How to head off hype: The Florence story and a defense of Mike Seidel

For weeks — really for weeks — we watched Florence trek across the Atlantic ocean. She blew her mighty winds, weakened, and then started up anew as she pressed her stormy weight against the East Coast..

HORROR!
DRAMA!
RATING!

It IS VERY easy to fall into the hype hotel when a start brews..

Now let’s not get this fact wrong: Florence has been dangerous. People died, towns are flooded beyond recognition, and 30+ inches of rain fell in some portions of North Carolina. My nephew did the right this by leaving his home and going South.. So yes, this hype actually was a true to a degree. The storm is a slow moving slug of a tropical system and it is causing grief and heartache..

But really?
THIS!?

“This is about as nasty as it’s been,” Weather Channel reporter Mike Seidel says as he appears to be losing his footing — or just shifting his footing dramatically. People calmly walked behind them never losing ground or their footing in any dramatic way..

So “fake weather” are are being now told..

The clips speaks 1000+ words… right? The clip showcases “fake weather,” we are told..

And actually it brought some levity and humor to a troubling situation.

But forgive me for getting serious.

I have been watching Mike Seidel deliver weather on the Weather Channel since I was a young kid.. He is a serious forecaster who is an expert in his craft.

BUZZFEEDNEWS posted an article about the report, and the Drudge Report made it the top story today..

But a comment on that same post by someone named Beth Weiss makes my point without me making it..

Read on to what she says here:

I’m sure most of you have seen this shared on your social media and I feel compelled to speak up about it.
The meteorologist in the video is Mike Seidel. He is 61 years old and has been doing this for a very long time. He understands weather better than almost anyone out there.
We were his crew for landfall in Port Lavaca, TX for hurricane Harvey.
We are his crew for hurricane Florence in Wilmington, NC. When we are crewing for him, we are literally putting our lives in his meteorological hands. He checks radar, and he is careful not to put his crew or himself in danger. I like this man, he’s a joy to work with. He’s funny and witty. And SMART.

To you, a viewer, it appears like he was being over dramatic. I was there and he was not. What you don’t see is the side of a building to his left. When wind blows around a building, it acts like a funnel. People want to see the weather, that’s why they watch it. So to demonstrate the weather, he stands where it’s most visible. He also knows to brace himself in case of fierce gusts.
I can personally attest to the fact that hurricane force winds can take you right off your feet, I got blown completely over during Harvey. Had I lowered my center of gravity, I may not have been blown over.
Also, as I type this, five human beings have perished from this storm. There could be more lives lost.
I don’t understand how a country that loves “reality tv” and tabloids and actually pays attention to what the Kardashians do can have the balls to question a professional doing his best to not get blown away.
We have been working long hours for six or seven days now. I’m so tired I can’t even keep track. We were live until 1am this morning, then had to pack and load gear and got back to our hotel around 3am. We had already lost power, so we slept with no air conditioning. The storm was very loud, the wind howled all night.
Then we were back up at 8am to start prepping for today’s live show. We were live starting about 11:30. It was pouring rain and the wind was strong with some really ferocious gusts.
We’re all a little tired, and not as strong as we usually are.
What Mike Seidel did was cautious and smart and I still have just as much respect for him today as I did yesterday. He’s earned it in my book.
Here’s video I took tonight of the spot he was standing today.
I’m sure I won’t change any minds but I do think a lot of people are being completely ridiculous.

This may not convince you .. but I believe her.

I think Mike Seidel is getting a bum wrap.

And it you want to know how serious it is? … Tropical Storm Florence, which made landfall as a hurricane on Friday, was being blamed for at least 11 deaths as of Saturday night as its torrential rains continued to soak North Carolina and South Carolina during a slow march westward.

Yes there was some hype. But there has been some heartache as well..