If you watch any national news broadcast today or tomorrow, I have a prediction. There is a 100-percent chance of weather bologna.
It’s a guarantee.
Weather grabs ratings, and ratings matter more than anything. So it seems that the big wigs are telling the little wigs to tell the talking heads to keep fluffing up the weather.
Here’s a forecast with no hype. No team coverage. No flashy graphics. No gimmicks. No lies.
It is winter. It is going to be cold. Below average cold. The kind of cold that will make it hard to get out of the house on time because you don’t want to start the car.
But it won’t kill you if you are prepared. And it won’t be “blasting millions in it’s path” either.
And is this record-smashing cold? Probably not. Arctic Blast cold? No. Polar Vortex of Bombogenissing cold? Not even close. In fact, that last one was made up.
To the left is a look at the temperature and wind forecast map for tomorrow afternoon from our friends at Twisterdata.com
Cold? Yes. Below zero across the northern reaches of the upper-Midwest? Totally. Out of the ordinary? Not so much.
By Thursday, according to the NAM, the truly cold temperatures modify as the airmass plunges south. Yes, 30s in places that often see 50s, but again, nothing out of the ordinary.
It will still be above zero in Chicago and Minneapolis in the afternoon on Thursday. Detroit, too. It will be in the 20s for Kansas City, St. Louis, Nashville, and Richmond. The afternoon highs will easily clear the freezing mark in Oklahoma City, Dallas, New Orleans, and Tallahassee.
The record low in Chicago for January is 27 degrees below zero. The all-time record low in January for Nashville? Seventeen degrees below zero.
It will be nearly 40 degrees warmer in the afternoon Thursday than it was when Nashville set that record in 1985.
Just remember that the big networks really need your eyes on the screen so they can sell those ads. And when it comes to weather – for some reason – the newswriting can blend truth with hyperbole.
Remember the “Cyclone Bomb” term? That isn’t a real thing.
What about the “Polar Vortex” that went sweeping through the East Coast? That is a real thing, sure, but it was used incorrectly.
Then there is the term “Arctic Blast” that news anchors use every time the temperature drops below 40. With less daylight than moonlight this time of year, sometimes it is just cold.
If you want weather reporting that is straight to the point, no hype, no frills, no fluff, and no hyperbole, start here. If we aren’t talking about it, your local television meteorologist or National Weather Service office will have a straight answer, too.
But trusting the national news media to give you a weather story without flowery language and exaggerated terms is wasted time.
I guarantee it.
