Lotta weather we’ve been having lately
This week has completely extinguished any faith I had in weathercasters. Even when it was apparent that it was sleeting outside, the forecasters insisted that it was dry. When it was in the 20s, they told us the lows would be in the 30s. Jim Spencer started to get with the program and hop around like a little demented, hyperactive frog, proclaiming our wintry doom. He’s always good for the entertainment factor, if not his forecasting skills. Fox, in a laughable attempt to take the high road (come on, it’s Fox), ran commercials claiming they’d have sedate weather updates and would be our eye in the storm. Every day we’ve been promised highs in the 40s. Last night it was supposed to warm up and melt by 10 pm.
Needless to say it’s still frozen outside, although very slowly melting. It’s 35 degrees, not the promised 45. I shouldn’t be surprised if there’s a tornado or something tomorrow, and the weather people in Austin completely miss it (although once Jim Spencer hears of it he’ll start his insane frog-jumping and frothing again).
February 26th, 2003 at 5:00 pm
Here’s a headline from The Austin American-Statesman you should enjoy, then: “Weathermen take blame for botched forecast.” I’ve lived on the Southern plains nearly my whole life, so I’ve never taken weather forecasting too seriously. But I lived in Philly for a few years, and, after six months of living here, it was a revelation to me that the weather forecasting there was fairly reliable! Up to that point, I had considered meteorology purely an academic exercize or a way to sell papers.
February 26th, 2003 at 5:14 pm
LOLOL…I feel the same way about ol’ Jim. And he REALLY gets hyper when there are impending tornadoes…