Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Another Nice Day? ... Not for the BBC
Dan Stillman @ 12:00 AM
Our stretch of nice weather will try to hang on today, although we will be on the northern edge of a weak area of instability. Look for partly cloudy skies with some sunshine breaking through and highs in the low 70s. A slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm this afternoon and tonight, with overnight lows in the low-to-mid 50s.
Expect a better chance of showers and storms tomorrow, especially during the afternoon and evening, as low pressure approaches from the west. Mostly cloudy skies will keep high temps to the upper 60s. Continued unsettled on Friday -- Bike to Work Day -- with a good chance of showers and highs in the mid-60s.
Several area events this weekend, including the Preakness in Baltimore and the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival in Reston, have people hoping the weather will cooperate. The outlook is good right now. I think we'll be seeing dry weather with high temps in the 70s. I'm sure those playing in Saturday's Northern Virginia Wiffle Ball World Series will be pleased with that forecast. Let's just hope the wiffle ballers play nicer with each other than Washington's dueling kickballers.
Tornado Trends
Channel 7's Doug Hill did a story Monday on the increase in tornadoes in our region in recent years. The report addressed the question, "Is the area becoming a tornado alley?" Both the tornado outbreak spawned by the remnants of Hurricane Ivan this past September and the La Plata tornado of April 2002 (pictured to the right) were discussed. Imagine that -- a "crazy weather" story during sweeps.
A Graphic Scene
The BBC has changed its on-air weather graphics, and the natives are restless. The move from traditional weather symbols and maps to allegedly confusing and distorting 3-D zooms has caused quite a stir among viewers. Here's the skinny from the UK's DeadBrain and The Herald. The Scots are particularly unhappy according to reports in The Scotsman and by BBC News itself.
Freaky Forecaster
Did you catch Jason's freaky Friday the 13th post last week? Here's something else that's downright freaky: AccuWeather's WeatherHost. Animated caricatures of actual AccuWeather meteorologists deliver lip-synching summaries of the national forecast. Now there's a service I'm guessing the private weather industry doesn't have to worry about the National Weather Service duplicating. (Sorry ... couldn't go an entire post without getting in a Santorum bill reference.)
And finally, thanks to dcrtv.com for noticing this fishBowl DC blurb that mentions a story in the New York Daily News in which Channel 7 weather forecaster Joe Witte is labeled "The Dumbest Weatherman" by a soon-to-be-published Radar magazine poll. By my count, looking back at the previous sentence, CaptialWeather is four times removed from the publication bestowing this dubious honor on Witte in the first place. So no complaining to us, Channel 7. We're just one of several messengers.
Picture by CapitalWeather.com photographer Kevin Ambrose
Expect a better chance of showers and storms tomorrow, especially during the afternoon and evening, as low pressure approaches from the west. Mostly cloudy skies will keep high temps to the upper 60s. Continued unsettled on Friday -- Bike to Work Day -- with a good chance of showers and highs in the mid-60s.
Several area events this weekend, including the Preakness in Baltimore and the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival in Reston, have people hoping the weather will cooperate. The outlook is good right now. I think we'll be seeing dry weather with high temps in the 70s. I'm sure those playing in Saturday's Northern Virginia Wiffle Ball World Series will be pleased with that forecast. Let's just hope the wiffle ballers play nicer with each other than Washington's dueling kickballers.
Tornado TrendsChannel 7's Doug Hill did a story Monday on the increase in tornadoes in our region in recent years. The report addressed the question, "Is the area becoming a tornado alley?" Both the tornado outbreak spawned by the remnants of Hurricane Ivan this past September and the La Plata tornado of April 2002 (pictured to the right) were discussed. Imagine that -- a "crazy weather" story during sweeps.
A Graphic Scene
The BBC has changed its on-air weather graphics, and the natives are restless. The move from traditional weather symbols and maps to allegedly confusing and distorting 3-D zooms has caused quite a stir among viewers. Here's the skinny from the UK's DeadBrain and The Herald. The Scots are particularly unhappy according to reports in The Scotsman and by BBC News itself.
NatCast
Nationals vs. Brewers, 7:05 p.m., RFK
Just a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm this evening. Temps will be comfortable -- in the mid-60s during the game.
Nationals vs. Brewers, 7:05 p.m., RFK Just a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm this evening. Temps will be comfortable -- in the mid-60s during the game.
Freaky Forecaster
Did you catch Jason's freaky Friday the 13th post last week? Here's something else that's downright freaky: AccuWeather's WeatherHost. Animated caricatures of actual AccuWeather meteorologists deliver lip-synching summaries of the national forecast. Now there's a service I'm guessing the private weather industry doesn't have to worry about the National Weather Service duplicating. (Sorry ... couldn't go an entire post without getting in a Santorum bill reference.)
And finally, thanks to dcrtv.com for noticing this fishBowl DC blurb that mentions a story in the New York Daily News in which Channel 7 weather forecaster Joe Witte is labeled "The Dumbest Weatherman" by a soon-to-be-published Radar magazine poll. By my count, looking back at the previous sentence, CaptialWeather is four times removed from the publication bestowing this dubious honor on Witte in the first place. So no complaining to us, Channel 7. We're just one of several messengers.
Picture by CapitalWeather.com photographer Kevin Ambrose
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