Who didn't know that? People aren't actually stuid enough to blame NOAA are they?
Lest I look stuid....stuid=stupid.
Computer models can't predict what a huricane will do 2 hours from now but they can predict the climate of the whole earth two decades from now. It's freeking magic.
FYI........Ping
There was a Hurricane warning posted if you chose to Ignore then who can you blame?? I grew up in south Florida and these things are a part of life here..And you better respect them.
If anybody is upset that NOAA didn't give them perfect Charley-avoidance advice, i.e. which hotels to avoid, they should visit Texas and Oklahoma in May and realize that days warning is luxurious, compared to 6 minutes warning for tornadoes.
The media again!
Weather forecasting is NOT an exact science! I'm with NOAA on this.
I wonder if what would happen if the global warming predictions were off by a small factor.
It is just a shame that Charley failed to follow the careful instructions given by NOAA. The path and magnatude was clearly stated. The blame falls entirely on the non-compliant hurricane. Bad storm.
"All along, the hurricane center had issued warnings for coastal residents from the Keys all the way up to Tampa Bay, said hurricane center meteorologist Robbie Berg."
What, did the unfortunate folks of Punta Gorda think the hurricane was only a mile wide and would hit Tampa with the precision of a cruise missile? I was all the way up in Lake City and was ready to put on my boogie shoes. No way you can lay this at the feet of NOAA. Any city close to a hurricane's path needs to assume the worst and prepare accordingly.
I spend June and much of July giving hurricane preparedness talks in community centers and churches. Despite everything we tell people, there is always about a third who say they will never evacuate under any circumstance because they don't want to lose all their possessions. Many of these are people over the age of 60 who sway they would rather die than live in a shelter. I tell them to put the name of their next of kin in a pocket so we know who to call if we are lucky enough to find their remains.
A certain percentage of people are just plain stupid. Always have been, always will be.
This is the actual title of the posted article:
"Charley's Force Took Experts by Surprise"
Living here in the DC Metro Area, people never seem to tire of crabbin' about how weather forcasts here are often incorrect. The fact is, weather is difficult to predict. Weather forcasters are the first to admit this. Quoting the NOAA official:
"I think that there is the perception out there because of the satellite photos and aircraft data, people do have faith in the technology and sometimes that faith is too much...A lot of people think we can give them a near perfect forecast. We know we can't give them a near perfect forecast."
For my part, I'm periodically checking the weather maps and forcasts in case Charley decides to veer in my direction, because in the video game of life you only get one man.
I remember that the National Park Service decided to stop giving crowd size estimates after the 'Million Man March' because the supporters didn't like the NPS' numbers. Who can blame them?
Anyone with a memory of these storms knows that they tend to behave erratically. As I said in another thread:
|Past experience has shown that these storms can take erratic paths. They do travel slowly, though and anyone who has a TV or radio should check the reports periodically and get out of the way.|
Check the maps in the link showing the paths of Camille and
Agnes:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1191393/posts?page=138#138
I guess when there is a significant loss of life, some people draw comfort in looking for someone to blame -- the local government, the people who were warned but decided to stay, the weather forcasters, Boutros-Boutros Gali, etc.
Maybe instead it would be more productive to consider the possibility of learning from this, to minimize losses in future storms and doing what we can to help the people who've been affected.
Ah, I think NOAA did a pretty good job with this one. The trac was right on; when you get within 8 to fewer hrs. it is much harder to take into account local climatologocal events that can effect a previous forecast. Hats off to NOAA. Next time listen and GTFO! I am currently watching the next burble that plans to come up the chute; God give us one more cool front at the right time.
The projections SHOULD reflect the degree of uncertainty,
which they DID NOT DO prior to Charley's landfall.
Horsesh*t. Nobody could have predicted a jump from a minimal Cat 2 to a solid Cat 4. The hurricane warning was for the whole west coast including Punta Gorda. People in Florida are smart enough to know you don't relax until it's passed you.
Warning: Listening to the media can be harmful to your health.
I think this whole thing is a media manufactured movement to get the Bush brothers. First they kept it kind of hush hush nationally focusing on other things. Then when it hits Florida the media leads the charge of "what happened". No doubt they'll blame the NOAA "problems" on Bush and call for some kind of big hearing.
Pathetic.
The instructions read:
"Hang outside and Check Daily.
- If the Rope is Dry - Fair.
- Rope Wet - Raining.
- Rope Moving - Windy.
- Rope Moving Rapidly - Tornado.
- Rope Gone - Hurricane."