Collegian Discourages Volunteer Organization

This letter is in response to the Wednesday, March 4 critique of the Campus Weather Service’s Weather Page.

The Daily Collegian receives the Weather Page from the Penn State Department of Meteorology volunteer organization, the Campus Weather Service (CWS). The Department of Meteorology is considered to have the best programs in the country and is known for being academically rigorous. The New York Times entrusts its full-page weather spread to the Communications Group in the Department of Meteorology. Also, the Department houses the Pennsylvania State Climatology Office.

One of the CWS’s five branches focuses solely on producing the forecast for The Daily Collegian. Teams of five to ten student meteorologists work approximately two hours each night, Sunday to Thursday, to generate an accurate, free product for The Daily Collegian newspaper. The final product provides students at the University Park Campus with a four-day outlook, a forecast discussion, and almanac/climate information.

Over the past several years, the editors of The Daily Collegian have drastically cut the Weather Page removing sections like the Special Weather Feature. On numerous occasions, The Daily Collegian has printed the wrong forecast, changed the graphics, or given credit to the wrong shift members.

On Wednesday, Collegian editors and managers removed Saturday’s forecast, chopped off the last few sentences of the forecast discussion, and removed the names of the individuals who created the product as a means to make room for more news stories on the page.

Sadly, The Daily Collegian is removing information from the most accurate forecast in the State College area. The shift managers and vice-president of The Daily Collegian branch of the CWS have maintained statistics on forecasts generated by each shift, and compared the forecasts against the numerical weather prediction models and professional service providers. Through the statistics, the branch has found that the CWS forecast is consistently the most accurate in Happy Valley. This accuracy stems from the fact that CWS focuses on one location and not the entire nation. The professional service providers cannot devote the resources to a site-specific forecast.

I hope that the editors of The Daily Collegian will reconsider before they criticize members of the Campus Weather Service in the future.

The Daily Collegian

The CWS Daily Collegian Forecast Discussion for October 1, 2008:
A cold front pushed through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the evening hours yesterday bringing with it a cool start to October. Today, expect dreary and wet conditions as overcast skies and scattered showers persist over the State College area. A west wind blowing moisture from the Great Lakes will allow clouds to dominate the skies over Happy Valley for the remainder of the week. High temperatures will stay below 60 degrees for the remainder of the work week as well. The forecast for Parents’ Weekend calls for a mix of sun and clouds with a return to seasonable temperatures.

The Daily Collegian

The CWS Daily Collegian Forecast Discussion for September 24, 2008:
The pleasant conditions that have graced the Keystone state will come to an end as we move through the remainder of the week. Today, clouds will mix with sun, as high pressure finally begins to depart. A low pressure system will develop off the coast of the Carolinas tonight and will bring damp conditions to Pennsylvania by the evening hours Thursday. Showers will continue throughout the day Friday and linger into Saturday as fans prepare for the showdown against Illinois. Temperatures will continue to stay near average as highs will remain near 70 for the forecast period.

It looks like the Daily Collegian finally got it right!

The Daily Collegian

The CWS Daily Collegian Forecast Discussion for September 17, 2008:
The Commonwealth will return to seasonable conditions this week as a high pressure system resides over Happy Valley until the weekend. Today, clouds will dominate the morning skies with some clearing by the afternoon. During the day, temperatures will be normal and cool off to the low 50’s tonight. A mix of clouds and sun will help us get through the week on Thursday and Friday. High temperatures for these days will approach 70 and the low’s for these days will be in the mid to upper 40’s. Nittany Lion fans will look to enjoy promising weather for the big game on Saturday as the high will be in the mid 70’s with mostly sunny skies.

Update (9/17/08 8:30am): The Daily Collegian acreditied the wrong shift again, but everything else was printed correctly.

The Daily Collegian

The CWS Daily Collegian Forecast Discussion for September 10, 2008:
The unseasonably warm temperatures and mostly clear skies that we enjoyed after Hanna's departure came to an abrupt end yesterday during early morning hours as a cold front pushed through the Commonwealth. For today, we will see more autumn like conditions and abundant sunshine as a high pressure system dominates the region. By Wednesday night, clouds will begin to enter the region. Clouds continue to build Thursday into Friday before scattered showers finally arrive by Friday evening, bringing a rainy start to the weekend.

Update: (9/10/08 9:00am): We are currently trying to determine why the forecast in the collegian is incorrect.

Update: (9/10/08 10:30am): The Daily Collegian was at fault for today's errors in the paper and on the web.