Weather is a huge component of working in the news business. I’ve been in two vastly different markets now, and both places put a major emphasis on weather coverage. I’ve never been super into weather, honestly. As a kid back in Massachusetts, I fondly remember looking out the window in the winter and watching the snow fall, desperately hoping that it would be enough to cancel school. That’s about the extent of my general interest in it.
As an adult, the weather generally only provides a hassle. In Arkansas, the top concerns were tornados, the occasional hurricane, and winter precipitation that the infrastructure isn’t really equipped to handle. In Las Vegas, I knew that people would be interested in those triple-digit temperatures and the late summer monsoon season.
But covering an approaching hurricane whilst in the middle of the desert was not on my “New Nevada Journalist” bingo card. Then along came Hurricane Hilary.
I don’t think it was technically classified as a hurricane anymore when it hit our area, but it still brought some devastating effects. I wrote multiple stories about it. Mt. Charleston is less than an hour away from Vegas, and it took a beating with the heavy rain. Areas flooded, roads got washed out, and as of Friday, some people were still forced to shelter in place because they couldn’t even get out of their own driveways.
Dani Masten, one of our reporters, got to go see the area in person on Friday. Most of the roads in and out are still closed, but they bused some journalists up the mountain to let them get a peek at the extent of the damage.
Covering stories like this feels important, because you know that the work will be relevant to a certain audience. As someone who generally doesn’t care about the weather, I know that I am always concerned when the status of my electricity, water, or internet are concerned. Miraculously, nobody was killed and no injuries due to the storm have been reported.
Here in the valley, we are back to boring old triple-digit temps with no rain in the forecast.
I’ve read that Arkansas has been slammed by a recent heat wave, and I know that must be absolutely miserable. Triple digits is bad enough, but add that deep south humidity and it’s just brutal. I don’t miss that.
I will miss how lovely Northwest Arkansas can be in the fall. There are weeks when it is absolutely wonderful around Fayetteville. But here or there, it looks like anything approaching an actual autumn isn’t in the cards for a bit longer.