The BBC coverage of weather, particularly any unsettled weather, seems to be laughable at the moment.

Coming home, listening to radio, and journalist trying to describe snow hell (By being up on Shap summit of A6) and the massive disruption caused by the closure of A66 (solved by one motorist with a spade, and closure of A66 was normal for a good few days every winter when I grew up alongside it).

Put the telly on, and cue some poor BBC journo sent to some small place (e.g. Aucherader last week) and told to report on the ‘extreme’ weather – and looking slightly embarrassed as they try to big up the 3″ of snow as ‘snowmageddon’.

Repeat to fade, especially if it is wind or snow.

This just seems to be confirming the social norm that the weather is ‘extreme’ and that nature is not to be trusted or relied upon, and that we should be worried but it… 😕

I wish they would run a story a bit more along the lines of ‘put a jacket on lad, its a tad chilly out today’.

And let us not get started over the map projections they use for the weather for social norms…

Coming home, listening to radio, and journalist trying to describe snow hell (By being up on Shap summit of A6) and the massive disruption caused by the closure of A66 (solved by one motorist with a spade, and closure of A66 was normal for a good few days every winter when I grew up alongside it).

I heard that, they seem incredulous that someone actually got out of their car and did something. Surely there should have been a man from the council there…

and closure of A66 was normal for a good few days every winter when I grew up alongside it

which was quite a while ago and hasn’t been normal for a long time since. I bet you sound like your dad did when you were a kid!

Couple that with 24hr news and you have a swathe of crap coverage just to fill the space.

But (I think) that is my point – it is crap coverage, and making a lot of folk think that this is extreme/dangerous/snowmageddon/etc

I think that I may be looking back with rose snow tinted specs on, but the A66 (and other such roads, and most of Scotland) most years has closures and difficult days…

I remember driving Penrith to Scotch Corner over the A66 after it was shut. It were fine.

A few hours later they skidded a snow plough off the road and couldn’t get it back out for weeks.

‘Twas 1995-6 though.

I remember the A66 closing a lot when it was windy, and I remember a trip to the Lake District being postponed because it was closed because of snow.

THe A66 has permanent barriers that can be swung shut it is closed that often. I say that it is an unusual year when it isn’t closed at some point.

Weather is by far the highest traffic topic for online news services. Nothing comes close.

If you think about it, it’s the only topic that affects everyone.

You should write to points of view anyway though.

Does the annoying shouty woman do it anymore?

The ultimate was the Radio 4 today program interview for the coldest day of the year

They phones B&B in Scotland where it had been -6 centigrade the night before

Can you get anything less news worthy than talking to some one about a day at home that’s slightly cold

It snowed for 15 mins 1/2″ in Bristol, the office emptied and the traffic was worse than normal. Thinking of popping to shops to see panic buying.

If it wasn’t so sad it would be laughable {shakes head}{rolls eyes} the media has a lot to answer for trying to fill 24 hr news.

A66 still gets closed, usually it’s a blown over truck though. Here’s me being turned back at the snow gates in jan 2010. Got diverted via the m62 as all the back routes were equally knackered.

Well, Stockport was hit by a nothing less than a “SNOWBOMB” this morning, as reported in the Manchester Evening News.

Agreed.i work in Hertfordshire,the locals were worried about the sleet today.
Ffs,indeed

Wouldn’t call it extreme, but it’s caused me no end of bother today as was meant to be working up in Alston. Had to swap my days about, but still need to try to get up there tomorrow. Doesn’t help though that I’m stuck with a van with economy tyres.

If there’s one thing that’s worse than constantly being told by the media about how bad the weather is.

It’s constantly reading people online saying it’s no problem and how they managed just fine in their open top car with shorts and shades on 😉

A lot of people I know think the BBC has gone way over the top in recent months (couple of years) in trying to glam up / sex up the weather. Admittedly, we are all of an age but they making a huge fuss about stuff that really isn’t that major or important or dangerous or even newsworthy.

Last week was even worse, getting massively excited about a top 5 snow storm in New York. Who gives a $hit what happen in US?

I am on London today. But it’s ok as I have my nice fleece-lined North Face jacket and flat cap with me. Watch me stride out into the elements*.

*Shepherds Bush Green.

One of the effects if 24 hour media

they literally have nothing to fill the hours so they make the most mundane of things sound like they are the end of time

FWIW just imagine what happens when the Queen dies if you think this is bad

PS SCORCHER heat wave threatens Lives as we run out of water etc and cue beach shot

two or three times the news has had reports of the terrible weather and the havoc on the roads from some poor sod standing by the road of terror.

There’s **** all wrong with the road conditions as long as you don’t drive like a dick and have a modicum of common sense (winter tyres would go amiss either), and the weather/snow we have is not extreme and doesn’t need an amber warning.

So stop telling us about it ffsake!.

I blame Michael Fish

BBC now based in manchester….it snowed in manchester and roundabout and a few BBC types have probably now seen more snow in the UK than they have ever seen before so obviously it must be a massive news agenda grabbing thing…normally they only see snow in the Alps on their skiing fortnights. If BBC news was still based in London todays snow would have had no national coverage.

News is still based in London but has moved to Boradcasting house

Oh

that was a crap theory then

Boradcasting house

Met office is as bad surely – Amber warnings here, red warnings there, all because someone got upset when it actually did snow properly for once, and they couldn’t get into the waitrose car park for a couple of days (why did nobody warn us!)

Worse than the BBC it would seem these days are the local schools – my daughters closed today at the first few flakes and was shut last week also.

It’s pathetic, I used to get to school from a village at 1000ft when it was a foot deep for weeks on end.

^^^ + 1,

Back in the mid 80’s (old fart alert) I used to stay on the shores of Loch Awe in a wee village called Dalavich (deepest darkest Argyll), to get to Oban High School we had an 80 min journey (28 miles) on the village minibus and quite often in the winter we as school kids had to get the shovels out and either dig the bus out of a drift or clear a path on the single track road and lay down grit, sometimes we all had to crowd over the rear axle of the bus and jump up and down so we could get traction, all whilst we were listening to Number of the Beast – Iron Maiden on the stereo (my choice) or perhaps the Cure if it was Michael’s turn to play his music, other days we had to listen to Big Country but that was Garys’ music choice (everyone on the bus got either one morning or afternoon when they got to play their choice of music on the minibus stereo) – I say bring back fun and adventure for kids, especially on their way to school.

Saying that some winters we were snowed in for weeks at a time and got heli drops of supplies but that was also quite exciting as there was a shallow bay and overflow pond on the shore of the loch that often froze over so we used to play ice hockey on it with out welly boots and shinty sticks for hockey sticks.

Bring back excitement and danger! 😀