WEATHER OR NOT!

    THURSDAY, MARCH 8TH., 2018
             WEATHER OR NOT!

    There's an old saying in baseball. "You
win some. You lose some. And some get
rained out." I believe it can also apply to
weather forecasting!
      Like most of you around these parts
I was well aware of the predictions for
a second "Nor'easter" within a week.
      Our neighborhood was included in
the 6 to 8 inch forecast area.
       My wife and I had a scheduled
doctor's appointment so we called
early. First to make sure the office
would be open and, second, to see
if there were any cancellations that
might allow us to come in before the
storm hit. The doctor was in but there
were no earlier openings. So we
decided to brave it.
         What was originally suppose
to be 1 to 2 inches of snow per hour
turned out to be about an inch of
slush and some very light flakes.
          By then the TV weather folks
were reporting that much of our area
had been spared and focused their
attention on the Poconos where their
original forecasts were closer to being
accurate.
           I hope I'm not reveling too many
industry secrets here when I tell you
that all media forecasters get their basic
information from the National Weather
Service. They take that information,
including forecasts, combine it with
their own equipment, if they have some,
their experience, and come up with their
own best guess.
          If they had to do that for one
county or community, such as Wilkes-
Barre, they'd probably be extremely
accurate almost all the time.
          Their need to forecast for more
than 20 counties in an area filled with
mountains, hills, and valleys makes it
extremely difficult to be "right on"
everywhere. Even so the track record
is pretty good. And they're kind of in
a "no win" situation.
            If they underestimate a storm
we'd be furious. If they call for the
worst and things don't get that bad
they're criticized for being alarmists!
            It's one of the reasons I check
the weather forecast but depend on the
weather report. I get the forecast from
television and plan accordingly.
            I get the report by looking
out my window and acting accordingly!
            Hope you look out the window
from time to time and that all your
NEWS is good!