Randy Jennings
Supporter
Article posted to Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang Blog today at lunch time:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/03/27/accuweather-rips-weather-service-for-dismissing-tornado-threat-in-oklahoma-wednesday-and-late-warning/
It refers to this marketing material AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions released critical of NWS and promoting their services:
http://enterprisesolutions.accuweather.com/assets/documents/AccuWeather_Success_Moore,_Oklahoma_Tornado.pdf
My 2 cents:
I agree with David Titley in the article, “on any given day, there’s always one forecast that is best”. I don’t think the criticism of NWS Norman is fair, nor do I think AccuWeather should pick one case and try to use it for marking purposes. While I’m sure AccuWeather has a talented team of meteorologists, I would never depend on their service. I have worked for a client of theirs. I remember a case a few years back where I was in our company EOC and there was a tornado on the ground a couple of miles from our location and we where in the path and in the NWS warning polygon. I first heard about the warning over ham radio on the Skywarn net (the Skywarn volunteer at the NWS WFO told us as it was being typed up). Seconds later in came over NOAA all hazards radio. A minute or so later local TV was covering it, and a few minutes later phones started ringing with the local government’s CodeRed call. Just before the warning was cancelled, we finally got an email from AccuWeather saying that all was safe – we could ignore the NWS warning, as their meteorologists had determined it not to be a threat to us. In a time of emergency, I don’t think email is a reliable or timely form of communication. I also don’t think one should second guess a NWS warning, especially when you have several thousand employees to move to safety.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/03/27/accuweather-rips-weather-service-for-dismissing-tornado-threat-in-oklahoma-wednesday-and-late-warning/
It refers to this marketing material AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions released critical of NWS and promoting their services:
http://enterprisesolutions.accuweather.com/assets/documents/AccuWeather_Success_Moore,_Oklahoma_Tornado.pdf
My 2 cents:
I agree with David Titley in the article, “on any given day, there’s always one forecast that is best”. I don’t think the criticism of NWS Norman is fair, nor do I think AccuWeather should pick one case and try to use it for marking purposes. While I’m sure AccuWeather has a talented team of meteorologists, I would never depend on their service. I have worked for a client of theirs. I remember a case a few years back where I was in our company EOC and there was a tornado on the ground a couple of miles from our location and we where in the path and in the NWS warning polygon. I first heard about the warning over ham radio on the Skywarn net (the Skywarn volunteer at the NWS WFO told us as it was being typed up). Seconds later in came over NOAA all hazards radio. A minute or so later local TV was covering it, and a few minutes later phones started ringing with the local government’s CodeRed call. Just before the warning was cancelled, we finally got an email from AccuWeather saying that all was safe – we could ignore the NWS warning, as their meteorologists had determined it not to be a threat to us. In a time of emergency, I don’t think email is a reliable or timely form of communication. I also don’t think one should second guess a NWS warning, especially when you have several thousand employees to move to safety.
