stormtracker Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I gotta tell you, I'll ALWAYS be pro NWS. These guys start out with ****ty shiftwork, not that great of pay until after sacrificing many years. They do an excellent job...sure they make some mistakes, we all do. Last time I checked, they were human. I'll always be unabashedly pro NWS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainshadow Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Wow that's impressive. What study found that out? Costofwar.com has the two wars at about 1.4 trillion dollars. I don't want to get into the AP of that site (not my intention to say that site is exactly right, just wanted to find some estimate), so I rounded down to only 1,000 years. Cur FY NWS budget is less than 1 billion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
das Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Yeah, until NOAA stops appointing ex-Air Force generals to be directors, the NWS will suffer, I believe. The past couple directors have seen Air Force weather go to a major hub system and they think it can work for the NWS. That's fine for the Air Force as they only have one customer (themselves) and only one style of product (aviation). The NWS is more complex and has varying functions and wholly differing customer needs. The NWS needs an innovative and knowledgeable director from within to stand up to NOAA and Congress and to not always say "yes Sir". Like, maybe, the Acting Director, Furgione? Or will no Ph.D preclude her from the permanent position? AF weather has way more than one customer and product, btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VAwxman Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 The bolded text is not true. If the general public does not even look at the NWS forecasts, then why does my office get calls every day on our public line asking about the forecast? Why especially when a significant storm is coming, our public line is even busier and my offices Facebook page has questions pertaining to our forecasts? Nice try, but next time you may want to do some research before making incorrect posts. Certainly you get the phone calls, so you would know. I'd bet the vast majority of average folks do not get their day to day forecast from NWS though, which I don't think is necessarily good. Part of this I'm sure is related to "smart phone" weather which is TWC or AccuWx. I definitely don't know any average folks that go to NWS. I'm NOT arguing for or against the whole "should we cut NWS?" question here, but just commenting on this one post specifically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGorse Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Certainly you get the phone calls, so you would know. I'd bet the vast majority of average folks do not get their day to day forecast from NWS though, which I don't think is necessarily good. Part of this I'm sure is related to "smart phone" weather which is TWC or AccuWx. I definitely don't know any average folks that go to NWS. I'm NOT arguing for or against the whole "should we cut NWS?" question here, but just commenting on this one post specifically. I guess you must know a lot of 'average folks' then. Not exactly sure how one defines 'average folks'. My office takes many calls from people that appear to be not well educated in weather, especially since what we have to tell them and explain to them. We have some callers who only call in when a specific weather event (i.e. thunderstorms, heavy rain, etc.) is in the forecast and they are concerned because they had an issue in the past with it. This to me is them being aware and then concerned based on their previous experience. I am not completely sure, but I think these people are generally the 'average folks'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Lizard Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 I am not kidding, NWS HGX puts out better forecasts than TWC, especially in Nowcast situations. I quickly noticed this when they replaced the NWS forecasts with their own on "local on the eights". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VAwxman Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I guess you must know a lot of 'average folks' then. Not exactly sure how one defines 'average folks'. My office takes many calls from people that appear to be not well educated in weather, especially since what we have to tell them and explain to them. We have some callers who only call in when a specific weather event (i.e. thunderstorms, heavy rain, etc.) is in the forecast and they are concerned because they had an issue in the past with it. This to me is them being aware and then concerned based on their previous experience. I am not completely sure, but I think these people are generally the 'average folks'. Your area covers weather for a ton of folks... millions. It's no shock that some out of such a large number will call in. It would be interesting to know for sure where people get their day to day forecasts, and I personally would rather use NWS, but I'd still bet that the vast majority of people rarely if ever look at the actual NWS day to day forecasts. Obviously when it comes to things like warnings, etc, that's very different, but that's not what I'm referring to here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
famartin Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Your area covers weather for a ton of folks... millions. It's no shock that some out of such a large number will call in. It would be interesting to know for sure where people get their day to day forecasts, and I personally would rather use NWS, but I'd still bet that the vast majority of people rarely if ever look at the actual NWS day to day forecasts. Obviously when it comes to things like warnings, etc, that's very different, but that's not what I'm referring to here. I'll be honest... my parents don't get their weather from Mt. Holly. Part of the reason is the fact they don't like to touch the computer But they get their weather from two sources: 1) TV 2) me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGorse Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Your area covers weather for a ton of folks... millions. It's no shock that some out of such a large number will call in. It would be interesting to know for sure where people get their day to day forecasts, and I personally would rather use NWS, but I'd still bet that the vast majority of people rarely if ever look at the actual NWS day to day forecasts. Obviously when it comes to things like warnings, etc, that's very different, but that's not what I'm referring to here. Yeah, a lot of people most likely get their weather information from TV and also via their phone. As you mentioned, it would be interesting to know for sure where people get their day to day weather forecasts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGorse Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I'll be honest... my parents don't get their weather from Mt. Holly. Part of the reason is the fact they don't like to touch the computer But they get their weather from two sources: 1) TV 2) me This is unacceptable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
famartin Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 This is unacceptable! sorry Mike... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Yeah, a lot of people most likely get their weather information from TV and also via their phone. As you mentioned, it would be interesting to know for sure where people get their day to day weather forecasts. Out of curiosity, does your website track daily visitors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGorse Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Out of curiosity, does your website track daily visitors? I am pretty sure it does, but I do not think it is specific. The again I am not the ITO/Webmaster at my office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGorse Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 sorry Mike... That is okay. I have sent my sister the NWS point and click forecast link for her location, and she has complained that "they" never seem to get the forecast right. I asked her more about that, then I realized she was talking about the TV stations forecast. So, she was not even looking at the NWS forecast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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