By Josh Smith
Anchor / WJHL
Published: November 18, 2009

Over the weekend, I tried to upgrade my Blackberry.

A word of warning: don’t do this if you’re tech stupid like me.

Aaaaanyway.

Some really tech-smart people have been visiting the 11 Connects weather center this week upgrading out Live VIPIR 11.  New everything.  Better graphics, better data collection and process.  The best in the region just got a whole lot better.

Again, I’m not a real techie, but this excites me.  I don’t own the latest gadgets, but I’m glad the Storm Team does.  Predicting the weather here in the Southern Appalachians is no easy task.  Even the most experienced weather watchers wrestle with predicting the unpredictable impact of the mountains on coming weather fronts.

In my admittedly biased estimation, Live VIPIR 11 and, more importantly, the 11 Connects weather team already were the gold standard for meteorology in the region.  This upgrade only solidified this.

You’ll notice a few things on the air: crisper graphics, color changes, a couple of different bells and whistles.  The real difference will be seen as weather events moves our way and 11 Connects weather continues to provide the best and most accurate forecasting.

The down side - no Rob will NEVER let me play on the weather computers.  Not even solitaire.