Tag Archives: Weather news

Snow days can still require school work

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By KYLA THORPE

It seems that nearly everywhere in America there are intense winter storms, shutting down schools and giving students a break from classes.

Or so they would hope.

Just a couple of decades, even years, ago, when all schoolwork was strictly in the classroom, a snow day meant staying in bed and maybe spending some extra time with the family.

In the era that we live in now, just about all of our schoolwork is regularly online, whether it’s homework, PowerPoint slides, or necessary readings.

While many stressed out students would love to just relax for a day or two and catch up on some work, their professors and teachers alike continue to give them assignments online.

It seems to be a growing phenomenon as more news media sites are reporting this trend and more students are complaining. I find the complaints appropriate, though.

Being from Florida, I’m used to not having school due to bad weather, too, but it is usually from tropical storms such as hurricanes.

While there was always a threat of danger and the power going out, these days were great for catching up on sleep and possibly getting ahead in work.

Now, I worry that if we get another hurricane day, I’ll still be stressed out doing work.

Another thing to consider with this situation is with all the work being posted online, what about the students who are located in an area where the power does go out?

Is there a way that they can produce a document that they were truly unable to do any work online without an Internet connection to begin with?

I feel like this solution that schools are using will work for a little while but will have many complications arise soon.

I’m aware that some schools find it to be necessary.

When Hurricane Sandy happened, for example, schools that had to be shut down petitioned for an official “virtual,” school day so that they wouldn’t go over the three snow days already given and have to add school days to a future vacation day.

This is an instance where a virtual school day seems great.

Still though, being in college, there have been moments where I have wished for a snow day so I can have a moment to recharge.

Maybe I shouldn’t wish for those kinds of days anymore, since snow days aren’t necessarily fun days anymore.

It’ll be interesting to see how this all turns out and to see how students take to it.

Weather news no longer boring

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By JENNA JOHNSON

The No. 1 thing people are told not to discuss if they are worried about appearing boring is…

Weather.

If you guessed correctly, congratulations. You could’ve just won a round of “Family Feud.”

Weather is generally accepted as one of the most mundane small-talk topics known to man, reserved to be spoken about only as a last resort.

However, lately weather has been the topic on everyone’s lips and on every news platform.

What causes a boring topic to catapult to the front page of every paper, lead story of television newscasts, and the home page of every news Web site?

The answer is the bizarre factor.

Winter storms in the north and northeast will be mentioned in the local paper, but won’t usually receive so much as a blurb in national news. But when a few inches of snow paralyzes the entire metropolitan area of Atlanta, the weather certainly makes headlines.

Atlanta became a classic example of Murphy’s Law when the storm hit. Traffic stopped resulting in 20-hour commutes, children were held overnight in their schools, citizens were encouraged to stay home and off the roads. The nation’s ninth largest metropolitan city, the headquarters of CNN, Coca-Cola, Home Depot, and even the Weather Channel, was unable to respond efficiently.

Reporters went wild. After all, it’s not every day that the south gets snow, and it’s not every day that a city actually shuts down over two-plus inches of it.

The problems caused by the weather were so extensive that reporters continued to follow the story after the icy situation had been resolved, analyzing who was at fault for Atlanta’s inefficient emergency response system.  The buzz created even extended into this week. Reporters Wednesday wrote stories spectating on Atlanta’s reaction to another incoming storm before it even hit.

Though this week’s storm was more severe than the one prior, it appears Atlanta learned its lesson from the “Snow-pocolypse.” People have been staying off the roads and government buildings and schools were closed well in advance to avoid the traffic.

Whether the weather-obsessed reporters had to anything to do with Atlanta’s much cleaner response to storm number two is up for interpretation. My guess is that Atlanta didn’t want to be the recipient of northern ridicule again.

Why journalists cover natural disasters

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By MELISSA MALLIN

Earthquakes, tornados, tsunamis, hurricanes, oh my!

Natural disasters ravish through towns, destroy everything in their path, and leave people in devastating and life-threatening situations. Often, they happen with little or no warning and occur more frequently today, than they have in the past. When they do occur, most civilians seek shelter, run the opposite direction and pray they still have something for which to come back; yet such disasters are every journalists’ dream.

Maybe I shouldn’t include all journalists’ in this category and narrow it down to most photojournalists. And don’t get me wrong. The dream is not to experience the natural disaster itself, but rather, to capture the tragedy, damage and destruction after it has passed.

Since most natural disasters occur with little or no warning, one can’t just up and decide to go to Japan because a giant tsunami is occurring next Thursday (nor would one want to do so). Also, it is very difficult to be in the place of a natural disaster because they seem to happen on the opposite side of the world and can be hard to get to (the most recent natural disaster took place in the Philippines). And when they do happen, the last place ANYONE wants to be, is in the direct path of a tsunami (Could you imagine being on the beach and seeing a 50-foot wave coming ashore … if you did see that, you surely wouldn’t live to tell about it).

Most importantly natural disasters are dangerous. They cause destruction not only to physical structures but also to human beings. Many people endure injuries, go missing and are even killed. Natural disasters have a tendency of taking away and limiting resources as well. After a storm, resources become scarce; basic living essentials-food, water, and shelter-are hard to find and doctors are limited due to availability, limited medication and a continuous intake of injured people.

Though natural disasters are devastating and depressing, they produce jaw-dropping news stories and photographs. Stories capture the numerical data — the amount of damage, how many people were affected by it,-as well as continuous coverage of the recovery and reconstruction process. Photos, on the other hand, truly capture the impact and damage of the devastation in its greatest form; they allow you to place yourself in the midst of the destruction even if you’re a million miles away.

Think Hurricane Katrina (2005), the earthquake in Haiti (2010), the Japanese tsunami (2011), and, most recently typhoon Haiyan (2013) and the outbreak of tornadoes throughout the U.S. Midwest just last Sunday. I bet you remember more about the images you saw then the stories you read.

However, not all journalists are capable of experiencing the aftermath of a natural disaster. Natural disasters literally, physically, and emotionally destroy people. Journalists and photographers are faced with emotional turmoil, come across screaming children separated from their parents, witness people half-alive with missing limbs and walk around an endless number of dead bodies. Once someone experiences such devastating circumstances, they are changed forever. It takes a tough stomach and some serious perspective in order to cover such tragedies.

For those of us that do have the stomach (or at least think we do) to experience trauma, natural disasters are a chance to truly tell the story of hardship and devastation. Some of the best photographs have been those of war and natural disaster. With natural disaster comes the opportunity for the production of amazing, yet shocking, documentary photographic work.

For tips on covering natural disasters visit http://www.newssafety.org/page.php?page=5926

Reporters’ impact before a big storm

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By DANIELLE COHEN

Miami is one of the major cities in the United States to have a history greatly impacted by hurricanes and tropical storms. As a result, the upcoming end of the hurricane season is a big deal. Hurricane season ends on Nov. 30 and, until then, many Miami residents are often extremely cautious of approaching storms and warnings.

As many Miami residents were starting to believe the rest of the Miami hurricane season was in the clear, subtropical storm formed in the northern Atlantic Ocean on Monday. At approximately 5 p.m. the subtropical storm was about 650 miles southeast of Bermuda. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour moving northwest at nine miles per hour.

Reports from the National Hurricane Center announced that the storm is supposed to head north on Tuesday and later that evening turn to the northeast.

Some strengthening is expected to occur over the next day or two and this storm could near hurricane strength by Tuesday afternoon.

With all of this going on in today’s world, it is hard to think about the world without reporters informing the public about approaching storms or hurricanes.

The information before a storm allows people to protect themselves and their family by taking  precautionary steps to prepare for a hurricane or tropical storm. In severe cases reports could even convince people to evacuate the area. These measures not only saves lives but it helps people protect their homes and belongings beforehand.

Reporters not only help protect the people and their belongings that could be affected by the storms but also the areas economy. Reports suggest that filling up on gas, food, water, batteries, and flashlights and other objects are extremely important before a storm. When reporters report a storm there becomes a surplus in the economy before the storm and a high demand for these items at local stores.

Not only could reports help save people’s lives and have an influence on the economy, but also they influence the employment world. As a result of reports, schools may be cancelled therefore parents may not attend work and teachers may have days off. This could simply be a result of a report of a storm made on the news and may potentially not even be accurate. Schools may be able to stay in session causing adults to attend their jobs.

Storm reports hold great importance and can greatly impact people, the economy, and the amount of local students attending school and residents attending work.