FarmerDave wrote:
salmonoid wrote:
Accuweather is the ultimate click-bait. They name storms and overhype everything. Drama out the wazoo.
True, but we could say that about nearly every outlet.
Bu notice that the rainfall prediction maps are all similar to NOAA in this one. Upwards of 30 inches in some locations.
I think Weather Channel is even worse. I like their videos, but it seems you can't watch a video on there without hearing about global warming or climate change.
I also think Accuweather is on average, more accurate than Weather channel.
That said, I think it is better to plan for the worst and hope for the best in cases like this.
I'm not a weather nerd. Like I said, where's pcray.;-)
Edit: Also now seeing that most (including NOAA) are now saying it could stall at the coast and jog south before heading inland. This likely means even more precip.
I would say that about all the businesses whose primary business is not predicting weather, but delivering weather. Accuweather and the Weather Channel jumped the shark a long time ago; they are now "reality" weather channels and they make their money hyping and dramatizing weather. Most weather forecasters on your local TV newscast aren't meteorologists either. They're broadcasters who read the weather and it is the minority who actually majored in meteorology or understand meteorology.
Agreed that most of them are lifting the actual forecast from the weather agencies. Between NOAA and NWS, they have pretty much everything covered.
Usually insightful is to goto weather.gov and drill down to a county level. Look for the Forecast Discussion link. You'll tend to get more specifics in the discussion, some speculation about forecast possibilities, and in some cases, a good dose of humor.
For instance, from the NWS Wilmington, NC office:
".SHORT TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/...
As of 430 PM Tuesday...Hazard additions include `Flash Flood
Watch` across SE NC and NE SC Thursday through Saturday, with
Hurricane and Storm Surge Warnings maintained, as well as a
Tropical Storm Watch over interior NE SC.
This is shaping up to be a very dangerous scenario, as Florence
nears our coast and stalls, unprecedented, and life-threatening
flooding may unfold. As a Cat-4 system, ocean overwash across
the barrier islands is becoming more likely, associated with
storm surge, and right now forecast to inundate between 7-11
feet along the Pender/New Hanover beaches, north of the center
of Florence initially. If the slow SW drift of Florence pans
out, this to bring very dangerous conditions to the NE South
Carolina coast as well, late Friday into Saturday.
Isolated tornadoes will become a threat Thursday along the NC
coast, as helicity associated with the rain/shower bands of
Florence`s NW quadrant begin to impinge the SE NC coast."