> As much as springtime brings to mind March Madness and
> Baseball(go rangers) to North Texas, I also look forward to
> another "season" alltogether. Thats right kids, its almost
> time for Sever Weather Season and, more importantly,
> "Overacting Meterologist Season". Id like to get your take
> on whos going to over act the most and more than
> likely,loose their minds first?:
>
> A) The Fox 4 Weather Team And Stock Dramatic Players
> B) The Stalward NBC5 Weather Team, led by David Finfrock and
> his moustache
> C) Troy and Petes' Super-Duper Weather Squad at WFAA
> D) Khristine Kahanic and her Amazing CBS 11 Weather Gang
> E) Bob Goosemans' WB/CW33 Minor League Meterology Club
>
> Feel free to drop ANY comment in on this, since this is both
> an informal poll and a chance to take a good laughing poke
> at the "Serious" business of presenting the weather.
>
Well, here's my take on this, having lived in this area now for 16 years (and in North Texas nearly all my life) and being well acquainted with how TV weather works...
First of all, when Gooseman was at CBS 11 (when it was still an indy), he was solid if a tad overdramatic. I don't see much difference now that he's at 33. But I don't think he'll be the first to go overboard on a severe weather "event."
Kristine Kahanek, as others have pointed out, does tend toward breathlessness and some small amount of apparent unpreparedness when she's on the air. Mike Burger is much more solid, although I do get the impression his attempt at trying to be calm comes across as more laissez-faire. I think Jeff Jaimeson tends to follow Kristine's lead in terms of on-air presentation, and I haven't seen enough of Julie Bologna to make a determination. So Kristine's a possibility......
Likewise WFAA/8. I don't like the idea of tag-team weather, and Pete Delkus doesn't seem to be a good fit for N. Texas. Steve MacCauley has the most solid delivery and presentation of anybody on that station, and as others have said, he's due for a chief meteorologist job somewhere. Greg Fields is solid, if a bit bland. I don't think anybody at 8 is going to blow a small thing out of proportion, though.
NBC 5 is, in my opinion, the most solid team on the block, but Rebecca "Don't Call Me Becky" Miller tends towards the overly dramatic as well. Finfrock actually seems to downplay upcoming "events" (especially if they involve ice or snow), so while the others are flying off the handle, David is trying to pull it back a bit. However, if something big does hit, he's also the first one to tell folks to get out of the way or find shelter. He's not going to sugar-coat anything, if the Mayfest hailstorm in '95 was any indication. He said we'd get our asses kicked, and we did.
FOX 4 doesn't tend toward the dramatic as some folks seem to indicate, but I think the thing that bugs me the most is Dan Henry's DJ voice on the air. Come on, you don't have to sound like a game show host to do the weather. That may be what makes some people think he's a drama school dropout. I don't like Ron Jackson much, but his forecasts seem solid and fairly accurate. Evan Andrews is cut from that same Dan Henry cloth, and I'm not even sure Maria Sotolongo is a meteorologist.
So, with all that said, the first ones to go overboard on severe weather will be....
FOX 4! Why? They want to be first with everything, so they'll take a small disturbance out in West Texas and turn it into a threat of severe thunderstorms before dinnertime. By the time the 6pm news rolls around, those few spotty showers out near Snyder and Sweetwater will loom as "big troublemakers by early evening."
That and $4.00 will get you a Starbucks.
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"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound as they go by." - Douglas Adams
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