TV Q & A: What happened to ‘Pennsylvania’s icebox’ in TV weather forecasts?

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review.

Q: Pittsburgh TV weather forecasters’ temperature maps always used to include what the late Joe DeNardo called Pennsylvania’s icebox, Bradford, Pa. Now none do. What caused them to drop the home of Zippo from their broadcasts?

-Kevin, South Park

Rob: The better question may be why was Bradford ever included. It’s more than three hours from Pittsburgh and well outside the designated market area served by local Pittsburgh TV stations.

But I turned to the local forecaster who worked with DeNardo, WPXI-TV’s Stephen Cropper, to see what additional insight he could offer.

Cropper noted Bradford is actually in the Buffalo TV market and local stations have streamlined their coverage to serve their core viewing audience in the Pittsburgh designated market area.

“I do remember the days when TV weather maps included Bradford, and I smile when I think about Joe calling it ‘Pennsylvania’s Icebox,’” Cropper said. “When I began working with him in 1995, he taught me that Bradford is one of the coldest spots in Pennsylvania, so we used it as a benchmark to measure how cold it was locally. He also taught me that weather does not follow boundaries — county, state, Nielsen TV DMAs or otherwise — and that an understanding of regional weather influences is critical when forecasting. From that, I know that if Bradford is waking up to ‘icebox’ temperatures below freezing and there is a north wind, Pittsburgh is headed for the ‘deep freeze!’ Joe truly was a great mentor and friend.”

Q: Whatever happened to Brooke Baldwin on CNN? She hasn’t appeared in her 2-4 p.m. time slot in over a month. She’s still listed on CNN website but a no-show otherwise. I know she had the covid virus a couple of months ago but has appeared since then.

-Mike via email

Rob: Baldwin was taken off CNN in the election run-up because they want their dayside coverage to come out of Washington, D.C. Baldwin mentioned on social media it was not her choice to take the break but a CNN rep says she will be back after the election.

Q: I was wondering when the new season of CBS’s “Blue Bloods” is due to start.

-Cindy, Monroeville

Rob: CBS has not yet announced a premiere date for the new season of “Blue Bloods” but the show has returned to production. My guess is it will be either late this year or early next year when the CBS drama returns.

Q: The first three episodes of this season’s “This Old House” and “Ask This Old House” have all been compilations of old segments from previous seasons. It looks like the shows’ productions are on hiatus—probably due to the covid pandemic (but there’s nothing on their website to confirm this).

Do you know whether “TOH” intends to produce any new shows later this season?

-Mark, Squirrel Hill

Rob: Production paused for several months due to the pandemic but filming resumed in late August.

New “This Old House” episodes featuring a Queen Anne Victorian in Narragansett, R.I., will be fed to PBS stations beginning Oct. 29 but it appears WQED-TV will start airing these episodes at 4 p.m. Nov. 7. (Pledge will pre-empt a new episode Nov. 14 with two new episodes on Nov. 21 followed by reruns during December pledge nationally.)

“Ask This Old House” episodes featuring new footage will be fed to stations beginning Nov. 19 so WQED should start airing these weekly on Nov. 21.