Weather Porn

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Friday, September 14. 2018

If you have no idea of how to deal with the occasional hurricane and the frequent nor'easter, you have no business living on the Atlantic coast and less so in flood zones. Never live in a flood zone or, God knows, below sea level. Common sense.

I am not heartless, but please. These are normal weather events in these areas and everybody knows it. No reason to be stupid about it, or surprised. Why are 100s of people "awaiting rescuing"? They were told there would be no rescues. A week's warning ought to be sufficient.

Dramatic weather, raw Nature, is certainly exciting despite being predictable. Hence Weather Porn.

Posted by The News Junkie in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 09:13 | Comments (19) | Trackbacks (0)

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Completely agree. I live in New England, near the coast, and have been through an uncounted number of storms at all time of the year. Often when we get a big storm - like the weekly snow Nor'easters we had last Spring - friends and colleagues from other parts of the country contact me to express their sympathy and horror at the devastation. After thanking them for their concern I make sure they know these events aren't unusual and the most common impact on me is a day off to attend to clean up chores. I invite them to redirect their sympathy energy to people that really suffer from truly devastating natural disasters like tornados and earthquakes.

#1 steve walsh on 2018-09-14 10:01 (Reply)

Thank you! The hysteria over a weather pattern is stupid. It's not like an asteroid were about to strike the earth. This is an annual event and has been for recorded history. Some people seem to get off on possibly being victims.

#2 FRP on 2018-09-14 10:20 (Reply)

It's not the intensity or the type of weather that makes for media hysteria; it's the locations impacted. If it effects or might effect DC and/or NYC they will turn the panic knob to 11. If these places are not effected then it will be barely mentioned or a 1 day wonder at best. (Unless it can be used to bludgeon Republicans, in which case they will puff it up to fantastical proportions.)

#3 Ken in NH on 2018-09-14 10:39 (Reply)

Hurricane detail from 1938- which would be 80 years ago this year. Salt spray in the air, usually confined to the coasts, reached 40-50 miles inland during the Hurricane of 1938, resulting in salt damage to the foliage that far inland. There was also salt on the windowpanes.

In the "if you have lemons, make lemonade" department: a family friend made a log cabin out of all the trees toppled on his property from the Hurricane of 1938.

Whenever there are hurricanes or floods in TX, my sister gets concerned. I keep telling her that as I live 8 miles upland from a nearby river, flooding is not likely. Maybe this year she will get the message. That being said, Texas is the most flood-prone state in the country.

#4 Gringo on 2018-09-14 10:49 (Reply)

Houston will flood if I drop my cooler cup full of water onto a street when I am downtown. If you have never been to Houston, you might think I am exaggerating.

#4.1 Dangerous Dean on 2018-09-14 11:35 (Reply)

While you are engaging in hyperbole, your point is well taken: floods are rather common in Houston.

The University of Houston law library had a basement full of old, precious volumes that got flooded during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001.

#4.1.1 Gringo on 2018-09-14 15:25 (Reply)

We've had over 15 inches of rain in September here in the Texas Coastal Bend just north of Corpus Christi. It's not even the biggest rain event I can remember since we moved here in 2005. That first year, we had 55 inches in five months, though the average is more like 40 inches a year. It's either drought or tropical rain, year after year. Amazingly, it is possible to prepare for it without hysteria. It's even snowed twice without killing anyone.

#4.2 Texan99 on 2018-09-15 10:48 (Reply)

I grew up hearing stories about Hazel. Hurricanes are a normal part of autumn here in the Carolinas; they bring in a major portion of our annual rainfall.

If you look at the map, you can see how the coast curves inland from Florida up under the edge of northern NC. I'm no geographer, but that looks like the consequences of millennia of storms to me.

#5 Lincoln Annie on 2018-09-14 10:53 (Reply)

The point about weather porn is that the TV stations figure it attracts viewers- in addition to such coverage being a public service, of course. Here in TX ice on the roads occurs every 3 years or so. When it does, there are constant updates on the TV. Brave TV announcer on an interstate bypass telling it like it is. From the coverage, you would have thought the Bomb had dropped.

On the other hand, the TV stations are correct that the locals can't handle it. Ice removal equipment isn't there- not cost effective. Snow tires for once every 3 years? Not gonna happen.

Whereas ice or snow on the roads in New England is ho-hum. Both municipalities and drivers are prepared for it.

I do appreciate the advances in weather forecasting resulting in is a lot of ACCURATE advance warning about hurricanes or floods.

#6 Gringo on 2018-09-14 10:58 (Reply)

I lived in the Seattle area for 20+ years. A one inch snow fall will shut the place down.

#7 Sven Svenson on 2018-09-14 11:29 (Reply)

Yet there's something terribly amusing about all the YouTube videos of left coast people slipping and sliding their cars on icy roads. It's vehicular luche libre!

#7.1 sixtyville on 2018-09-14 14:30 (Reply)

Hey, I lived in London, UK for several years.

A quarter-inch slushy dusting of snow closes the metropolis!

#7.2 JJM on 2018-09-14 20:25 (Reply)

And yet, there were regular River Thames frost fairs on and off (from 1400 to 1835, there were 24 winters in which the Thames was recorded to have been over at London) when the Thames froze so solidly that events were held on the frozen river. Todays Londoners are wusses.

#7.2.1 Frances on 2018-09-17 01:45 (Reply)

All it does in Tucson is get hot, then we have flash floods in Monsoons season. However, that does not mean there are no idiots to get in trouble. A flash flood last year got a family of 12 playing in a canyon pool during monsoon season.

#8 Mike K (Link) on 2018-09-14 15:41 (Reply)

Last night we all laughed down here in Tampa watching Fox News and some guy was hanging onto a tower to avert the wind, but barely looked like a breeze on TV. This was while we were all telling Hurricane Irma stories from last year. Guess it was the Carolina's turn this year. You would not surprised to hear how many newcomers in the area have no idea about a hurricane. and proceed to panic.

#9 grant1863 on 2018-09-14 19:49 (Reply)

They all do it.

https://mashable.com/article/weatherman-dramatically-braces-for-storm/

#9.1 Bull on 2018-09-15 03:18 (Reply)

Faking a stormgasm??

#9.2 Bull on 2018-09-15 03:21 (Reply)

"Weather Porn" - yep, that's exactly what it is. I generally don't watch the TV news; but, tonight I did since the commuter trains were all messed up and I was hoping the TV news would tell us why.

OMG! They just wouldn't shut up about the "power going out" in the hurricane hit areas. OMG! The power went out! OMG! The power went out! OMG! Look at all these people without power!

They just wouldn't shut up about it. (never did hear anything about why the trains were messed up)

#10 charles on 2018-09-14 22:21 (Reply)

Now imagine the electric grid being down indefinitely, as if by act of terrorism.

The only good thing is we won't have to listen to the whining.

#10.1 Fjord on 2018-09-15 05:39 (Reply)

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Friday, September 14. 2018

Weather Porn