They always have these little video teasers at the top of the page. Last week or so, one was of a newly wed who fell to her death, and today one is of a ten year old who dies from a rat bite. Is this really the kind of horrible shit one wants to see when checking the weather 
Those are cheery little “pick me ups” considering this year’s enduring winter.
I actually sent feedback to their site (much good it did, I’m sure) on this very issue. Do we really need gruesome videos with stupid teasers like “She went to the beach and THIS happened!”?
The weather channel started out great with real weather and real time radar and all the buttons and links right where you could find them. But for some reason over the last couple of years they changed their format and dumbed it down and now it is probably the lamest weather site on the net.
If it helps try noaa.gov or intellicast.com.
Try The Weather Network. It’s Canadian, and only stoops to the occasional “Doom! Doom! Ice is coming!” weather warning. There are videos with a chirpy announcer, but they’re optional.
Edit: you have to search for US places, but they’re there.
:: heads over to the Weather Channel for a look ::
“Winter Storm Titan”? WTF?
Even Weather Underground is superior. At least there, you can get an actual forecast for the next few days, including expected snowfall in inches.
If that information is present at all on the Weather Channel’s site, it’s buried. I go to it at all only to see the contrast in Highs and Lows between sites.
A couple of years ago, TWC started the practice of “naming” winter storms, the same way that the National Hurricane Center names hurricanes. TWC argues that it helps their viewers distinguish between different storms, but it’s strongly suspected that it’s a stunt to let them talk up particular storms, in the same way that they do hurricanes. I believe that it was their hope that the names would become widely used.
FWIW, the National Weather Service has refused to even consider using the names which TWC uses, and the idea seems to be generally ridiculed by the meteorological community.
It does seem like Nancy Grace and HLN (the gossipy tabloid channel once known as Headline News) had a love-child with the old Weather Channel, and now we’re stuck with the result.
Huh. I never see the front page, and use Flashblock, so I never noticed. I just have have my ZIP code bookmarked.
I stopped using it a year or two ago. Even with ad block, the layout is so obnoxious that it’s difficult to figure out the, you know, goddamn weather forecast. But if it’s important that you be able to up- or downvote the current temperature, weather.com is the site for you!
Over the weeks, the news stories have been getting worse and worse. I just went on to see “Why is the sky pink and green?!” and “Blueberries on Mars?”
A favorite of theirs is using “WHAT” in headlines. “They found WHAT under Alcatraz?!” “This man’s dog ate WHAT?!” Personally, I just use weather.gov - it’s where most of these sites get their information, so it’s really just going to the source.
Yeah, The Weather Channel’s website is terrible now, as is The Weather Channel itself. If it didn’t have Local on the 8s it would be completely worthless to me…even with Matt Sampson. He’s probably gay, but that is a good looking guy.
Weather channel has thoroughly jumped the shark. Epically so.
I move we all stop using them and they reward us by declaring bankruptcy and slipping quietly beneath the waves with no breathless special by Cantore.
I just wanted to say that I applaud this thread and I hate the weather channel. Recently when Directv dropped them, they were trying to rally the public to write Congress. What a bunch of holier-than-thou drama queens. They said (weather channel staff) that government should get involved to force the satellite broadcaster to carry them, based on the notion that they are providing a public service and saving lives, as if to suggest they have a monopoly on weather forecasting.
“psst - hey, weather channel! Since your station is so necessary and one-of-a-kind in serving of the public, why don’t you offer your services for free, you goody-goody glamorous sensationalistic punks!”
It’s a horrible website. Those videos just reinforce that. I use wunderground on my PC and weatherbug on my phone.
I mostly use WeatherScan (TV) and AccuWeather (online and phone) for my forecast needs, along with local TV station web sites.
Which is why I let out a sigh of sadness when WU was bought out by TWC. I expect it to go downhill as well. There’s already signs: they are using those stupid winter storm names.