David Jones: Failure of experts | Tom Nelson Pod #241

Tom Nelson

Meteorologist David Jones has been forecasting & broadcasting weather for decades. His passion is communicating weather to decision-makers. For his dedicated service to media and emergency managers in British Columbia, he was awarded the Rube Hornstein Medal for excellence in operational meteorology in 2015.

A keen powder hound, Jones was the Environment Canada lead for a collaboration with Avalanche Canada to help avalanche forecasters better understand the mountain meteorology of British Columbia. Avalanche Canada and Parks Canada avalanche forecasters now leverage the insights of Canadian meteorologists through online weather briefings and a website (https://avalanche.ca/weather/forecast) fed by weather service graphics. For his team’s efforts, Avalanche Canada presented him with their 2015 Service Award.

In retirement, Jones created The Whistler Powder Picker, a daily social media video for hounds. The Picker is a seriously fun and educational 90 second video packed with key information for hard-core skiers, riders, & sledders in the Sea-to-Sky Corridor. Jones uses an unusual ensemble technique – the Super Dave Ensemble - to crush snowfall forecasts while wearing funny hats and delivering a one-of-a-kind service.

00:00 Introduction to David Jones

00:01 David's Meteorological Journey

00:48 The Failure of Expertise

02:24 Climate Resilience and Health

04:19 Misconceptions About Severe Weather

04:32 Extreme Weather Events and Protocols

08:20 The Role of Communication in Meteorology

09:08 Challenges in Modern Meteorology

09:36 Fire Weather Forecasting

10:35 Heat Waves and Public Safety

11:19 Atmospheric Rivers and Communication Failures

16:18 The Impact of Government Interference

17:46 The Importance of Accurate Weather Alerts

19:46 The Role of Media in Weather Reporting

28:06 Historical Weather Events

33:53 Debunking Climate Models and Predictions

34:49 The Role of Professional Storytellers in Weather Reporting

35:41 Challenges of Being a Spokesperson

38:54 Critique of Canadian Weather Services

42:33 Personal Reflections on Climate Change and Meteorology

47:12 Heat Waves and Public Perception

48:21 The Complexity of Weather Forecasting

52:46 The Impact of Media on Weather Communication

01:01:05 Final Thoughts and Future Directions

Substack: https://powderpicker.substack.com/

Also: https://climatepicker.substack.com/

X: https://x.com/powderpicker

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