At the first sign of the white stuff, many programme controllers in some radio stations rub their hands with glee. Many in the industry and beyond consider radio’s immediacy to be one of its strongest benefits, and there is no better time to demonstrate this for the betterment of the station and its listeners, when snow hits a region.
The Art of Radio Weather Forecasting
Of course not every part of the world gets snow and there will be areas that have their own disruptions and events that change everyday life. The same theories that apply in using radio to communicate changing conditions in these areas will apply to the snow hit areas but there’s nothing quite like an sudden snowfall to change the daily life of most people both in conurbations and more remote areas. It’s essential therefore that any forecasts given out by the station when any snow is possible or likely should be:
- From a reliable source
- Be as accurate as possible
- Be credited – the source can add weight to the forecast
- Be consistent
- Be regular.
When listeners get into the habit of hearing a forecast at a regular time, this habit in itself will both provide a service to the community and increase listenership.
The Immediacy of Radio
If the forecasts proof correct and snow falls in any quantity, causing any kind of disruption, this is exactly the time that listeners want to now what’s happening in their local area. Radio is an ideal medium to not only deliver this localness, but also to deliver regular updates that can change instantly as the conditions change.
Another important aspect of this communication is its “localness.” This local area is an area of the street outside the listener’s door, and the subsequent connecting streets. This initially is what the listener wants to know about, and the more “local” a radio station can be, the more dedicated the listener will be to that output. Different parts of the ‘Local’ community will want different information, details for example of:
- School closures
- Road reports, any closures and changing conditions
- Changes and / or cancellations to the rail network
- Reports from any regional airport
- Effects to the Bus network, including alteration to timetables and routes.
- Delivery of essential supplies to shops, and the closures of shops or shopping centres
- Disruption to the sporting calendar
- And for leisure – updates from any ski resorts.
Any radio station thinking ahead should have a host of contacts already established in all of the above areas. The information and any updates can initially be short, easy to understand and purely informational. If disruption continues for any length of time, it’s often good radio for the contacts themselves to explain to the listener in more detail, bringing a human aspect to the snow conditions.
Regular snow updates
Every area, region, or country experiences varying the effects when snow arrives. Some take to it as way of life and are used to it arriving every year at a certain time and will have well established routines to cope with it. Radio stations should be an essential part of these routines. Other countries and areas may be caught unawares. Both will report it differently.
Again depending on the ‘newsworthiness,’ of the disruption and the extent of, the radio station may consider adding to its output from other sources other than its own internal sources. A programme department can be augmented with inserts from:
- Weather reporters and external weather stations
- Police, Fire and Ambulance sources
- Spokespersons from the Roads, Railways and Airport Authorities
- Vox pops from listeners and essential workers
- Listeners’ phone-ins
- Reports from other areas, from other radio stations, and other networks
- Independent suppliers, studios and news sources.
The listener when snow affects them can’t have too much information and as well as being immediately able to react to changing conditions, can also instantly add reports by phone, isdn line, studio link-up and internal sources to make the Snow Output, essential to ‘Local’ listeners.
Dan McCurdy - Dan McCurdy is a freelance writer producer creative and lecturer. Dan is one of the UK's most experienced radio writers and producers. ...
Join the Conversation