Weather media in the United States

Last updated

The weather media in the United States includes coverage of weather and weather forecasting by farmers' almanacs, newspapers, radio, television stations, and the internet. Farmers' Almanacs have taken a stab at forecasting for the following year or so for around two centuries. At first, weather media included reporting on past events, with forecasting playing a role from the late 19th century onward. Weather-related information proliferated to near real-time after the invention of the telegraph. Radio and satellite broadcasts made weather-related communication ever quicker, with the World Wide Web making broadcasting and reporting nearly instantaneous.

Contents

By the 1990s, sensationalism played a role in large weather coverage. Hyping weather, especially winter weather, has become a major marketing tool in media. It is common for media in the United States to hype cold temperatures that are just a few degrees colder than normal for any region. Hyping cold in the resort and sunbelt areas of the United States is also common, with the media flying in reporters to cover the weather in Florida or southern California when temperatures below 50 F (10 C) are expected. Dry weather in the southwestern United States is often hyped during long periods of dry weather.

Farmers' almanacs

Farmers' Almanacs have published long-term forecasts for around 200 years. While almanac publishers have attributed an 80 to 85 percent accuracy rate to the publication's annual forecasts, independent studies that retrospectively compare the weather with the predictions have not shown them more accurate than chance. [1] Predictions for each edition are made as far as two years in advance. The Farmers’ Almanac publishers are highly secretive about the method used to make its predictions, only stating publicly that it is a "top secret mathematical and astronomical formula, that relies on sunspot activity, tidal action, planetary position and many other factors." [2] (The use of planetary position or astrology to forecast weather dates back to Ptolemy's work in the second century of the Common Era, and it was thus an outgrowth of the almanacs' other main purpose to provide the positions of celestial bodies. Like other forms of astrology, the scientific community considers it a discredited pseudoscience.)

Newspapers

An example of a two-day weather forecast in the visual style that an American newspaper might use. Temperatures are given in Fahrenheit. Newspaper weather forecast - today and tomorrow.svg
An example of a two-day weather forecast in the visual style that an American newspaper might use. Temperatures are given in Fahrenheit.

Newspapers, early in their history, reported on current and past weather events. Prior to the telegraph, distant weather reports travelled around 100 miles per day (160 km/d), though it was more typically 40–75 miles per day (60–120 km/day) (whether by land or by sea). [3] [4] By the late 1840s, the telegraph allowed reports of weather conditions from a wide area to be received almost instantaneously, [5] allowing forecasts to be made from knowledge of weather conditions further upwind. This led to United States government involvement in the weather enterprise. [6]

The 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania demonstrated that daily weather map transmission via telegraph could be accomplished. The New York Daily Graphic published weather maps from mid-1879 through the summer of 1882. By 1894, there were four daily newspapers publishing weather maps in Boston, New Orleans, Cincinnati, and San Francisco. [7] An increasing amount of newspapers published weather maps over the following years, before the fad passed in 1912. While the number of newspapers carrying weather maps decreased beyond 1912, many continued publishing them until interest in flight increased interest in the maps once more in the 1930s. [8]

Radio and radiofax

OPC pressure forecast valid at 48 hours, an example of a radiofax chart Opc48hrprog.gif
OPC pressure forecast valid at 48 hours, an example of a radiofax chart

In 1922 the Navy provided radio broadcasts of North Atlantic coastal conditions twice daily. [9] After early agricultural and daily weather information radio broadcasts by the University of North Dakota (1914) and the University of Wisconsin (1921), by 1925 the Department of Agriculture was broadcasting a daily weather forecast nationwide. [10] Beginning in 1930, radiofax broadcasts of weather information and forecasts were broadcast for use by ships at sea, emanating from the United States military and the National Weather Service on a cooperative basis. [11] Starting in 1935, Weather Bureau/National Weather Service weather maps were published in newspapers via the Associated Press in a slightly processed format as Wirephoto weather maps. [12]

By the mid 20th century, radio and television led to the next revolution in weather coverage. NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts began within the United States Weather Bureau in the 1950s, and expanded significantly during the 1970s, providing a more direct line of weather information from the government to the public. In 1975, NOAA Weather Radio was designated the sole government-operated radio system used to convey weather watches, warnings, and warning of nuclear attack. [13] Local radio stations, particularly those that focus on the news, report on current weather conditions and the expected forecast and can act as the main source of information during power outages. [14]

Television

Dan Rather speaking about his experiences in his 61 years of journalism before a group of NATO commanders at Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan in July 2011 Dan Rather in Afghanistan-2011.jpg
Dan Rather speaking about his experiences in his 61 years of journalism before a group of NATO commanders at Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan in July 2011

On television, weather segments are included within local and national news coverage. Dan Rather In early September 1961 reported live from the Galveston Seawall as Hurricane Carla threatened the Texas coastline. He took a camera crew to the U.S. Weather Bureau (National Weather Service) office with a WSR-57 radar console located on the 5th floor of the Post Office Building on 25th Street in downtown Galveston. A meteorologist drew for him a rough outline of the Gulf of Mexico on a sheet of plastic, and held that over the radar display of Carla to give Rather's audience an idea of the Carla's size, and the position of the hurricane's eye. Rather's reporting was the first ever display of a meteorological surveillance radar on television, and has been imitated by more recent reporters. [15]

Weather-centered programming began in the 1970s, with the advent of the PBS-broadcast Aviation Weather (1972–1976), A.M. Weather (1978–1995) and NWS-broadcast Alaskan weather (1976–present) broadcasts, [16] with programs staffed by Federal Aviation Administration and National Weather Service employees. After the development of cable television, the first weather-centered network, the Atlanta, Georgia-based The Weather Channel, went on the air in 1982. The Weather Channel, owned by NBC, Bain Capital, and The Blackstone Group since 2008, [17] moved from all weather-centered coverage to a mix of weather coverage and documentary/entertainment based programming arena during the 2000s. [18]

Other weather-centered television networks were created as competition to The Weather Channel, such as NBC's Weather Plus (2004–2008), WeatherNation (2010–current) [19] and Fox Weather (2021–current), which came into being during the first decade of the 21st century. Other proposed television networks from the Pennsylvania-based AccuWeather company and Atlanta-based NetworkWeather were slated to come into existence during mid to late 2014. [20] [21]

Internet

Internet-based weather information began experimentally with the Viewtron television service in the mid-1980s, [22] and later on through gopher and World Wide Web sites in the 1990s. The National Weather Service formed a direct line of communication with the public through the internet in 1995, [23] with the establishment of internet websites from each local forecast office, river forecast offices, and the various offices within the National Centers for Environmental Prediction. By the 2000s, when internet coverage expanded to cell phone usage and automobiles, various applications allowed users to get information graphically while on the go. Many local and national television stations which are either weather-centered in their programming or contain weather segments, stream their programming online onto the World Wide Web. National weather-centered television networks such as The Weather Channel and WeatherNation stream their content online.

Sensationalism and hype

Satellite images of Hurricane Floyd led to a mass public evacuation of Florida, seven years after Hurricane Andrew. This image is a visual comparison of Hurricanes Floyd and Andrew while at similar positions and nearly identical intensities Andrew-Floyd.jpg
Satellite images of Hurricane Floyd led to a mass public evacuation of Florida, seven years after Hurricane Andrew. This image is a visual comparison of Hurricanes Floyd and Andrew while at similar positions and nearly identical intensities

In 1954 and 1955, hurricane-related news cracked the top ten news items of the year, [24] due to the busy hurricane seasons along the East coast. As nightly network news broadcasts featured weather-related items more prominently within their newscasts – from outside the top 10 news items in the late 1980s and early 1990s to the fourth most-covered item by 1998 – concerns were raised concerning media hype and sensationalism in 2000. Those involved in the discussion agreed on the need to work in a more coordinated manner between the media, government weather organizations, and emergency managers. A series of tropical cyclone-related events in the state of Florida, with the media showing bumper-to-bumper traffic, empty store shelves, and unofficial evacuation announcements, led to public confusion and an overloading of emergency responders located away from the location of significant impact. Reporters made independent extrapolations based on disparate reports to guess when local bridges would close. A concentration on the current strength of Hurricane Floyd, rather than its expected track and weakening farther up the coastline, led to mass evacuations within Florida which were unnecessary. Attempts to correct misperceptions amongst local media went nowhere, as reporters had left the scene, looking for areas of more significant impact. [25]

Sources of hurricane information

Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted ArleneBret1987HurricaneTrackingChart.jpg
Chart with concurrent information for Hurricane Arlene and Tropical Storm Bret logged and plotted

In order to use hurricane tracking charts, one needs access to latitude/longitude pairs and maximum sustained wind information in order to know which symbol to depict. New tropical cyclone information is available at least every six hours in the Northern Hemisphere from the National Hurricane Center. [26] In decades past, newspaper, television, and radio (including weather radio) were the sources for this information. In the late 1970s, specialized programs such as A.M. Weather allowed people to tune at a specific time in the morning to get tropical cyclone-related information for the northeast Pacific and north Atlantic basins. [27] The advent of NOAA Weather Radio in the 1950s, which expanded during the 1970s in the wake of Hurricane Camille, [28] by the National Weather Service allowed those with receivers that had access to the "weather bands" to listen in for tropical cyclone advisories in coastal/near coastal areas.

Local television stations within threatened markets would advertise tropical cyclone positions within the morning, evening, and nightly news during their weather segments every half hour. In the early 1980s, The Weather Channel would have tropical updates at 25 minutes after the hour each hour with this information. When hurricanes were closer to the coast, updates would occur at 25 and 52 minutes past the hour. By the 1990s, the updates became 50 minutes after the hour on a permanent basis. Starting in the mid-1990s, the World Wide Web allowed for the development of ftp and web sites by the National Hurricane Center which allowed the end user to get their information from their official products. [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Hurricane Center</span> United States government agency

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 30th parallel north in the northeast Pacific Ocean and the 31st parallel north in the northern Atlantic Ocean. The agency, which is co-located with the Miami branch of the National Weather Service, is situated on the campus of Florida International University in University Park, Miami, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NOAA Weather Radio</span> Weather radio network in the United States

NOAA Weather Radio (NWR), also known as NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards, is an automated 24-hour network of VHF FM weather radio stations in the United States that broadcast weather information directly from a nearby National Weather Service office. The routine programming cycle includes local or regional weather forecasts, synopsis, climate summaries or zone/lake/coastal waters forecasts. During severe conditions the cycle is shortened into: hazardous weather outlooks, short-term forecasts, special weather statements or tropical weather summaries. It occasionally broadcasts other non-weather related events such as national security statements, natural disaster information, environmental and public safety statements, civil emergencies, fires, evacuation orders, and other hazards sourced from the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Emergency Alert System. NOAA Weather Radio uses automated broadcast technology that allows for the recycling of segments featured in one broadcast cycle into another and more regular updating of segments to each of the transmitters. It also speeds up the warning transmitting process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tropical cyclone naming</span> Tables of names for tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclones and subtropical cyclones are named by various warning centers to simplify communication between forecasters and the general public regarding forecasts, watches and warnings. The names are intended to reduce confusion in the event of concurrent storms in the same basin. Once storms develop sustained wind speeds of more than 33 knots, names are generally assigned to them from predetermined lists, depending on the basin in which they originate. Some tropical depressions are named in the Western Pacific, while tropical cyclones must contain a significant amount of gale-force winds before they are named in the Southern Hemisphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tropical Storm Arlene (1993)</span> Atlantic tropical storm in 1993

Tropical Storm Arlene brought torrential rainfall to the western United States Gulf Coast, particularly to the U.S. state of Texas, in June 1993. The first named storm of the 1993 Atlantic hurricane season, Arlene developed from an area of low pressure in the Bay of Campeche on June 18. The depression slowly strengthened as it tracked west-northwestward and later north-northwestward across the western Gulf of Mexico. Arlene was subsequently upgraded to a tropical storm on June 19, but failed to intensify further due to its proximity to land. The cyclone then made landfall on Padre Island, Texas, with winds of 40 mph (65 km/h) and degenerated into a remnant disturbance on June 21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre</span>

A Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) is responsible for the distribution of information, advisories, and warnings regarding the specific program they have a part of, agreed by consensus at the World Meteorological Organization as part of the World Weather Watch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate of Pennsylvania</span>

The climate of Pennsylvania is diverse due to the multitude of geographic features found within the state. Straddling two major climate zones, the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania has the warmest climate. A portion of Greater Philadelphia lies at the southernmost tip of the humid continental climate zone, with the city proper being in the humid subtropical climate zone. Still, Philadelphia features colder, snowier winters than most locations with a humid subtropical climate. Moving west toward the mountainous interior of the state, the climate becomes markedly colder, the number of cloudy days increases, and winter snowfall amounts are greater.

The Hurricane Databases (HURDAT), managed by the National Hurricane Center (NHC), are two separate databases that contain details on tropical cyclones that have occurred within the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Pacific Ocean since 1851 and 1949 respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane Ella (1978)</span> Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 1978

Hurricane Ella was the strongest hurricane on record in Canadian waters. It formed on August 30, 1978 to the south of Bermuda, and quickly intensified as it tracked west-northwestward. By September 1, Ella reached winds of 125 mph (201 km/h), and it was expected to pass close to the Outer Banks of North Carolina during the busy Labor Day Weekend. The hurricane became stationary for about 24 hours, and later turned to the northeast away from the coast. On September 4, Ella reached Category 4 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale off the coast of Nova Scotia. It subsequently weakened, passing southeast of Newfoundland before being absorbed by a large extratropical cyclone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Atlantic hurricane season</span>

The 2014 Atlantic hurricane season was a below-average hurricane season in terms of named storms and major hurricanes, though average in terms of number of hurricanes overall. It produced nine tropical cyclones, eight of which became named storms; six storms became hurricanes and two intensified further into major hurricanes. The season officially began on June 1, and ended on November 30. These dates historically describe the period each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The first storm of the season, Arthur, developed on July 1, while the final storm, Hanna, dissipated on October 28, about a month prior to the end of the season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Atlantic hurricane warnings</span> Aspect of meteorological history

The history of Atlantic tropical cyclone warnings details the progress of tropical cyclone warnings in the North Atlantic Ocean. The first service was set up in the 1870s from Cuba with the work of Father Benito Viñes. After his death, hurricane warning services were assumed by the US Army Signal Corps and United States Weather Bureau over the next few decades, first based in Jamaica and Cuba before shifting to Washington, D.C. The central office in Washington, which would evolve into the National Meteorological Center and the Weather Prediction Center, assumed the responsibilities by the early 20th century. This responsibility passed to regional hurricane offices in 1935, and the concept of the Atlantic hurricane season was established to keep a vigilant lookout for tropical cyclones during certain times of the year. Hurricane advisories issued every 12 hours by the regional hurricane offices began at this time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Hurricane Isaac tornado outbreak</span> Weather event in the United States

The passage of Hurricane Isaac generated a long-lived, nine-day tornado outbreak that affected the Central and Eastern United States from August 27 to September 4, 2012. The hurricane produced a total of 34 tornadoes, with the strongest being two EF2 tornadoes in Mississippi and Arkansas. There were 19 tornado watches were issued for Isaac over eight days and 171 tornado warnings were issued across 12 states, with 77 of them in Mississippi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane Iselle</span> Category 4 Pacific hurricane in 2014

Hurricane Iselle was the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall on the island of Hawaii in recorded history. The tenth named storm, fifth hurricane, and fourth major hurricane of the 2014 hurricane season, Iselle developed from an area of disturbed weather southwest of Mexico on July 31, 2014. Assuming a west-northwest course that it would maintain throughout its existence, generally favorable atmospheric conditions allowed for gradual strengthening, with the cyclone attaining hurricane status a day after formation. Continued strengthening progressed for several days up until August 4, when Iselle reached peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 947 mbar, making it a Category 4 hurricane. Thereafter, Iselle encountered hostile environmental conditions and quickly weakened before making landfall on the Big Island on August 8 as a moderate tropical storm. Its passage over the island disrupted the cyclone, and Iselle later dissipated on August 9.

The AccuWeather Network is an American cable and satellite television network launched, operated and owned by AccuWeather. The network broadcasts live and pre-recorded national and regional weather forecasts, analysis of ongoing weather events, and weather-related news. The network's studio and master control facilities are based at AccuWeather's headquarters in State College, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tropical cyclone tracking chart</span> Chart used in plotting tropical cyclone tracks

A tropical cyclone tracking chart is used by those within hurricane-threatened areas to track tropical cyclones worldwide. In the north Atlantic basin, they are known as hurricane tracking charts. New tropical cyclone information is available at least every six hours in the Northern Hemisphere and at least every twelve hours in the Southern Hemisphere. Charts include maps of the areas where tropical cyclones form and track within the various basins, include name lists for the year, basin-specific tropical cyclone definitions, rules of thumb for hurricane preparedness, emergency contact information, and numbers for figuring out where tropical cyclone shelters are open.

References

  1. ↑ John E. Walsh & David Allen (October 1981). "Testing the Farmer's Almanac". Weatherwise. 34 (5): 212–215. doi:10.1080/00431672.1981.9931980. Cited in Richard A. Kerr (February 19, 1982). "Almanac's Forecasts Questioned". Science. New Series 215 (4535): 954. Bibcode:1982Sci...215..954K. doi:10.1126/science.215.4535.954. JSTOR   1688330. PMID   17821363.
  2. ↑ "How Does the Farmers' Almanac Predict the Weather?". Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  3. ↑ Ausman, Megaera. "USPS Historian". About the United States Postal Service. USPS. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  4. ↑ Mail, Royal. "(UK)". British Postal Museum. Postal Heritage Trust. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica. Telegraph. Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
  6. ↑ Eric D. Craft. "An Economic History of Weather Forecasting". Archived from the original on 3 May 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  7. ↑ R. De C. Ward (July 1894). "The Newspaper Weather Maps of the United States". The American Meteorological Journal. 11: 97–99.
  8. ↑ Susan Hanson (1997). Ten Geographic Ideas that Changed the World. Rutgers University Press. p. 54. ISBN   978-0813523576.
  9. ↑ "Code for Reception of U.S. Weather Reports on a 2,500 meter wave length is Given". Rock Island Argus. 1922-01-07. p. 5.
  10. ↑ "Radio Nights Change Conditions on Maryland and Virginia Farms". Washington DC Sunday Star. 1925-01-25. p. 2.
  11. ↑ National Weather Service (2013-10-18). "National Weather Service Marine Broadcasts:Radiofax". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  12. ↑ Mark Monmonier (1989). Maps with the News: The Development of American Journalistic Cartography. University of Chicago Press. p. 117. ISBN   978-0226534114.
  13. ↑ National Weather Service Forecast Office, Quad Cities, Iowa/Illinois (2009-01-22). "History of NOAA Weather Radio". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2014-01-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (2014). "Power Outages During Cold Weather". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  15. ↑ Megan Garber (October 29, 2012). "Dan Rather Showed the First Radar Image of a Hurricane on TV". The Atlantic . Retrieved January 11, 2013.
  16. ↑ National Weather Service Public Affairs (2013-04-19). "Evolution of the National Weather Service". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  17. ↑ "NBC Universal, Bain Capital, and The Blackstone Group Sign Agreement to Acquire The Weather Channel Properties from Landmark Communications" (PDF) (Press release). Blackstone Group. July 6, 2008. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
  18. ↑ "The Weather Channel to focus more on ... weather". USA Today. November 14, 2013.
  19. ↑ WPXI.com (2008-12-01). "Channel 11 News Announces Changes To Weather Team". Internet Archive Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
  20. ↑ AccuWeather Global Weather Center (2014-01-17). "New AccuWeather Channel will Deliver 'All Weather, All the Time'". AccuWeather. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  21. ↑ Network Weather Channel (January 2014). "Welcome to NWC!" . Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  22. ↑ "Viewtron". University of Florida Interactive Media Center. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
  23. ↑ National Weather Service. "Evolution of the National Weather Service". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  24. ↑ Gordon E. Dunn & Banner I. Miller (1960). Atlantic Hurricanes . Louisiana State University Press. p.  7. ASIN   B0006BM85S.
  25. ↑ The Weather Channel (2000). "The Weather Channel Forum: Policy Issues in Hurricane Preparedness and Response: Media Issues: Position Papers". American Meteorological Society.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  26. ↑ National Hurricane Center (March 2016). "National Hurricane Center Product Description Document: A User's Guide to Hurricane Products" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2017-06-03.
  27. ↑ National Weather Service Public Affairs (2016-09-07). "Evolution of the National Weather Service". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  28. ↑ Department of Commerce (September 1969). "Hurricane Camille: A Report to the Administrator" (PDF). Environmental Science Services Administration. p. vii. Retrieved 2017-06-03.
  29. ↑ National Hurricane Center (March 2016). "National Hurricane Center Product Description Document: A User's Guide to Hurricane Products" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2017-06-03.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.