NOAA website bashing

[Chris Sokol]

You have got to see this...man, the media will go anywhere looking for a story.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9445240/

 

[Sam Sagnella]

Maybe if people looking for information on hurricanes went to the NHC's site instead, this article wouldn't have been written. :roll:

 

[Jeff Snyder]

Unprecedented numbers of people are flocking to the Internet in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the emergence of Hurricane Rita, but visitors to the government's online gateway for weather news may have to do some hunting to find what they’re looking for.
....
The storm topping NOAA’s National Hurricane Center Web site? Tropical Storm Philippe, a small system forecast to bypass the United States by more than 1,000 miles.

:roll: The order of storms on the NHC website isn't affected by each storms proximity to the US, it's based on the order of formation. Seriously, gimme a break. Do you go to the Dept of Commerce webpage to find NWS forecasts? Of course not.

 

[Kiel Ortega]

I just read this story and so I felt I should send the writer an email. here's what I said

Mr. Belzman--
I think you really missed the boat with your story. I want to quote you on a few things and show where you were way off:

1) \"The storm topping NOAA’s National Hurricane Center Web site? Tropical Storm Philippe, a small system forecast to bypass the United States by more than 1,000 miles.\"
--Tropical systems on the NHC website are listed in alphabetical order; Atlantic storms followed by Eastern Pacific storms. And if users can't scroll, they probably shouldn't be using a computer anyway.

2) \"Flash back three weeks ago: As Katrina strengthened into a Category 5 monster and local and federal officials pleaded with Gulf Coast residents to take evacuation orders seriously, NOAA’s home page led with the story of how the agency’s historians had debunked a 142-year-old Civil War legend involving a cannon and a cat.\"
--Funny you mention the lead stories, because the screen capture of noaa.gov at the top of your story has two links AT THE TOP of the page has two links that could provide A WEALTH of information (which completely contradicts the next statement): one is to the NHC and the other is to NOAA's new attempt to consolidate information, the Storm Tracker. Your story didn't seem to mention this new webpage, which is great!

\"Links to tracking information about Rita, Philippe and other storms are located on the left side of NOAA home page or by scrolling further down.\"
--actually, they are at the top on the left, as I stated above, from the screen capture of noaa.gov present at the top of your story, no scrolling was required..

True the NOAA and NWS aren't the easiest to navigate, but their mission isn't the easiest either. Not only do they need to make nice products so lazy user's don't have to take 3 seconds to read and scroll, but they need to supply good scientific products and provide a wealth of information to educate the public. I think it was unfair to say how difficult it was to navigate these pages, and not explain HOW to get the information. Reader's of your story that are not familiar with these pages could have been better served by your story of WHERE exactly to go and WHAT exactly to look for. Further, to not mention the Storm Tracker makes me shake my head. To criticize the difficulty in navigating these pages and ignore a great tool that consolidates information is just wrong.

 

[Robert Dewey]

Originally posted by Kiel Ortega
I just read this story and so I felt I should send the writer an email. here's what I said

Mr. Belzman--
I think you really missed the boat with your story. I want to quote you on a few things and show where you were way off:

1) \"The storm topping NOAA’s National Hurricane Center Web site? Tropical Storm Philippe, a small system forecast to bypass the United States by more than 1,000 miles.\"
--Tropical systems on the NHC website are listed in alphabetical order; Atlantic storms followed by Eastern Pacific storms. And if users can't scroll, they probably shouldn't be using a computer anyway.

2) \"Flash back three weeks ago: As Katrina strengthened into a Category 5 monster and local and federal officials pleaded with Gulf Coast residents to take evacuation orders seriously, NOAA’s home page led with the story of how the agency’s historians had debunked a 142-year-old Civil War legend involving a cannon and a cat.\"
--Funny you mention the lead stories, because the screen capture of noaa.gov at the top of your story has two links AT THE TOP of the page has two links that could provide A WEALTH of information (which completely contradicts the next statement): one is to the NHC and the other is to NOAA's new attempt to consolidate information, the Storm Tracker. Your story didn't seem to mention this new webpage, which is great!

\"Links to tracking information about Rita, Philippe and other storms are located on the left side of NOAA home page or by scrolling further down.\"
--actually, they are at the top on the left, as I stated above, from the screen capture of noaa.gov present at the top of your story, no scrolling was required..

True the NOAA and NWS aren't the easiest to navigate, but their mission isn't the easiest either. Not only do they need to make nice products so lazy user's don't have to take 3 seconds to read and scroll, but they need to supply good scientific products and provide a wealth of information to educate the public. I think it was unfair to say how difficult it was to navigate these pages, and not explain HOW to get the information. Reader's of your story that are not familiar with these pages could have been better served by your story of WHERE exactly to go and WHAT exactly to look for. Further, to not mention the Storm Tracker makes me shake my head. To criticize the difficulty in navigating these pages and ignore a great tool that consolidates information is just wrong.

Good job - I send him a similar e-mail as well

 

[Greg Stumpf]

At least for the past 3-4 days, there has been a link at the very top of the NHC Web page Jump to the latest information on Hurricane RITA. Did they not see this?


greg