Thread: That's the media for you!
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Old January 14th 05, 05:25 PM posted to uk.sci.weather
Alan LeHun Alan LeHun is offline
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First recorded activity by Weather-Banter: Jul 2003
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Default That's the media for you!
In article ,
says...
Just heard the news talking about the 'hurricane' that tragically killed
5 members of one family in Benbecula.
I assume this came from 'Hurricane force 12' winds which was correct
and they had managed to use for a day or two but of course they get
slack and it becomes a 'hurricane'.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing it seems, the media certainly
can't be trusted to know the difference between the two.


You may have a point, if you consider weather forecasts to be for the
sole digestion of other meteorologists, however, I think they are more
directed to the general populace who don't speak in scientific
terminologies but in English.

According to my Oxford, a hurricane is "a storm with a violent wind" or
"a wind of 75mph or more"[1]. I think both definitions clearly cover the
storm in question. The word itself has been in use for at least 400
years whereas the modern scientific definition was finally set in stone
less than 40 years ago.

[]


You can't go wrong with that

Smiley noted.


[1] I must admit to some surprise that that is as close as my paperback
edition comes to the actual scientific definition.
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Alan LeHun
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