Tuned In

The Morning After: Ill Wind Blows Weather Channel Good

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZh1tSKHZdU]

And here I thought it was only major national news when we got snow here in New York City! It may have taken a massive, thousand-plus-mile blizzard to do it, but the Midwest has wrestled back the crown of winter primacy from the East Coast, and the result—as a massive snowstorm buried Chicago and other parts of what weathercasters call “the nation’s midsection”—was huge ratings for The Weather Channel. On Tuesday, TWC had its biggest ratings day ever and was the number-one cable news network among viewers age 25 to 54.

One of whom was me; even though NYC only got a glaze of ice this time, I can’t help but be hypnotized by watching a storm unfold with TWC’s chipper, excited staff. On Tuesday morning, its on-air talent engaged in an on-air battle to be the one to coin the storm’s name: an anchorwoman was pushing “The Beast,” while one correspondent kept trying to make “The Crippler” happen. (Meanwhile, in the video above, you can see Jim Cantore blow a gasket, and use some rather un-TWC language, experiencing “thundersnow”: “Oh, JEE-sus!”)

Whatever you called it, if you’re in one of the snowbound parts of the country, how was the coverage? And if you find any local reporters unearthed from a snowdrift this morning, be kind and offer them some cocoa.