Weather forecasters on radio and television are always apologizing about the weather, when most of the time the weather’s just doing what comes naturally.
Specific weather patterns occur during certain times of the year. And sometimes each of these patterns lasts a big longer, or doesn’t last as long as usual. It’s not a surprise.
In a region famous for its fog, our forecasters say, sadly, ”No sun tomorrow morning. Maybe later in the day.” Some of us aren’t sad about the fog. Some of us look forward to it slipping onshore and staying around for as long as it wants to. We live in a fog belt. We don’t expect sunshine every morning.
Take the weather in a region that enjoys a full range of winter-related behavior – sleet and hail and cold and wind and rain. When I’m visiting and watching/listening I always wonder why weather people feel the need to complain when they predict more of the same over a period of months. Winters have been cold and wet for as long as anyone can remember.
In southern California, where some of my friends are in charge of reading the forecasts – and where I once handed out my share of same to audiences – whenever much-needed rain appears (and it’s not that many days out of a year) someone invariably expresses eagerness for the sun to return. Southern California is a desert. The sun will be back soon.
The only people regularly expressing surprise at these regular occurrences are weather forecasters.
Ó Anita Garner 2008
Bless you!
As you well know, dear Hammy, I do six weather forecasts per hour on radio here in SoCal and it just drives me up the wall — meteorologists telling me what to think about the weather:
“Another nice day ahead! Lots of sunshine and temperatures heating up into the 80s. Tomorrow, even better — 90s in the valleys!”
I don’t like sunshine and 90s. I like clouds and cool breezes and rain and stuff. I like sunshine but I don’t want a steady dose of anything. But the real point is, IT’S JUST THE WEATHER! Stop with the condescension and explanation of how I need to feel about the danged weather!
(Okay, I feel better now. Gotta go do a weather forecast. For real!)
Common saying in the Midwest: “If you don’t like the weather, just wait ten minutes – it’ll change”. The weather forecasters here have it easier because no matter what they say (within reason), at some point in the day they will be right. Say it’s going to rain? Guaranteed that SOMEWHERE within their broadcast area it will. By the way, I’ll take a little of that Bay Area fog if you want to package it up and send it out to me, Duhneeta! I’m still working on getting the right kind of bubblewrap for a raincloud to send to Northern Cal . . .
Just a suggestion, but I wouldn’t let this latest column on “weather is just … weather” get too far out of the blogger box. The way the p.c. winds are blowin’ these days … Al Gore (and company) might have it designated it as … subservience.
But, that’s just me.
Watch ‘yer back, pal.
Morg
One more thing since we’re chattin’ the weather — an old joke comes to mind.
One typically sweltering summer day in Sacramento – a white collared state worker, sitting at his desk … glances outside to the street and spots a construction worker who’s running a jack hammer and knockin’ out big chunks of rock, cement and concrete. As he watched the “hard hat” pulsating away behind that huge hammer – he noticed the temperature on the bank sign across the street read — 110 degrees.
Wheeo! Feeling a little superior and a lot cooler inside the air conditioned office — the guy reaches inside his desk, pulls out a small sheet of paper – then scribbles a quick note that reads: “Hey, buddy: It’s 69 degrees in here.” At that point, he taps on the window to get the hard hat’s attention -waves him closer — then, while smugly sneering — holds his note up to the glass.
After the sweaty worker scans the snarky message — he motions the office guy to place his ear closer to the window — then yells through it:
Yeah? Well it’s $45.50 an hour out here!
Opps!