Three cheers for the weathermen!

It's easy -- and usually quite entertaining -- to deride local weathermen and TV news departments for the way they constantly over-hype and exploit snowstorms.

It's over the top, really.

We live in Milwaukee. It snows here. Sometimes, it snows a little. Sometimes, it snows a lot (though that seems to happen less often than we remember as a child).

We've gotten to the point where even a two-inch dusting leads to alerts, on-screen map graphics and "storm team coverage" featuring reporters standing in front of salt piles.

Last night, a friend mentioned to me "If they could get only Brett Favre to do the weather during a blizzard, they would set an all-time ratings record."

There was a lot of media buildup to this afternoon's snowfall. Everybody heard that the snow was coming, that it would start at about noon, that it would continue through much of the day and devolve at some point into sleety, slushy rain that would make travel hazardous.

A glance out the window shows that the weathermen were not wrong. They deserve kudos for that. Although you have to filter out a little of the overkill, it's probably better to be forewarned about snowstorms than to be caught by surprise. The downside of the warning? A lot of people will cancel plans to enjoy a night at the Bucks game, the movies, a holiday party or a nice restaurant -- just because the weatherman said it might be nasty. 

We are not a city of wimps. There is nothing wrong with heading out and lving a normal life during a snowstorm. Just drive carefully and allow some extra travel time.

This is Milwaukee, after all.