coast, it ended up making a big difference in the landfall area, Berg said. The difference wouldn't have been nearly as extreme if the storm had been moving perpendicular to the coast, he said.

As for its sudden strength, it's not uncommon for storms in the Gulf of Mexico to rapidly intensify, Berg said. "We're just not that good with it yet. Satellites don't help.

"We always wish we could have more, better guidance," he said. "But with what we had, we did the best we could. Errorwise, we really weren't that bad. It's just that the storm happened to be so intense, that it made a big difference in landfall."

Just a week ago, NASA announced the extended operation of a storm-monitoring satellite through this year's hurricane season. The space agency had sought to decommission the aging Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite, used for studying hurricanes and other severe storms, but granted a temporary reprieve at the request of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

[RadioNate]

It's a little wireless device that's primarily used to access email. Media types don't go anywhere without one. Supposedly they're pretty addictive, in fact they're nicknamed "Crackberry" by some.

DH has one, actually something very similar but he's one of those media types. They all call them crackberries. They are annoying little devices that keep you in constant contact with everyone.

It's a phone, it's email, it's the internet, it's text messaging, his has a camera and video camera, games, a calendar. His has a navigation/gps program and is an mp3 player complete with 1gig of storage.

[RadioNate]

I think so. I think during Katrina he had to duck behind a newspaper dispenser to avoid being hit with something else. Imagine being his cameraman? You get hired by CNN....a dream come true....and they assign you to Anderson Cooper. :earseek:

He's a brave guy to keep going back for more.

It's worse you could be assigned to Jim Cantore at the weather channel!

Stephanie Abrams from the weather channel is a friend of a friend and she was nailed with a car bumper duing one of the FL hurricanes last year.

[AllyandJack]

DH has one, actually something very similar but he's one of those media types. They all call them crackberries. They are annoying little devices that keep you in constant contact with everyone.

It's a phone, it's email, it's the internet, it's text messaging, his has a camera and video camera, games, a calendar. His has a navigation/gps program and is an mp3 player complete with 1gig of storage.

We call them crackberries here too. :rotfl:

I hardly use mine....there is no reason I need "work" e-mail when I'm not at work. However, if you walk through Boston, you can't go 5ft without being bumped by someone enthralled with their blackberry and not watching where they are going.

[AllyandJack]

It's worse you could be assigned to Jim Cantore at the weather channel!

Stephanie Abrams from the weather channel is a friend of a friend and she was nailed with a car bumper duing one of the FL hurricanes last year.

Oh yeah....how could I forget Jim....I was in WDW for Hurricane Jeanne and I watched him while I was trapped at AKL for over 24 hours. It was either him or watch Signs for the 100th time. :goodvibes

[ducklite]

This dates back to Katrina, and it's from memory so it's not technically a quote...

In the aftermath of the storm, Greta van Sustern said that it was difficult to communicate with the stranded people because "they don't have Blackberries." Thinks she's a little out of touch with the common folk?

WOW. Yeah, out of touch doesn't begin to describe it.

Anne

[ducklite]

It's worse you could be assigned to Jim Cantore at the weather channel!

I'd take that job ;)

Anne