Rating top meteorologist in DC Area
StormTracker
my list in order from worst to best...
Tom Sauter or Sater (Fox5 WTTG) Ugh. This guy is the worse. He's swarmy
looking and he talks fast. If there's a storm on the 5 day or extended, total
accumulations (from 5 days away) is a dusting to an inch.
Doug Hill (Channel 9 WUSA) What a goofball. This guy is there to play around
and collect a check. Hedges a great deal. Practices in CYA (Cover Your A**)
Meteorology. Shows no interest in weather until about 4 hours before a major
storm.
Clay Anderson (AM Weekend Guy on Channel 4) Ugh. His voice is annoying and
seems to know nothing about weather.
Jeff Gilbert/Dan Henry (Channel 7 WJLA) Getting better. Dan is the better of
the two and seems to genuinely care about the weather. He talks about models,
etc. Jeff is OK.
Sue Palka (Channel 5 WTTG) Pretty good considering she's not a meteorolgist.
She's very realistic and comes out very well on TV.
Bob Ryan/Tom Kierien (Channel 4 WRC) These guys are good ( in the short range
anywa)y. Bob Ryan is WAY too conservative. He hates snow and cold. Lets take
last weeks big storm for example. The NWS forecasted 4 to 8 (which was
conservative) He comes out with 3 to 6 inches. We ended up getting 14 to 20
inches. Overall a good team. Among the best in DC.
Topper Shutt (CHannel 9) I like him the best. Seems very knowledgable about
weather and cares. Loves snow, which is a plus.
FADE2BLAK84
Stormtracker,
Good job rating the mets. Even though I am not from D.C, you wrote a
nice article.
Nick
MITCHNICK
That hits the nail on the head.
John Krempasky
"StormTracker" <stormt...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000131162028...@ng-cn1.aol.com...
> Bob Ryan/Tom Kierien (Channel 4 WRC) These guys are good ( in the short
range
> anywa)y. Bob Ryan is WAY too conservative. He hates snow and cold. Lets
take
> last weeks big storm for example. The NWS forecasted 4 to 8 (which was
> conservative) He comes out with 3 to 6 inches. We ended up getting 14 to
20
> inches. Overall a good team. Among the best in DC.
I will have to say Ryan appears to have the most neurons firing regarding
tropical weather of anyone in DC/Balt.
Was poor on the "Great Blown Storm" where everyone but WBAL in Baltimore was
incompetent.
StormTracker
StormTracker
StormTracker
DC. But Winter Storms....leaves something to be desired.
Alan Grossberg
> Yeah, I agree, Ryan is tops when it comes to Tropical Weather around here in
> DC. But Winter Storms....leaves something to be desired.
He was a snow lover when he worked in Boston until 1978. Has he tired of cold
and snow as he's gotten older, or is he catering to his easily snow-spooked
viewers?
Steve Okonski
> Doug Hill (Channel 9 WUSA) What a goofball. This guy is there to play around
> and collect a check. Hedges a great deal. Practices in CYA (Cover Your A**)
> Meteorology. Shows no interest in weather until about 4 hours before a major
> storm.
>
I have to disagree here. While Doug Hill is not a degreed meteorologist, he is a
self-confessed wx geek just like most of us in this newsgroup. Hill grew up and
has lived in the Baltimore/Washington area for most of his life. That experience
is a big plus when it comes to forecasting. Topper Shutt is also from this area.
A few years ago, my wife and I had the opportunity for a personal tour of the
studio led by Hill. Beforehand, I didn't know exactly what to expect since it's
difficult to determine a TV announcer's real personality from their on-air one.
Let me tell you that in person Hill is genuine, friendly, fun, loves wx stuff, and
works his butt off.
He doesn't have his own staff, so he is the one scanning the computer wx info,
writing the forecast, drawing the maps, answering the phone, etc. Plus, in between
the on-TV time, he also does forecasts live for a local radio station. Still, he
made the time to take us around the studio, introduce us to various folks, let us
"play" with the special visual effects equipment, and sit just inches off-camera
during his broadcasts.
And, Hill's not reading a script for any of those broadcasts. Of course, he knows
what he wants to say, then just does it and makes it come out smooth. Only those
who have sat before the Sennheiser (I did college radio for 4 years) can truely
appreciate how tough that can be.
Hill got interested in wx as a kid when lightning hit his parents' house (same
thing happened to me). He confesses to getting out of bed at any hour to stare out
the window at interesting weather. Doug Hill loves this stuff like we do, and is
the real deal.
StormTracker
>> Yeah, I agree, Ryan is tops when it comes to Tropical Weather around here
>in
>> DC. But Winter Storms....leaves something to be desired.
>
>He was a snow lover when he worked in Boston until 1978. Has he tired of cold
>and snow as he's gotten older, or is he catering to his easily snow-spooked
>viewers?
>
I believe he is catering to easily snow spooked viewers. I didn't know he used
to be in Boston though....
Bob Johnson
wrote:
>Topper Shutt (CHannel 9) I like him the best. Seems very knowledgable about
>weather and cares. Loves snow, which is a plus.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What does that have to do with his ability to make a good forecast?
StormTracker
>What does that have to do with his ability to make a good forecast?
>
>
Absolutely nothing. If you read the sentence before that, I said he's very
knowlegeable about weather and he cares about it. Then I said he loves snow,
which is a PLUS.
Bob Johnson
LilacWondr
>>
Speaking for myself, I could never warm up to a met who showed no love for
weather...half the fun when the meteorologist is predicting a storm, whether
snow, or some other kind, is seeing the person getting excited about it, too.
I always avoid the local mets who read their forecasts as though it were as
impersonal as the business report. Or the ones with the attitude, "Oh no!
There's a storm on the way!" If they feel like that, you just wonder why they
ever chose the field of meteorology.
Linda
LilacWondr
Louis Gentile
Some women swim the seas,
Some folk track the snowstorm,
but no one likes disease