I've been a broadcast meteorologist on television since the early 1990's. Happy to answer any questions about the weather or local TV news. Yes, I often wear sneakers on set just out of view of the camera.
I do see changes. Historically news anchors tried to project an air of impartiality so as not to suggest they were on a particular side of an issue. Two currents trends are serving to give news people a little more personality. One is that news programs are including more "entertainment", and, there is some evidence that some viewers prefer to know what side of an issue their news providers are on. That said, "most" of us are "regular" people off the air. :)
Great question. My observation is that once you get past 3 days, what begins to vary the most is timing. Major features will start to shift faster or slower which can, by 5 to 7 days, mean a difference of 12 to 24 hours or sometimes more. At ten days you start to see things appear and disappear or dramatically shift from day to day or run to run of the forecast models. Personally, I'm not fond of the 10 day forecast, but, the things learned by doing it now informs the research that makes them better. Short answer, 10 day forecast...not great.
Never mind that...did you see what the Global Forecast System is doing over the plains at 384 hours!?! :) Usually what happens for me is once I get to the point in a conversation where I have to say, "Mostly cloudy tomorrow", or "Rain by mid-morning" people will giggle and say, "He sounds just like a TV Weatherman!" My favorite kind of interaction is when someone doesn't realize who they are talking with and makes some comment about the weather. Like in a elevator or the checkout line, they will say, "Boy, this is the worst hot spell in 100 years!" I usually play along and walk away wondering what they would think if they knew who they were talking with. :)
Well...they teach us in "TV Weatherman School" how to walk between the raindrops so I really don't need one, but I have a big black golf umbrella in the trunk of my car. :)
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Pick one: Nintendo Ice Hockey, NHL ‘94, or Blades of Steel?Some yes, others no. Many many years ago I was recruited by The Weather Channel. They have a number of very very smart folks who you never, or rarely, see on camera, and working with them was very appealing. The idea of hurricane briefings from the legendary John Hope was great. Ultimately my choice was against doing more broad national coverage over and over again in favor of a more specific area. There is a saying, "Like politics, all weather is local." Thanks!
Hmmm...what is that umbrella company ticker symbol again? :) Excellent question. Actually there is a pretty large industry of private weather companies that do forcasting. Power companies do seasonal outlooks to anticipate demand. Trucking companies and airlines employ meteorologists for short and long range information. And, closer to your example, I believe clothing retailers will consider seasonal forecasts to determine inventory types and levels. Thanks!
Hi, Ken. Big range of answers. At a base level salaries are reflective of the size of the city (we call them "markets"). A beginning TV meteorologist is likely to start by doing the weekend shift in a small market where they might also do some news reporting a couple days per week. Salary in this situation might be between $20,000 and $30,000. From there it does up well into six figures for many larger markets. Most are paid an annual salary.
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