Friday, September 02, 2005
Saturday forecast, and Katrina Notes
Jason Samenow @ 11:40 PM
It's going to a picture perfect day today. Expect low humidity, beautiful sunshine and comfortable temperatures in the low to mid 80s.
Maryland vs Navy, at 6pm in Baltimore, MD (M&T Bank Stadium)
Expect clear skies with temperatures in falling from about 79 to 71 during the game. Score prediction: Navy 13, Maryland 10
Virginia vs Western Michigan, at 6pm in Charlottesville, VA (Scott Stadium)
Clear skies with temperatures dropping from 80 to 70 during the game. Score prediction: Virginia 35, Western Michigan 17
Katrina Notes
I'm not going to write a detailed critique of the media coverage of Katrina, but I do have a few comments. In my opinion, CNN has outclassed its competition. FOX News and MSNBC have done some good things, but just haven't been as consistently strong. I have no patience for The Weather Channel's format that is hampered by "local on the eights" and constant commercial interruptions during breaking news. Furthermore, as a weather outlet, they just don't have the expertise covering news and, surprisingly, their weather coverage has not stood out. CNN and Fox News have leveled the playing field on weather during hurricanes by either having strong in-house talent (CNN's Rob Marciano and Chad Myers) or interviewing outside experts (e.g. National Hurricane Center experts and AccuWeather's Joe Bastardi).
Weather Gamecast: College Football
Maryland vs Navy, at 6pm in Baltimore, MD (M&T Bank Stadium)Expect clear skies with temperatures in falling from about 79 to 71 during the game. Score prediction: Navy 13, Maryland 10
Virginia vs Western Michigan, at 6pm in Charlottesville, VA (Scott Stadium)Clear skies with temperatures dropping from 80 to 70 during the game. Score prediction: Virginia 35, Western Michigan 17
Katrina Notes
- On Thursday I wrote an editorial calling for a Congressional investigation into the Katrina response. It appears this is already coming to fruition. The Associated Press reports "two key U.S. senators . . . will open a bipartisan investigation into what they described as an "immense failure" of the government response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina."
- I thought Steve wrote a very insightful essay in his afternoon post yesterday here at CapitalWeather.com. If you missed it, here's the direct link (or scroll down one post and read the bit with the subheading "More Thoughts on Katrina").
- According to AccuWeather: "This hurricane will be remembered as the worst natural disaster in our nation's history taking away top billing from the likes of the Galveston Hurricane, the San Francisco Earthquake and the eruption of Mount St. Helens." Compare this to what I wrote on this blog exactly one week ago: "if New Orleans gets a direct hit from a Category 4 or higher storm (and Katrina may reach these levels), the potential is there for one of the worst weather catastrophes or catastrophes of any sort on U.S. soil in decades."
- A friend of mine, who evacuated New Orleans for Florida one week ago today, likened FEMA Chief Mike Brown to the (ex) Iraqi (mis)information minister (who said "we will beat the infidels have no fear" at the same time American tanks could be seen down the street). This CNN article lends some credibility to that characterization.
- WxNation.com's Wire continues to provide updates and a nice set of links related to Katrina, including to some of the key charities (President Bush suggested the Red Cross and Salvation Army) if you would like to help.
- Washington Post article: Slogging, and Blogging, Through Katrina
I'm not going to write a detailed critique of the media coverage of Katrina, but I do have a few comments. In my opinion, CNN has outclassed its competition. FOX News and MSNBC have done some good things, but just haven't been as consistently strong. I have no patience for The Weather Channel's format that is hampered by "local on the eights" and constant commercial interruptions during breaking news. Furthermore, as a weather outlet, they just don't have the expertise covering news and, surprisingly, their weather coverage has not stood out. CNN and Fox News have leveled the playing field on weather during hurricanes by either having strong in-house talent (CNN's Rob Marciano and Chad Myers) or interviewing outside experts (e.g. National Hurricane Center experts and AccuWeather's Joe Bastardi).
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