Willie O’Reilly: Media coverage of Storm Barra overblown

While people need a bit of notice to prepare for an incoming storm, the deluge of reporting on these ‘events’ nowadays is over the top

As well as wind and rain, Storm Barra brought with it a media deluge. Picture by Paul Ellis

The media loves a good storm, any storm. A political tempest, a sports squall, a financial cyclone, all welcome. The drama drives interest and the fallout can be riveting to behold.

Most of all though, the media loves a meteorological storm. We have a well-rehearsed response and today everyone knows the drill.

The beginnings are usually inauspicious and only hinted at by the weather forecasters. It usually starts with a low over the Atlantic that ...