For years, many here have been complaining about “weather overkill” on TV and radio, whenever there’s a big storm on the way. (Mike Stafford especially likes to point out the over-the-top coverage this kind of things gets on “CityPanic” 24, as he calls it.)
 
Having been in TV news for years, I can honestly say a big storm does catch a lot of eyeballs. Everyone tunes in to hear the dire predictions of how bad it’s going to be and many times – like Tuesday’s big blow that wasn’t – it fails to pan out. Some believe the stations deliberately play it up, knowing their numbers will increase even when it’s not that serious. Yesterday CTV gave the storm at least 10 minutes of their noon newscast, despite the fact it fizzled. 
 
And now those conspiracy theorists may well have a new peg to hang their toque on with a stunning admission from official government forecasters in the U.S. They predicted a blizzard for New York City, with up to an astounding 50 cm of snow! Some places did get a big dump, most didn’t. Yet schools were cancelled, businesses closed, public transit was stopped, and the media urged everyone to keep off the streets as a state of emergency was declared. Wall-to-wall coverage followed. 
 
But now the feds admit they knew the forecast had changed, that the storm wouldn't deliver what it promised, and yet they deliberately didn’t tell anyone for fear the public “wouldn’t take it seriously.”
 
“Out of extreme caution we decided to stick with higher amounts," Greg Carbin, chief of forecast operations at the Weather Prediction Center in suburban Maryland, told The Associated Press.
 
That’s quite an admission. I would not want to be a broadcast weather person, because you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Even when you’re right, you’re wrong. Don’t warn them and the big one hits and you’re in deep doo doo. Do warn them and it doesn’t happen and you’re in the same spot. Rock meet hard place. 
 
But as the city official points out, this was irresponsible because it cost countless governments a fortune in preparedness that simply wasn’t necessary. And it fueled the broadcasters to go into non-stop coverage mode that turned into the environmental equivalent of Geraldo Rivera opening Al Capone’s vault.
 
Some members of the public already mistrust what they hear when it comes to weather forecasts and blame the media for exaggerating what's coming. This surely doesn’t help.
 
AP: Weather service decided last minute not to cut snow forecast