Building on the basics to serve TV and Internet broadcasting

The sheer volume of data and numerical prediction information now available to the broadcast meteorologist creates simultaneous overload and underuse situation. The two problems work in tandem: the meteorologist wishes to use as much information as possible, yet finds the program production schedule prohibits effective use of all that is available. The underuse issue is more complex, and includes such issues as preparedness for knowledgeable use, inclination to investigate, and the judgement about how much is enough.

During the lifetimes of many currently active broadcast meteorologists, the basic premise of how forecasts are made has changed. Twenty-five years ago, an astute meteorologist working alone could regularly out-forecast the models (and much of the competition) by carefully studying, analyzing and drawing conclusions independently. The models, the wealth of available tools, and the competition have all improved. Today’s biggest challenge is to distill the vast amount of information into an accurate, interesting and timely presentation that the individual user can use. Those who can most successfully localize their presentation are in highest demand.

But the marketplace is crowded: local and network weathercasts, cable channel weather, weather on the Internet, including streaming media, etc. This presentation looks at the ways all of these "shows" can benefit from the latest technology. It explores the suite of numerical models and some of the more innovative displays of model information on the net. Suggestions for organizing and interpreting the information in the context of the individual weathercast are presented, along with their strengths and weaknesses. The opportunities and threats posed by streaming media are touched upon. The author’s background in broadcast presentation and in consulting to help others adds an important perspective to the discussion.