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From: jon@boulder.UUCP (Jon Corbet)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Its always safe to flame the weather
Message-ID: <218@boulder.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 28-Sep-84 11:16:10 EDT
Article-I.D.: boulder.218
Posted: Fri Sep 28 11:16:10 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 30-Sep-84 03:45:54 EDT
Organization: National Center for Atmospheric Research
Lines: 23

[Some of us work in the weather field, you know!]

	Let me try to give a front line view of weather forcasts from what
I modestly think is one of the leading institutions in the field ("peeling
back the foreskin of science" :-)

	TV and radio weather people are more showtime personalities than
actual meteorologists.  They have had some training -- a minor or perhaps
a bachelor's in meteorology, but it does not go too deep.  They are the people
who (1) could not get one of the hard-to-come-by research jobs, or, most often,
(2) have no interest in research, and would rather make the $60K to $100K that
TV weather people are paid (!).  They are (usually) capable of understanding
the bulletins from the National Weather Service and presenting them, but,
and here's the important part --> They are unable to correct these bulletins
for their area or changing conditions!  It is not too surprising that they
are wrong.  Here at NCAR, I can get some pretty good forecasts if I ask
the right people.

--
Jonathan Corbet
National Center for Atmospheric Research
{hplabs|seismo}!hao!cires!boulder!jon