This time of year we get many questions, compliments and complaints about our weather coverage. So I thought it would be a good thing to discuss weather reporting here in my blog.

The week started off with bitterly cold temperatures and icy roads on Monday morning. Commuters had a heck of a time getting to work. Our crews were busy on the ground and from Sky 8 keeping up with all the car accidents. Then, yesterday, we were told that we would have snow in the gorge, in the Cascades and the Coast Range by the afternoon, with snow and rain mixed in the West Hills. We deployed several reporters around the area to cover what we believed would be the second winter blast of the season. (You will recall that earlier this fall we had a strong winter storm move into the area that allowed many of the ski areas to open early.) As the day wore on, the temps went up and our "Winter Blast" was not much more than a heavy rain storm in the valley. Yet the mountains and the gorge still received a good blast of snow.

Now the weather people are telling us that Wednesday morning's commute could be a repeat of Monday's and that we could have snow in the area by Thursday morning.

Many viewers wonder why we focus so much on weather. The answer is that viewers rely on local television news for weather information more than any other source. In fact, it is the Number One reason people turn to local television news. We owe it to our viewers to be on top of weather.

Without exception, when we have severe weather in Oregon and Southwestern Washington more viewers than ever watch local television news. We know that because every day we get information on how many people watch news. We can literally see the demand for weather information as viewership numbers rise.

That's why we deploy so many reporters on weather stories. That's why we give it so much time and attention.

Some viewers think we hype weather or get it wrong too often. But it's important to remember that we live in an area with several micro-climates that make weather hard to forecast. Fortunately, we have the best team of meteorologists and weather tools (we are the only station in Portland with its own live radar) to help us provide you weather information.

Here's a terrible thought: Our long winter hasn't even officially started yet and they are already predicting that we could have some crazy weather over the next few months. So stay tuned and keep your umbrella and snow boots close at hand.