US WEATHER SERVICE KILLS ALL CAPS AMERICA'S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL STOP PROVIDING ALL ITS FORECASTS IN CAPS. THE AGENCY HAS BEEN USING ALL CAPS FOR MORE THAN 150 YEARS BECAUSE IT ORIGINATED WITH THE TELEGRAPH. THERE WAS AN EFFORT TO END THE PRACTICE and move to lower case about 20 years ago BUT THE AGENCY'S EQUIPMENT COULDN'T HANDLE IT. FORTUNATELY …
the synthesized voice that "reads" those weather alerts on Weather Radio (which is also rebroadcast on spare cable channels, etc, in various local markets) probably WON'T be upgraded to something we can understand.
On the other hand, MY ELDERLY MOTHER LIKES THE ALL CAPS WEATHER REPORTS BECAUSE THAT'S HOW SHE TYPES IN EMAILS TO HER FELLOW BLUE-HAIRS, so that's nice I suppose...
Caps Lock is Cruise Control for cool.
I am not cool, and have never claimed to be.
But I do agree with the last sentence of the article:
THE LATTER FOR WHEN THE WEATHER IS SO BAD THAT YOU REALLY DO NEED TO SHOUT.
Somehow, the ALL CAPS approach seems more suited to dramatic weather events. Compare:
04/11/16 0800Z: SERIOUS HURRICANE FORCE 9 BUILDING, HIGH RISK OF PROPERTY DAMAGE AND RAINS OF BLOOD
...sounds portentuous and demands attention. But:
04/11/16 0800Z: GENTLE SPRING ZEPHYRS WILL CARESS YOUR UPTURNED FACE LIKE A DELICATE LOVER WHILE THE LIGHTEST OF APRIL SHOWERS BATHE THE FLOWERS IN LIFE-GIVING WATER
...just doesn't sound right.
Getting my coat because the weather.
A year or so ago, when the NWS asked for suggestions on how to improve its web site, my top suggestion was to ditch all caps. I was so disappointed when they ignored it, but now the eyestrain ends on 11 May. Now if they'd only pay attention to the other one. They should collapse this:
Hazardous weather warning for Northern Fairfield, Northern New Haven, Northern Middlesex, Southern Fairfield, Southern New Haven, Southern Middlesex
into
Hazardous weather warning for Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex
You can't believe how painful it is to listen to the zombie voice reading all that---and it frequently runs into over a dozen areas that could be collapsed into five or six. (They split some counties into three or four subdivisions.) You listening, NOAA?
Maybe I should just send the Python code to do it for them.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
