Local disc jockey favorites over at radio station 102.5 WDVE, Pittsburgh's radio Home of the Steelers, posit an interesting theory in the above video. Is it possible that local meteorologists have invested heavily in the milk & bread industries only to turn around and forecast nasty weather despite meteorological evidence to the contrary?
What do they have to gain?
Everybody knows there's no more fascinating topic than a shift in the weather; heck come Monday it's probably all anyone's gonna be talkin' about anymore around the water cooler. Local Conventional Wisdom says it is imperative that you stock up on bread and milk before a big storm. Therefore it follows that you would stand to gain a lot of money if you were somehow able to both A. report on the weather and B. profit from increased sales of milk and bread.
But could weather people really do that to the fine citizens of Pittsburgh?
I don't know if we specifically have Local Legend and surefire First Ballot 'Burgh HOFer Joe DeNardo to thank for this, but weathermen have an inherent trustworthiness to natives of Pittsburgh. Joe's tireless effort to guess the weather day in, day out for 45 years is a testament to the working class ethic of the blue collar town he served for so long. Surely the fine people of Joe's ilk who have taken up the mantle of reporting weather happenings in Pittsburgh wouldn't do that, would they?
Quick aside- lightning round book report on Joe DeNardo
Joe DeNardo is a classic Ohio-boy who made good; born November 27, 1930 in Martin's Ferry, Ohio, like any successful person from the heart shaped state he got out of there as quickly as possible. DeNardo went on to attend Wheeling Central Catholic HS in Wheeling, West Virginia (getting closer) before earning his undergraduate degree at Pittsburgh's revered Duquesne University. DeNardo was popular among his fellow Dukes, in addition to averaging a 4.0 GPA Joe was elected as president of the university's Alpha Phi Delta fraternity and starred on the Dukes basketball team. Earning the nickname "The Flash" for his incredible style of play, Joe's career on the hardwood is probably best remembered by a win verse his native Martin's Ferry. DeNardo hit a buzzer beating shot to defeat the Riders while being hard fouled and knocked unconscious while still in the air.
Joe graduated Duquesne in 1952 with degrees in mathematics and physics. He went on to earn his Master's Degree in meteorology from the esteemed University of Chicago. He is an avid model railroadist.
DeNardo started his career with the United States Air Force, reporting weather to military authorities. Joe served four years in the Air Force, achieving a rank of Commander of the Weather Detachment at the Greater Pittsburgh Air Force Base. He was honorably discharged in 1956.
Always a go-getter, DeNardo opened a weather service with his good friend David G. McFarland before being hired to advise on-air personalities at KDKA channel 2 Pittsburgh. It was not long before DeNardo rose through the ranks and became a Veronica Corningstone level star at the network.
Per wikipedia, in the late '50's KDKA became one of the first stations in the country with a "real meteorologist" as part of their programming, in large part due to DeNardo's fame & burgeoning status as a local celebrity. We should all aspire to his level of success. But after a new manager took over, DeNardo left the station, citing an unpleaasant work atmosphere. Don't count pricks as colleagues and you'll never work a day in your life..
In 1969, WTAE landed a bona fide elite free agent in DeNardo, who went on to work 36 more years at the station before retiring in 2005. That '60's KDKA station manager must have been a real piece of work. He brought friend and colleague Paul Long with him to anchor at the new station; and their oft sardonic banter continued when Long would introduce DeNardo for weather segments. At his peak, Joe was known for the slogan "Joe Said It Would," no doubt a take on the accuracy of his prognostications. In his retirement Joe has continued to support the local community through Project Bundle Up and other charities. During a 2014 cold wave, the dolts at the Pittsburgh Tribune Review disturbed the retired DeNardo, who promptly told them to cool it
Like any quality senior citizen, Joe confirms in the article that he can always tell when the weather is about to turn bad (it's because his phone starts ringing off the hook). Joe currently lives on the Moon township with his wife of 60 years. He is 85 years young.
Verdict - what should you expect at your kid's bus stop tomorrow morning?
Look, I think it's becoming clearer that capital-J Journalism isn't the model of respectability that it used to be. Heck, I see dozens of blatant fabrications on any given day at the front page of Deadspin. Yeah maybe if you were a weather person who went down to the stock exchange and bought shares of "bread" and "milk" you could get a short term windfall when the bread and milk prices go up, but ultimately aren't you just moving forward future sales? It's not like the good people of the City of Pittsburgh are going to start drinking more milk and eating more bread just because some winter weather made them bored. Besides, basically all of the weather personalities in Pittsburgh probably grew up idolizing Joe DeNardo, they're not going to intentionally fabricate false weather panic over some petty milk money. Despite assurances from my landlord to the contrary, my furnace is still broken
WDVE Rocks
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