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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Eastern Pa. Weather Authority: "We Blew the Call"

At this time yesterday, Eastern Pa. Weather Authority was predicting a blanket of 9-14" of snow by this time today. I am delighted to report they got it wrong. Here's their explanation.
We blew the call, and everyone blew it - and amending or lowering your original call is not nailing it either. No one got this right, plain and simple. It reminds us of the March 5-7th, 2001 epic fail "blizzard" that never was - very eerily similar. Everything looked great through early this evening, and then everything took an abrupt turn for the worse. So although we put countless hours of time and effort into this one, we failed. Yes we got and will get snow, but nowhere close to the epic amounts that up until today looked to be spot on. So this is our "man-up" post. It wasn't hyped, it wasn't sensationalized. It was the right call from a physics and forecasting standpoint, but in the end, mother nature humbled us. It is our first large scale blown call by our staff of meteorologists for our coverage area this year, and this one stings a lot. And will continue to sting until the next one we're sure.
I don't know about you, but i'll take this kind of failure. We can all breathe a sigh of relief. As Matt Dees asks, "Why complain about a blizzard that didn't happen?"

Updated 1:46 pm. Lehigh Valley With Love published a story entitled "Can We Finally Stop Saying How Great The Eastern PA Weather Authority Is Now?" But blogger George Wacker decided to redact portions "solely on professional courtesy."

This is the first time I ever heard a blogger refer to himself as a professional.

He snidely adds, "[W]e have the original saved if they decide to take the shitty route." But he's already beaten them to it.

23 comments:

Ron Beitler said...

Better to overblow then underblow in the case of winter weather I guess. Better safe vs sorry....

Anonymous said...

EPAWA are good at what they are do but they are just as melodramatic as some of their subscribers and followers and that's what invites criticism.

They don't need to ramble on and on about how they "blew" a forecast or get weird about being in "storm mode" or that winter is "their" season.

Just shut up and forecast.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Excuse them for taking their role seriously.

Anonymous said...

Is this the same George Wacker who had 2 dui's and goes from bar to bar drinking while expensing Discover Lehigh Valley?

Anonymous said...

Wacker has never shied away from the fact that he likes to get "whacked", Dees on the other hand needs to be handed a major award for his videography of West Easton Council meetings, Dan DePaul vs Kelly Gross is like watching a silverback do battle with a venerable old lion.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"Is this the same George Wacker who had 2 dui's and goes from bar to bar drinking while expensing Discover Lehigh Valley?"

I have no idea what he is charging Discover Lehigh Valley for drinks. It appears that he does have a history of DUI.

Hey, we all screw up. I think he went a bit overboard on the weather man. If it were a pol, I'd be all for it. But the weatherman? Come on.

Anonymous said...

I praise them for getting it wrong. Thank God.

Anonymous said...

Just as is happening in medicine, the weather forecasters are relying upon computer generated models, rather than upon knowledge, wisdom and experience. In fact, there are a number of models to choose from. Why the forecasters chose to focus upon the European model, with its wildly exaggerated predicitons, and not an American model that was closer to the actual events in its predictions, is a very good question. Using flawed speculations as the basis for imposing martial law, as was done in New York City, gives me the creeps.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Martial law? Cuckoo. The reason forecasters are relying more on the European model is because it is more accurate.

Anonymous said...

At least the storm was corrected named when 'Juno' was selected.
A friend heard a local commenter ask

JUNO where all the snow went?

Fred Windish

Anonymous said...

That Wacker sure is a wack job alright. He's a strain of some sort of white trash that one simply can't describe.

Anonymous said...

"Martial Law"??? Let me guess Deblassio, Democrat like Obama. Oh, I get it. Another step in the Socialist World Order take over.

You bagger people are nuttier than a walnut tree.

Anonymous said...

I just hope Wacker doesn't kill somebody while hammered. That's more important than any blown forecast or Internet bitch fight or homoerotic scrotal obsession (e.g. 4:33 PM).

Matt M. said...

They just posted a deep, indepth analysis on what failed. Props to them for providing a public failure analysis not seen outside the walls of a corporation. The NWS was also all-in through the 11th hour on ths one. They have a stellar record otherwise. I started following them the week leading into the Halloween snow they called for when no one else would.

Anonymous said...

"Why the forecasters chose to focus upon the European model, with its wildly exaggerated predicitons, and not an American model that was closer to the actual events in its predictions, is a very good question. Using flawed speculations as the basis for imposing martial law, as was done in New York City, gives me the creeps."

Gee, a little research never hurt anyone. Talk about exaggerating. Open your mind and avoid misuse of the term "martial law". The Euro model is actually a team effort, with data from the US. And it's simply better. It got this one wrong - no model is perfect.

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/26/blizzard-questions-including-why-a-european-weather-model-excels-at-u-s-forecasts/?_r=0

Anonymous said...

Its just a commodity gig epicentrilized, to be propogated and perpatrated out of, and upon the indigent public welfare system by those at the NYSE¿

This is very similar to the political parasitism perpatrated for personal pockets of allentowns elite and beoned¿

redd
patent pending

Anonymous said...

NYC subways hadn't been shut down in 100 years. They were shut down today for absolutely no reason by two nanny state politicians with more ego than common sense. It's not a left wing plot. It's just the stupidity of those who elected two particularly stupid left wing nanny staters. Fiorello LaGuardia and Ed Koch would be embarrassed and ashamed at how helpless their constituents have become.

Anonymous said...

http://norcocountyjail.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

well said 9:47

Ed Hanna sucks monkey balls said...

You cant blame me, I didn't fuck up the forecast.

Anonymous said...

"when the bad people hate you, that is a very good thing"

classic

being bad-mouthed by Bernie O'Hare IS a badge of honor to be worn proudly

Anonymous said...

Drug addict, multiple failed marriage Rush Limbaugh, teabagger favorite, stated that the weather forecasting industry is controlled by liberals.

Yes, it is so. You can't make this kind of inbred crazy up.

Anonymous said...

asshole 2:07,

exactly what is a "teabagger"?