# Our Entire News Was the Weather **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 11, 2026, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-entire-news-was-the-weather/1028365 "2026-03-11T12:47:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-entire-news-was-the-weather/1028365/1 "2026-03-11T12:47:12Z")
Mother Nature went berserk last night from Chicagoland down to middle Illinois, western Indiana, and especially Jasper County, IN. We had what looks like (preliminary guess) an EF3 tornado that was actually on the ground for over 100 miles. More storms hit during the night, and it was raining hard on my way to work. A first for me from Apple Maps: “Flood warning. Affected area ahead. Exercise caution.” Oh, yeah, my OP. Our entire news was the weather in detail and the damage reports from all over the place. There was no regular news or sports. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-entire-news-was-the-weather/1028365/2 "2026-03-11T13:08:50Z")
I usually watch WGN’s news, in part because of their weather department. They were non-stop weather coverage from around 5pm last night until 10:30 or 11; they pre-empted their two hours of CW entertainment broadcasting to stay on the weather. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-entire-news-was-the-weather/1028365/3 "2026-03-11T13:09:43Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > There was no regular news or sports. Does not make sense. There is always a game, or something blowing up. That is what wire services are for. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-entire-news-was-the-weather/1028365/4 "2026-03-11T13:10:21Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Does not make sense. There is always a game, or something blowing up. The point, I’m pretty sure, is that the local Chicago TV news didn’t _talk_ about anything else last night, not that nothing else happened in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-entire-news-was-the-weather/1028365/5 "2026-03-11T14:41:35Z")
“Our entire news is the weather” sounds like my idea of Utopia. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-entire-news-was-the-weather/1028365/6 "2026-03-11T14:48:11Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > “Our entire news is the weather” sounds like my idea of Utopia The bad news: it was all severe weather reporting. The good news: no Trump mentions. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-entire-news-was-the-weather/1028365/7 "2026-03-11T14:51:02Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > “Our entire news is the weather” sounds like my idea of Utopia. Compared to the other news it would be except for the fact that, when the entire news is the weather, it’s because it is very, VERY bad. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-entire-news-was-the-weather/1028365/8 "2026-03-11T17:58:35Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Oh, yeah, my OP. Our entire news was the weather in detail and the damage reports from all over the place. There was no regular news or sports. I can sense my wife salivating in the next room. She loves the weather. We record the local news so she can fast forward to it, and when we’re stuck watching it live, no matter how interesting the news is to regular people she says “come on, let’s have the weather already.” She was happier when we lived in NJ, and not in the Bay Area where interesting weather is rare. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-entire-news-was-the-weather/1028365/9 "2026-03-11T18:16:14Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Compared to the other news it would be except for the fact that, when the entire news is the weather, it’s because it is very, VERY bad. I typically listen to [a Kankakee radio station](https://wvli927.com/) while I work; they just mentioned that last night’s storm likely set a record for hail size in Illinois. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-entire-news-was-the-weather/1028365/10 "2026-03-11T18:19:17Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > I typically listen to [a Kankakee radio station](https://wvli927.com/) while I work; they just mentioned that last night’s storm likely set a record for hail size in Illinois. By quite a lot, possibly. The old record was 4.75", and there are five reports of hail stones of 5+“, including one in Kankakee of 6”. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-entire-news-was-the-weather/1028365/11 "2026-03-11T19:15:49Z")
I just checked, and a storm cloud has to be about 50,000 feet high with a tremendous updraft in order to produce a monster hailstone like that. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-entire-news-was-the-weather/1028365/12 "2026-03-11T19:38:37Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I can sense my wife salivating in the next room. She loves the weather. We record the local news so she can fast forward to it, and when we’re stuck watching it live, no matter how interesting the news is to regular people she says “come on, let’s have the weather already.” Perhaps she has a crush on the weather guy. One of the TV meteorologists in my city does an excellent forecast, and is drop dead gorgeous. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/our-entire-news-was-the-weather/1028365/13 "2026-03-11T19:46:10Z")
I’m fine with the local news being entirely devoted to weather in extreme situations like this. What angers me is the ABC/CBS/NBC nightly news has devolved into. A recent example (about a month ago): they wasted five minutes talking about some non-story like Savanna Guthrie’s mom’s disappearance. The second story was that there was going to be a rainstorm somewhere that I don’t live (any storm that involves New York or Boston is disproportionately likely to be discussed). Not even a remarkable rainstorm; just the fact that it was going to rain. This type of garbage is discussed every single night unless there’s an actual major story (say, a war breaking out).