NPR’s Linda Holmes in an article about hurricane coverage written in August, 2011:
It takes a while watching TWC before you realize that they are such weather nerds that they sometimes tend to see things from the storm’s point of view. They talk about the shape of the storm as beautiful, or “great,” or “improving,” and what they mean is that the storm is thriving. It’s along the lines of, “This storm is looking great. Your lawn furniture? Not so much.” At first, when they say the storm is getting better, you the viewer assume it means “less fierce.” But they actually mean “more efficient, in terms of destruction.” This is how you know that they are true nerds, and not just poseurs. CNN anchors would never accidentally say a storm is great because it’s so beautifully shaped that it will look great on the radar as it tears a few shingles off the Hot Dog Hut in Atlantic City.
(Via Jennifer Ouellette)