Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
WLOSers have cranked up the snow sirens. So here we go.
Cabana Boy Cuevas started it last week with his weather-guessing report that it might snow in the “upper elevations.” Sunday night, Candy Cane and Julie Blunder started piling on, with Blunder adding a snowflake to her Monday forecast graphic, as well as Tuesday and Thursday.
Candy warned that Sunday’s clouds were “ominous.” They “look like snow clouds,” she told us. Is that a meteorological term yer throwin’ around there, Queen Candy? Then Blunder, nodding seriously, told us to “make your preparations now.” For what, Blunder??? A few snowflakes in the air? You people make it sound like it’s going to be Armageddon out there.
But this is the usual method of operation on the part of the WLOSer weather team. First, they use any term they can for snow but the word “snow.” There’s the “white stuff,” which Blunder pulled out Sunday at 6. There’s hail, sleet, freezing rain and black ice to blame. There are flurries. Toss in Mother Nature, Old Man Winter and Jack Frost to liven things up. Don’t forget the wind chill.
So, count on WLOSers to be out in force this week hyping the potential for blizzards and interstate traffic-stopping snowfall amounts, especially this week, Thanksgiving week, a huge travel week. We’ll see them with their rulers measuring microscopic snowfall totals. They’ll be bending to the roadway to pound on the dangerous ice. They’ll show us once again how the state DOT has a snow-busting cocktail of sand and other chemicals that make the road safer.
Oh, and don’t forget the required grocery store video of people crammed in lines to buy bread and milk. How do you think ol’ Bob Ingle has to pay the WLOS weather-guessers for their snowcasts?
And of course, with all this snow comes the constant threat of school shut downs. WLOSers will tease parents and students by telling everyone to tune in. But the information is announced on the radio and is all over the Web long before WLOSers spill it.
Here in the mountains, local school districts shut down school with simply the over-hyped threat of snow. A couple of times last year, nary a flake fell, but schools erred on the side of caution and closed school – much to the chagrin of parents everywhere.
Winter 2005, here we come.
Ddonald: It’s obvious that Bob Cobwebb doesn’t get paid to phone record the radio weather, so why make the effort. He’s just mailing it in. Usually the connection is so bad you can’t understand what he’s saying anyway, or he’s reporting in some kind of Folkspeak, such as "break out the woolies" or "Yeah, it’s gonna be a two dog night." As hard as Asheville works to dismiss the hillbilly image and what have we got: Hillbilly Weatherman, Seltzer the Robot, Julie Wonderful and Cabana Boy Auditioning for Broadway. The guys writing Saturday Night Live sketches couldn’t come up with that cast.
Speaking of weather pet peeves:
What is it with the radio version of Bob Cobweb? Half the time he doesn’t even give the "today" forecast on his weather hits on WOXL. For example, this morning his forecast is that it’s going to be bitter cold tonight, and cold again tomorrow with a chance of more snow. No mention of the heavy snow warning for Madison, Yancey, etc.; no mention of the snow in the forecast for most of the rest of the region. It’s almost like Ash is doing the forecast, except instead of just leaving out any mention of snow, Bob’s excluding the whole day’s forecast on a regular basis.
Your dissection of your local station makes me glad you don’t live within the viewing area of my employer. Still, love your blog, and Asheville in general. For a peek at what life is like for a TV geek in the Piedmont, dop by the blog, then follow your own link home…
ddonald, you’re right. they’re all wrong.
wx nut, you’re wrong. i never said Cabana Boy was calling for snow on Sunday. and read carefully. before shooting off at the mouth.
here’s what i wrote last week when Cuevas made his guess:
Cuevas on snow
On Thursday’s weatherguessing session, Mike "Cabana Boy" Cuevas tempered his prediction for Tuesday snow by saying that it might snow, especially in the upper elevations. Well now. That’s a good guess. Snow in the mountains. When it’s 40 degrees in Ashvegas and in the teens up at 5,000 feet above sea level, it might well snow. Good one, Mikey.
Again, you seem to have got it wrong again. Cuevas friday said nothing about snow on Sunday. He did however, have snow possible on tuesday and thursday. If you listen to him closely, you will find out the specifics about who will get the snow.
Go look at their website. It’s still on there 7 day from friday.
Why don’t you get your facts straight before shooting off at the mouth.
I for one, like WLOS and the wx team. You think you can get the forecast anywhere else any better?
Julie might have laid it on a bit much though.
Ash, your bias is showing again.
The irresponsible Weather Channel had snow in their "local on the 8s" forecasts most of the weekend and again this morning.
The irresponsible citizen-times.com has "Snow likely in the mountains overnight" up right now.
The irresponsible WCQS is calling for up to 2 inches tomorrow.
The irresponsible National Weather Service is calling for snow.
If those weak statements you pulled from WLOS qualify as predicting "it’s going to be Armageddon out there," what have all these other outlets, including the beyond reproach AC-T, set us up for? It seems like I see a lot more Ingles ads in the newspaper and hear them on the radio than I do on WLOS. Perhaps it’s not the TV people that Bob is in cahoots with.
Now I understand why people were talking about "expecting snow last night" at work… I didn’t even need an extra layer on the scooter. I really got to stop getting my info off the net.
Maybe "the white stuff" is code to his dealer?
We would love to visit but the weather mongers have us paralyzed with fear.
The funniest thing I’ve ever seen was Jay Siltzer using a ruler to illustrate that there was absolutely NOTHING on the ground in terms of snowfall.
Damn, as a parent, I’m not ready for school closings. No, please, no. Not this week, particularly when there’s already a three-day holiday. Damn.