Approaching Storm: How well does Buffalo radio cover it?

[davideduardo]

Accuweather reports: meteorologists say that the fiercest lake-effect snow event yet this season — and potentially in years — will ramp up downwind of the Great Lakes late this week and bury some locations with feet of snow, grinding travel to a halt and potentially stamping new marks in the weather history books. Forecasters warn that travel could be difficult to nearly impossible amid the heaviest snow bands, including along sections of Interstate 90 in the Buffalo, New York, area and I-81 north of Syracuse. Snow may pour down at the rate of 2-4 inches per hour at times with thundersnow possible in the most intense bands.

I'm curious to hear how Buffalo and area stations handle this storm, being forecast as major and "fierce". Those of us old enough to remember the 50's and 60's know how stations would have reacted back in the day. Can we get an idea of how today's coverage compares?

The NAB is always telling legislators and everyone else how radio is critical in such situations. I'd like to know if that is still the case. Let's use a real event of significance to grade the industry on its "essential" news coverage.

 

[Prescott Joe]

While I cannot speak directly to your inquiry, I can tell you that I stream Buffalo's TV stations quite
frequently. The last few days, I've watched the 6pm news and Maria Genero at WGRZ tv 2.
If Buffalo TV is any indication, the answer is EXCEPTIONALLY well. Compared to the days of Tom
Jolls at WKBW and Barry Lillis at WGR, Maria's forecast is much more detailed, with more useful
localized information. Since there have been similar cuts at television and radio operations, one
would hope the results would be similar as well.......we'll see!

 

[four4rock]

My perspective is that - for advanced/forecasted coverage - radio stations are at the mercy of television (and sometimes NWS) forecasters... which, in turn, are interpreters of various standardized models. In that sense, I'd consider the coverage to be 'adequate'. For, during-the-event coverage, other than listener call-in type "reporting" (mostly of road conditions, which admittedly is well received) I'd say radio is pretty empty. Certainly, I can imagine that making available a budget for more meaningful coverage for once-in-a-while events would be challenging.

 

[SirRoxalot]

I guess we'll find out who's live and who's VT or syndicated. All-Christmas stations won't change much. Morning shows who make it into the studio will do fine. Ditto PM drive. Otherwise, it'll be up to WBEN's crack news team (such as it is).

 

[tbolt909]

I guess we'll find out who's live and who's VT or syndicated. All-Christmas stations won't change much. Morning shows who make it into the studio will do fine. Ditto PM drive. Otherwise, it'll be up to WBEN's crack news team (such as it is).

Why drive into the studio when technology lets you broadcast from home? The NY Thruway will start banning commercial vehicles at 4pm Thursday. People who aren't wise enough to choose NOT to drive when it's snowing 3 inches PER Hour don't need information from the Radio. They've already been warned about the severity that this event can bring.

The NFL is certainly monitoring conditions for the Cleveland vs Buffalo game scheduled for Sunday. If the area is crippled by 3 feet or more of snow, it may be impossible to safely play that game...

 

[CTListener]

Why drive into the studio when technology lets you broadcast from home? The NY Thruway will start banning commercial vehicles at 4pm Thursday. People who aren't wise enough to choose NOT to drive when it's snowing 3 inches PER Hour don't need information from the Radio. They've already been warned about the severity that this event can bring.

The NFL is certainly monitoring conditions for the Cleveland vs Buffalo game scheduled for Sunday. If the area is crippled by 3 feet or more of snow, it may be impossible to safely play that game...

Buffalo is more than capable of sorting out three feet of snow falling on Wednesday and Thursday by game time on Sunday, isn't it?. This sort of storm is nothing new.

 

[tbolt909]

Buffalo is more than capable of sorting out three feet of snow falling on Wednesday and Thursday by game time on Sunday, isn't it?. This sort of storm is nothing new.

The forecasts I've seen are for Friday and Saturday to be the worst days. Sure, the trucks can dump salt and plow the roads. Snowfall rates of 3 inches per hour make it difficult to keep up. The major arteries get priority, but one accident can create havoc. That's why tractor trailers are being banned. One guy jackknifes and his rig blocks every lane.

You still need all kinds of staff to run an NFL game. Critical services should get priority over football. Ultimately, the Weather will have the final say...

 

[PTBoardOp94]

From the National Weather Service, today 1:39 PM ET:


...LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THURSDAY
TO 1 PM EST SUNDAY...
WHAT...Heavy lake effect snow expected. Total snow accumulations
of 2 to 3 feet in the most persistent lake snows. The heaviest
snow is expected late Thursday evening through Friday night when
snowfall rates could exceed 3 inches per hour.

 

[SirRoxalot]

If they've got all day Saturday to clear snow from the stadium, they'll play the game here. How many times have we had these forecasts and the final event turned out to be a lot less than predicted? As long as the TV trucks are at the stadium and ready to broadcast, the game will go on. If they can't get there it's another story.

 

[TheBigA]

It's a CBS game with 1PM start. The network trucks usually get there on Wednesday, the latest on Thursday. The announcers also get in early to meet with players and coaches. Are there hotels near the stadium? My recollection is it's in the middle of nowhere. The TV crew will sleep in the trucks. I notice they don't use blimps any more for overhead shots. They use drones. It's going to be in the low 20s on Sunday. That's pretty balmy.

 

[Prescott Joe]

Streaming WECK for a few hours. Lots of updating and continuing coverage of
the impending storm. With internet, television and radio, it would impossible or nearly so, for
someone to be unprepared, unless they choose to do so.........

 

[tbolt909]

If they've got all day Saturday to clear snow from the stadium, they'll play the game here. How many times have we had these forecasts and the final event turned out to be a lot less than predicted? As long as the TV trucks are at the stadium and ready to broadcast, the game will go on. If they can't get there it's another story.

It's a CBS game with 1PM start. The network trucks usually get there on Wednesday, the latest on Thursday. The announcers also get in early to meet with players and coaches. Are there hotels near the stadium? My recollection is it's in the middle of nowhere. The TV crew will sleep in the trucks. I notice they don't use blimps any more for overhead shots. They use drones. It's going to be in the low 20s on Sunday. That's pretty balmy.

Forecasting Lake Effect snow is always tricky. Many variables can change the amount of snow. Narrow bands that linger over one area are different from a widespread event. People will bitch and moan no matter what. If the snowfall is greater than what they thought, they'll ask why they weren't warned. If it's less, they'll say the Weather folks hyped it for ratings.

Climate Change is generating more intense weather events at an alarming rate. The planet is in distress, but don't miss that football game kickoff...

 

[davideduardo]

Climate Change is generating more intense weather events at an alarming rate. The planet is in distress, but don't miss that football game kickoff...

That raises the question of "how many similar storms have there been in Buffalo historically?"

 

[CTListener]

That raises the question of "how many similar storms have there been in Buffalo historically?"

Buffalo weather strikes me as a poor choice to single out as proof of the effects of climate change. That region, being situated where it is, has always been the scene of huge winter snowfalls brought on by the lake effect. If the storms were to become weekly occurrences, or start dumping 5 or 6 feet of snow, then maybe you could surmise that something is drastically wrong. But even then, it could just be a bad winter. The difference between weather and climate is often blurred or ignored. Show a trend toward more frequent or severe storms in Buffalo over the past several decades and you're talking about climate. Tell me that this is like a storm that happened last year and you're just talking about weather.

 

[Mark1981]

It's a CBS game with 1PM start. The network trucks usually get there on Wednesday, the latest on Thursday. The announcers also get in early to meet with players and coaches. Are there hotels near the stadium? My recollection is it's in the middle of nowhere. The TV crew will sleep in the trucks. I notice they don't use blimps any more for overhead shots. They use drones. It's going to be in the low 20s on Sunday. That's pretty balmy.

I’ve been thinking about this all day. The Bills HAVE to play Sunday. Remember, their next game is four days later in Detroit on Thanksgiving. So, there’s no delaying the game until Monday night. The NFL would NEVER move Bills-Detroit to the following Sunday. Imagine Thanksgiving without football in Detroit. Won’t happen! There’s no rescheduling of Bills-Browns. Both have had their byes. So, this game will be played Sunday. The field can easily be cleared. As we saw during the COVID year in 2020, games can be played in empty stadiums. If the roads are too dangerous on Sunday, and crews don’t have a chance to clear snow from seats, Erie County could tell fans to stay home. But the game will be played. Mark my words! To make this post radio related, John Murphy will be there. He lives in Orchard Park. If Eric Wood can’t fly in, I’m sure Steve Tasker can fill in like he did in 2020. It will definitely be an intriguing 72 hours as we see just how severe this storm is!

 

[CTListener]

I’ve been thinking about this all day. The Bills HAVE to play Sunday. Remember, their next game is four days later in Detroit on Thanksgiving. So, there’s no delaying the game until Monday night. The NFL would NEVER move Bills-Detroit to the following Sunday. Imagine Thanksgiving without football in Detroit. Won’t happen! There’s no rescheduling of Bills-Browns. Both have had their byes. So, this game will be played Sunday.

What would you envision happening if the time frame for this storm had its main impact from Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening? All roads closed, everyone ordered to stay at home. Snow piling up to three feet plus. Is the game still "too big to fail"? Must Bills-Lions on Thanksgiving be protected as if it were some priceless gem? Players, coaches, television crews mushed to the stadium by dog sled? I agree that given that actual expected timetable for the storm, Sunday afternoon ought to be OK. But I wouldn't be so emphatic about "NEVER move," "HAVE to play" and "Won't happen." Come to think about it, an assassination or a repeat of 9/11 on Thursday or Friday would probably trigger the "impossible" scenarios you rule out, too.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

The NAB is always telling legislators and everyone else how radio is critical in such situations. I'd like to know if that is still the case. Let's use a real event of significance to grade the industry on its "essential" news coverage.

The last time I had the misfortune of driving into Buffalo during a treacherous snowstorm, no station was doing live coverage. It was probably close to ten years ago, prior to a lot of the streaming platforms and Android Auto/Apple CarPlay that we all take for granted in the car now.

The only source of info was radio. Music stations were playing music. WBEN was playing syndicated shows. I stayed with them until the top of the hour when they ran canned news and a recorded weather forecast. No traffic report.

Maybe they'll have some live staff for the big one. Then again, I'm sure residents on Buffalo take these blizzards in stride since they go through them every winter.

 

[Mark1981]

That raises the question of "how many similar storms have there been in Buffalo historically?"

Lake Erie is unseasonably warm for this time of year, which is the reason for this dire forecast. it was 70 last Thursday. I went for a bike ride. A week later, the plunge in temperatures means cold air will be moving over the relatively warm waters of Lake Erie, creating the conditions for a massive lake effect event. Is this because of climate change, as posted by Tbolt? I don’t know. I’m not a meteorogist or climate scientist. But we did have the lake effect snow storm of November 2014 that forced the transfer of a Sunday Bills-Jets game from Orchard Park to a Monday night in Detroit. A lake effect storm that was more severe than expected swept through Orchard Park in 2017 as the Bills were set to play Indianapolis. In addition, our area has had memorable lake effect events in 2010, 2006, 2001, 2000, 1995 and 1985 that I can remember from my time as a Buffalo radio newsguy. So, in answer to DavidEduardo, these type of storms have happened consistently through the years.

 

[SirRoxalot]

The only likely scenario if the Bills can't play on Sunday in Orchard Park could be a shift of the game to Detroit. It would be easy access for both Buffalo and Cleveland. Detroit is playing in New Jersey on Sunday, so the field is available.

That decision would have to be made Thursday for the logistics to work. The storm isn't really due to hit until Thursday night, so I don't see that happening. If the storm stays on the predicted track, the Bills will play in Orchard Park. Whether fans can get there is another story.

 

[Mark1981]

What would you envision happening if the time frame for this storm had its main impact from Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening? All roads closed, everyone ordered to stay at home. Snow piling up to three feet plus. Is the game still "too big to fail"? Must Bills-Lions on Thanksgiving be protected as if it were some priceless gem? Players, coaches, television crews mushed to the stadium by dog sled? I agree that given that actual expected timetable for the storm, Sunday afternoon ought to be OK. But I wouldn't be so emphatic about "NEVER move," "HAVE to play" and "Won't happen." Come to think about it, an assassination or a repeat of 9/11 on Thursday or Friday would probably trigger the "impossible" scenarios you rule out, too.

I don’t necessarily disagree with the points your making here. An assassination or 9/11 type event would affect the league as a whole. The NFL schedule would be adjusted accordingly. Remember, the two week delay between the championship games and Super Bowl could be reduced to just a week. I’m talking about one game in one city this Sunday. As mentioned in a previous post, the network trucks are already here. Staff and announcers are here. Even if the weather is bad on Saturday into Sunday, I think the NFL could still play the game, even without fans in the stands. I guarantee the league would never mess with the nationally televised Thanksgiving TV game from Detroit. Just my opinion.