Meteorologists do not want human injuries or structural damage to result from the weather; after all, their job is primarily devoted to warning the public when dangerous conditions are expected to develop. Then again, they live for hurricanes, tornado outbreaks and blizzards, pouring over their sophisticated radar reports and willing to spend hours refining and explaining their data to weather junkies.
Who can blame them? After they spend weeks waving at fronts, urban temperatures and pressure gradients on a blue screen, severe weather gives them the chance to focus on storm dynamics and to perform for an attentive public. While most citizens are content to check the forecast in the morning paper or on the local news, the threat of dangerous storms drives them to the Weather Channel and other national programs for regular updates and, for those interested, at least a modest degree of scientific meteorology.
As a physician, I understand the enthusiasm that meteorologists have for severe weather events. Spending much of my time diagnosing and treating common maladies, I welcome the occasional life-threatening condition even though it is bad news for the patient; of course, I am often in a position to intervene while the weatherman has absolutely no control over Mother Nature. So, when meteorologists get excited about supercell thunderstorms and strengthening hurricanes while, for public consumption, expressing hope that they fall apart, I and others understand their mixed emotions.
