Joe Bastardi
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Joe Bastardi is a weather forecaster working for State College, PA based Accuweather. He has become well-known for his often surprisingly accurate long-range forecasts along with his potential for over-hyping weather forecasts, a tendency that goes back to his days as a student meteorologist. While limited by the imprecise science of forecasting in some cases, Joe was able to predict snowfall amounts accurately for several recent winter storms well in advance of the event.
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[edit] Biography
Bastardi was born on July 18, 1955, in Providence, Rhode Island. He spent his childhood moving frequently, first to Texas in 1960, then to Somers Point, New Jersey in 1965, and finally ending up in college at Penn State University, where he was a member of the varsity wrestling team. He graduated on March 4, 1978, and was hired by Accuweather shortly after. He currently holds the title of "Expert Senior Forecaster".
In 1992 at age 37, Bastardi married Jessica Jane Strunk, age 26, also a Penn State graduate. They have a son Garrett (born 1996) and a daughter Jessica (born 1998).
[edit] His Work
While Bastardi's videos were previously free to the public, Accuweather recently secured his forecasts behind its "professional site". Still, he frequently appears on cable news channels such as CNN and Fox News during storms.
Bastardi produces several weather analysis videos most weekdays. His Big Dog video features his thoughts on long-range trends, while the Point-Counterpoint video features an "argument" between himself and another Accuweather meteorologist, such as Ken Reeves. Bastardi rarely touches upon short-range topics in these videos, even ignoring an impending storm in favor of the next one that may still be several days off. In addition to his videos, Bastardi writes a column that generally summarizes his views in the videos.
Bastardi sometimes contributes columns several times a day when a storm is approaching. His writing is known for its long-windedness and frequent grammatical errors, which lately have improved.
[edit] Forecasting Techniques
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Joe Bastardi has criticized the National Weather Service for being too conservative in its forecasts. There are two theories to forecasting: an all-or nothing approach, and an approach that respects continuity and predictability. Both approaches have their merits; Joe appears to be in the first camp. Some believe that simply issuing probabilities of differing outcomes (such as a 50% chance of rain in twelve hours) relays the most information to people. The probablistic forecasts issued by the National Weather Service are for chance of rain per 12 hour period, chances of 4/8/12 inches of snowfall, and chances of above/below normal values for seasonal forecasts. Others, like Joe Bastardi, believe you should forecast whatever you feel at that moment, and disregard continuity and predictability. This flip-flop approach has its drawbacks as well.
