When it comes wall-to-wall coverage of inclement weather, The Weather Channel rises to the occasion. This was true once again with its coverage of Hurricane Florence, a fierce storm that has left tens of North and South Carolinians dead.
There were awesome moments from the network’s coverage, like when TWC meteorologist Dr. Erika Navarro did her best Moses impression:
Storm surge will be a huge factor for Hurricane #Florence Check out what it might look like with @TWCErikaNavarro: pic.twitter.com/TPqTZTmiAM
Advertisement— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) September 13, 2018
Then, there was this moment from Friday’s coverage, which wasn’t quite as awesome:
So dramatic! Dude from the weather channel bracing for his life, as 2 dudes just stroll past. #HurricaneFlorence pic.twitter.com/8FRyM4NLbL
— Tony scar. (@gourdnibler) September 14, 2018
But it’s tough to argue that The Weather Channel is still the elite purveyor of weather-related news on television, and the network also delivered the goods in the ratings department last week.
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, the network averaged 315,000 adults 25-54 from Wednesday, Sept. 12-Sunday, Sept. 16. Those were the five most intense days of Hurricane Florence coverage.
On Wednesday, Sept. 12, TWC averaged 342,000 adults 25-54 across the 3 a.m.-3 a.m. daypart. That was No. 1 across all of basic cable.
Thursday, Sept. 13, and Friday, Sept. 14 were even better for TWC. The network averaged 442,000 adults 25-54 on Thursday, only behind Thursday Night Football on NFL Network. On Friday, when the weather really started to become a problem in the Carolinas, TWC averaged 405,000 adults 25-54. That was No. 1 across all of basic cable.
For the entire calendar week, The Weather Channel averaged 1.1 million viewers in prime time (No. 8 overall) and 906,000 viewers across the 6 a.m.-6 a.m. day (No. 4 overall).