Vendor/TV thread

[snowstormcanuck]

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=don+paul+wivb&qpvt=don+paul+wivb&FORM=VDRE

 

Thanks. I embedded a few too.

 

 

 

He's knowledgeable, personable, funny. Great meteorologist and person.

[huronicane]

I can't think of any hometown mets I particularly care for.

 

I mean, most of them in the Detroit market aren't bad forecasters. But they don't seem to have or express the same level of enthusiasm in weather, as far as weenie-ism and in the detail of their forecasts, that folks like Tom Skilling do. 

 

I'm a bit biased, but I've always been a fan of Jim Madaus and Rich Luterman. Madaus invited me in for a tour of WXYZ back when I was in 2nd grade, so probably back in 1993. I still stop in at WJBK to see Luterman when I'm in town - he was a great resource for me when I was considering Air Force meteorology as a high school senior. Both know their stuff.

 

My biggest thing with the GLOV mets is that I'm just not sure how they would fare should a big outbreak take place.

[snowstormcanuck]

Here's some of Don's cheesy but still charming humour.

 

[Powerball]

I'm a bit biased, but I've always been a fan of Jim Madaus and Rich Luterman. Madaus invited me in for a tour of WXYZ back when I was in 2nd grade, so probably back in 1993. I still stop in at WJBK to see Luterman when I'm in town - he was a great resource for me when I was considering Air Force meteorology as a high school senior. Both know their stuff.

 

My biggest thing with the GLOV mets is that I'm just not sure how they would fare should a big outbreak take place.

 

Well I can only judge them based on what I seen from them on TV. I don't doubt they're very knowledge and have a strong love for weather. I just wish it showed more in their regular forecast presentations. Granted, I realize it's possible they're coached by station management to present their forecasts a certain way. But if I had to choose a Detroit TV met I like the most, it's Paul Gross at WDIV (who unfortunately isn't on TV very often).

 

I do think the Detroit media outlets are pretty good when it comes to handling the severe weather outbreaks (the few times they do happen). There was however the one incident years ago in which Eric Braate on WDIV was on the air covering a late night severe weather outbreak (I think when the Dundee tornado happened in 2010) and you could hear his dog (in the studio) barking in the background on live TV while he was having mic problems. 

 

But it would be interesting to see how they'd handle a truly major snowstorm hitting the region though, given that it's been 40 years since we've seen one.

[BuffaloWeather]

Here's dons weather blog. He is a graduate from Rutgers university. Definitely the most popular met here.

http://blogs.wivb.com/category/weather-watch-4/

[buckeye]

He doesn't still work out of Columbus does he? Because I thought his EC bias was pretty self-evident but that might be a bit off if he's located west of the mountains. 

 

No, he was 'let go'...long time ago.  I'm gonna guess sometime in the early to mid 80's.   After that I think he became a met someplace in the northeast, before ending up where he is now.

A big-hearted man.  He use to have a segment called 'Cosgrove's Critters'.  He would bring on dogs and cats from the Columbus animal shelter and help find them homes.

[huronicane]

Well I can only judge them based on what I seen from them on TV. I don't doubt they're very knowledge and have a strong love for weather. I just wish it showed more in their regular forecast presentations. Granted, I realize it's possible they're coached by station management to present their forecasts a certain way. But if I had to choose a Detroit TV met I like the most, it's Paul Gross at WDIV (who unfortunately isn't on TV very often).

 

I do think the Detroit media outlets are pretty good when it comes to handling the severe weather outbreaks (the few times they do happen). There was however the one incident years ago in which Eric Braate on WDIV was on the air covering a late night severe weather outbreak (I think when the Dundee tornado happened in 2010) and you could hear his dog (in the studio) barking in the background on live TV while he was having mic problems. 

 

But it would be interesting to see how they'd handle a truly major snowstorm hitting the region though, given that it's been 40 years since we've seen one.

 

Gross is definitely knowledgeable. Got his CCM and MS. I've never seen his presentation though.

 

Luterman's got a pretty good presentation.

[michsnowfreak]

Well I can only judge them based on what I seen from them on TV. I don't doubt they're very knowledge and have a strong love for weather. I just wish it showed more in their regular forecast presentations. Granted, I realize it's possible they're coached by station management to present their forecasts a certain way. But if I had to choose a Detroit TV met I like the most, it's Paul Gross at WDIV (who unfortunately isn't on TV very often).

 

I do think the Detroit media outlets are pretty good when it comes to handling the severe weather outbreaks (the few times they do happen). There was however the one incident years ago in which Eric Braate on WDIV was on the air covering a late night severe weather outbreak (I think when the Dundee tornado happened in 2010) and you could hear his dog (in the studio) barking in the background on live TV while he was having mic problems. 

 

But it would be interesting to see how they'd handle a truly major snowstorm hitting the region though, given that it's been 40 years since we've seen one.

Paul Gross is probably the met with the most local climate knowledge. Used to love Jerry Hodak, and Chuck Gaidica was cool too. Though none of the TV mets ever stood out to me as being anything special. Luterman seems nice but always has a conservative forecast based on whatever is going on. And they would handle an 18"+ storm the way they handle all the other big snowstorms of 6-12".....it would take up the first 10 minutes of the broadcast, but I notice they really treat an 8-12" storm almost the same as a 4-6". Same format, the only thing that varies is the forecast total accums for any given storm.

[Hoosier]

Difficult to answer who is the "best" imo.  Skilling is probably most well known and apparently gets a lot of leeway in how he conducts the wx segment (time wise, etc)...that might equate to "best" in the eyes of some.

[Gilbertfly]

Old school Skilling....

 

http://www.fuzzymemories.tv/index.php?c=3826

 

 

I will say this about Skilling...his forecasts have always been of an extremely explanatory nature.  Perhaps this is due to being with the Tribune company which had it's news broadcasts shown around the country on cable (via WGN) and with large spots in the Chicago Tribune.  Given the size of the audience, they seem to have made a good choice for the met.  He has been doing it for awhile, so clearly he is doing something correct.

 

He is the reason I was able to propel my love for weather from merely enthusiasm to a full fledged hobby.  His forecasts on tv and on paper were always very thorough and educational.  He didn't just say how many inches of snow was going to fall or if there were going to be thunderstorms....he explained how and why it was happening OR why a forecast could bust. 

 

His plugs on climate change are 9 out of 10 times properly placed and not overbearing....he certainly shows his enthusiasm for weather at times, but he usually doesn't let it get the best of his forecast.  Times have changed now with the availability of models and social media...so I think sometimes his enthusiasm either gets taken out of context, or gets the better of him without much opportunity to backstep.  But still, all in all....he is very knowledgable forecaster with just the right amount of enthusiasm.

[DaveNay]

I was always partial to Harry Volkman.

 

[Ottawa Blizzard]

Thanks. I embedded a few too.

 

 

 

He's knowledgeable, personable, funny. Great meteorologist and person.

I second this. Don Paul is a great forecaster and a good man. He's better than most of the TV mets we have here in Toronto. Anthony Farnell is the best one in Toronto, in my opinion.

[Stebo]

Yeah locally, Paul Gross is by far the most knowledgeable. Skilling is definitely good, probably one of the best but like Hoosier mentioned, he is very well known with wgn being a superstation.

[DAFF]

As for classy and fun ... Sunny Eliot was hard to resist. No hype was ever needed, his simple personality was a winner from day one. I still can remember sitting in my car listening to his forecast. I would love a modern forecaster to pick up a piece of chalk and do it old school....

[cyclone77]

Skilling's the man.  His weather segments are always interesting/entertaining to watch even when the weather pattern is benign. 

 

[Powerball]

Paul Gross is probably the met with the most local climate knowledge. Used to love Jerry Hodak, and Chuck Gaidica was cool too. Though none of the TV mets ever stood out to me as being anything special. Luterman seems nice but always has a conservative forecast based on whatever is going on. And they would handle an 18"+ storm the way they handle all the other big snowstorms of 6-12".....it would take up the first 10 minutes of the broadcast, but I notice they really treat an 8-12" storm almost the same as a 4-6". Same format, the only thing that varies is the forecast total accums for any given storm.

 

As far as the bolded, that's the thing. A 6-12" storm (which is considered "run of the mill" here) is quite different, in terms of impact, from an 18"+ storm. So I can't say I would agree with that. 

 

The reason I mentioned it is because the stations on Oklahoma, when they saw their big/historic storms in 2009 and 2010, used their entire newscasts to discuss the storm and even extended their coverage beyond the normal scheduled time. The Detroit station do this already when there's a significant severe weather outbreak happening.

[huronicane]

As far as the bolded, that's the thing. A 6-12" storm (which is considered "run of the mill" here) is quite different, in terms of impact, from an 18"+ storm. So I can't say I would agree with that. 

 

The reason I mentioned it is because the stations on Oklahoma, when they saw their big/historic storms in 2009 and 2010, used their entire newscasts to discuss the storm and even extended their coverage beyond the normal scheduled time. The Detroit station do this already when there's a significant severe weather outbreak happening.

 

That's something I wish they'd do in Chicago.

[huronicane]

Was trying to find some of Madaus's presentation, came across this newscast from 1987:

 

http://youtu.be/TLEYJQBybGE?t=22m37s

 

Easter Sunday in Houghton -- 85 degrees!

[weatherzen]

I was always partial to Harry Volkman.

 

That was actually awesome to watch! Interesting to see how the analog days have translated to digital TV weathercasts.

[Ottawa Blizzard]

Here is JB's Saturday summary for today, which he makes available once a week on the weatherbell free site. Essentially, he says that the European and Canadian models have it being much colder over the next two weeks than the GFS does. He also thinks that there will be a lot of travel disruption this holiday season, due to the weather.

 

http://www.weatherbell.com/saturday-summary-december-13-2014

[hawkeye_wx]

I've always liked Skilling as well.

 

Terry Swails has been in the Quad Cities forever, but he recently moved to Cedar Rapids to work for KGAN.  I like what I've seen so far as far as voice/style goes, but he has not yet had anything interesting to forecast.  I want to see how he handles a big storm, if we ever get one again.

[Ottawa Blizzard]

I've always liked Skilling as well.

 

Terry Swails has been in the Quad Cities forever, but he recently moved to Cedar Rapids to work for KGAN.  I like what I've seen so far as far as voice/style goes, but he has not yet had anything interesting to forecast.  I want to see how he handles a big storm, if we ever get one again.

I'm sure you'll get at least one this winter!

[BuffaloWeather]

Wasn't familiar with Skilling but after viewing this video he looks really good.

 

[cyclone77]

I've always liked Skilling as well.

 

Terry Swails has been in the Quad Cities forever, but he recently moved to Cedar Rapids to work for KGAN.  I like what I've seen so far as far as voice/style goes, but he has not yet had anything interesting to forecast.  I want to see how he handles a big storm, if we ever get one again.

 

I've watched him since I was a little kid.  Back before the internet models became available I relied on him and another good QC TV met (Neil Kastor, who retired about 5yrs ago) for most of my weather info.  TWC 5-day planner was always pretty cool back then as well. 

 

You'll like his passion, as he gets pretty giddy whenever there's some interesting weather on the way. 

[cyclone77]

Wasn't familiar with Skilling but after viewing this video he looks really good.

 

 

That is an outstanding video. 

[buckeye]

LC's latest storm centered around xmas, (sounds tasty for our area so of course i'm posting it  )

 

Wave cyclogenesis will occur over the western Gulf Coast once again, but this time with a difference. That is, a northern stream shortwave is expected to dig through the Upper Midwest, eventually phasing with the disturbance as it starts to move out of Texas on Tuesday and Christmas Eve.

This system, especially its track and structure, is critical to the evolution of the jet stream configuration that sets up in the last week of December through (probably) the first ten days of January. I cannot be sure, but the betting money appears to be on a very intense mid-latitude cyclone that follows climatology for a "Galveston Bay Spin-Up". That is, a rapidly deepening area of low pressure that moves up along the western slopes of the Appalachian Mountains into the St. Lawrence Valley. If it is as strong as I think it will be, most of the Eastern Seaboard cities will see mainly heavy rain, while snow and ice threats emerge as far south as the Tennessee Valley and expand through the Ohio River watershed and the central/lower Great Lakes. Bottom line: once the storm moves through I expect a cAk vortex to form from it over James Bay or western Quebec. That, and with blocking signature rearing up from Alaska to Greenland suggests some very cold changes along and eats of the Continental Divide as we head into the last days of 2014 and welcome 2015 to the fold.  

[michsnowfreak]

LC's latest storm centered around xmas, (sounds tasty for our area so of course i'm posting it  )

 

Wave cyclogenesis will occur over the western Gulf Coast once again, but this time with a difference. That is, a northern stream shortwave is expected to dig through the Upper Midwest, eventually phasing with the disturbance as it starts to move out of Texas on Tuesday and Christmas Eve.

This system, especially its track and structure, is critical to the evolution of the jet stream configuration that sets up in the last week of December through (probably) the first ten days of January. I cannot be sure, but the betting money appears to be on a very intense mid-latitude cyclone that follows climatology for a "Galveston Bay Spin-Up". That is, a rapidly deepening area of low pressure that moves up along the western slopes of the Appalachian Mountains into the St. Lawrence Valley. If it is as strong as I think it will be, most of the Eastern Seaboard cities will see mainly heavy rain, while snow and ice threats emerge as far south as the Tennessee Valley and expand thrI ough the Ohio River watershed and the central/lower Great Lakes. Bottom line: once the storm moves through I expect a cAk vortex to form from it over James Bay or western Quebec. That, and with blocking signature rearing up from Alaska to Greenland suggests some very cold changes along and eats of the Continental Divide as we head into the last days of 2014 and welcome 2015 to the fold.  

Sounds good to me too.

[Jackstraw]

Lets give the Indy market some love!.  Bob "Swoop" McClain!  He was an ex Navy forecaster that came to WRTV 6 in 71 when I was 10 years old, and stayed on for 29 years.  He was the first "TV" forecaster that I ever saw that didn't just present the weather segment, he explained it, sometimes getting very technical, which was virtually unheard of in the early days.  I probably learned more about the basics of how the weather "worked" from him than any science class I ever had through high school.  His broadcast during the super outbreak of 74 had you sitting on the end of your seat lol.  But he explained, with great detail using fuzzy black and white radar and old analog maps what was going on and more importantly why.  He would get very excited and animated at times during major weather events like '74 and the blizzard of '78, which got me excited as a young boy, and fostered my interest in weather ever since.  Every time the station got a new weather technology he was like a kid on Xmas morning with a new toy, and he told you how it worked.  His forecasts were generally conservative and realistic, and usually spot on and well explained.

  He got the nickname swoop because when in front of the map and with a strong low pressure system tracking up through the Ohio valley he would crouch down into the lower left hand of the screen and with an animated swooping motion show the track using his hands crossing the entire map, almost yelling, using phrases like ripples of energy along the front You had to see it lol.  Unfortunately I couldn't find but one clip of him 1989, I'm sure there's more out there.  I've lived in many markets in my years and I always use Swoop as my measuring stick for the local forecasters.

 

Here's the only clip I could find along with a short Bio when he was inducted into the Indiana broadcasters hall of fame......

 

Short Bio

http://www.indianabroadcastpioneers.org/?q=hall-of-fame/bob-swoop-mclain&page=1

 

 

[GordoFabulous]

Gotta love McClain. He and David James were the mets on channel 6 that got me interested in weather. From what I hear, he's now the librarian at Bishop Chitard H.S. in Indy.

[IWXwx]

Swoop!!! Like you, Jackstraw, he is my favorite tv met of all time. I believe he got the nickname due to his animated portrayal of a front "swooping" through the state. He was truly a pioneer in teaching the masses meteorology rather than just spewing out a forecast. I would love to meet the man and shake his hand.

 

EDIT: Howard Caldwell is shown at the end of that clip. He is also an icon in Indianapolis television.