Weather media in the United States

At first, weather media included reporting on past events, with forecasting playing a role from the late 19th century onward.

It is common for media in the United States to hype cold temperatures that are just a few degrees colder than normal for any region.

Hyping cold in the resort and sunbelt areas of the United States is also common, with the media flying in reporters to cover the weather in Florida or southern California when temperatures below 50 F (10 C) are expected.

While almanac publishers have attributed an 80 to 85 percent accuracy rate to the publication's annual forecasts, independent studies that retrospectively compare the weather with the predictions have not shown them more accurate than chance.

[13] Local radio stations, particularly those that focus on the news, report on current weather conditions and the expected forecast and can act as the main source of information during power outages.

Dan Rather In early September 1961 reported live from the Galveston Seawall as Hurricane Carla threatened the Texas coastline.

Other proposed television networks from the Pennsylvania-based AccuWeather company and Atlanta-based NetworkWeather were slated to come into existence during mid to late 2014.

[20][21] Internet-based weather information began experimentally with the Viewtron television service in the mid-1980s,[22] and later on through gopher and World Wide Web sites in the 1990s.

By the 2000s, when internet coverage expanded to cell phone usage and automobiles, various applications allowed users to get information graphically while on the go.

Those involved in the discussion agreed on the need to work in a more coordinated manner between the media, government weather organizations, and emergency managers.

A concentration on the current strength of Hurricane Floyd, rather than its expected track and weakening farther up the coastline, led to mass evacuations within Florida which were unnecessary.

Weather allowed people to tune at a specific time in the morning to get tropical cyclone-related information for the northeast Pacific and north Atlantic basins.

Local television stations within threatened markets would advertise tropical cyclone positions within the morning, evening, and nightly news during their weather segments every half hour.