Long-time Louisiana weatherman Jay Roberts was accidentally strangled to death today after he got caught in the 10:00 am ‘spaghetti model’ forecast for Hurricane Ian and couldn’t get out.
“It was like something out of a science fiction movie,” said cameraman Bryce Peebles. “He was giving his report for the Noon broadcast, using the Accu-Weather Double Doppler Realistic 3D Projection Radar, and I guess he got a little too close. He accidentally fell back into the green screen, and he… just kept going.”
A source at WAAP-TV said Roberts got his legs caught in the European ECMF ‘spaghetti’ track and tried to pull himself free by grabbing onto the NHC ‘spaghetti‘ track. But that track got tangled around his arms and he couldn’t reach the edge of the probability cone.
“He fell further in, and either the NOAA track or the UKMet track got wrapped around his neck. There was nothing we could do,” said the source.
Fellow Louisiana weatherman, Neil Bleu, was devastated by the news.
“This is so tragic. If it had happened with the 4:00 pm spaghetti model, Jay would have survived. The tracks were much closer together and further to the West.”
Upon the news of Roberts’ unexpected passing, Bleu predicted an 89% chance of downpours from the faces of the station’s viewers this evening through Sunday. He also predicted a 60% chance of Roberts’ wake on Monday, with burial either Tuesday or early Wednesday, depending on what happens with that upper-level high coming in from Texas.
A legendary Louisiana weatherman, Roberts found immense popularity through his “tell ’em what they want to hear” approach to reporting the forecast that viewers found comforting. He would take an online poll before every broadcast and basically went with whatever got the most votes.
“The truth can be so harsh, and who needs that these days? There’s so much bad and fake news today that people just want to hear good news and Jay gave it to them,” Bleu commented. “Jay’s forecasts may not have been correct 80-90% of the time, but, hey, that’s the life of a meteorologist.”