Posted by
JCE
Time and time again I hear local weatherpersons disparaged as having a dream job: They get to be wrong and still collect a huge salary. (This may have shifted a bit given recent economic events and the dream job may now belong to Wall Street CEO's.)
While I can understand the frustration that goes along with inaccurate weather predictions it does always stun me a little that many of these people willingly equate meteorologists with psychics and never consider the science behind either. Meteorologists are actually trained to study weather patterns and most have sophisticated equipment used to monitor weather related activity all over the world. The fact that the local weatherperson may be off by 1/2 inch on the snowfall in my area does not bother me. The fact that the information was given to me a week ago and updated regularly through satellite images beamed down to them from space and it actually snowed on the day they said it would amazes me!! My parents used to use the Farmer's Almanac to predict weather or their aching joints. We have come a long way indeed.
Psychics on the other hand use zero scientific equipment. They simply think about what has already happened and attempt to extrapolate information based on that. Good system, it works so well that it has an astronomical fail rate.
Comparing meteorologists to crystal ball gazers is an insult to meteorologist and to ourselves. We all know enough now, thanks to our local meteorologists to identify various cloud types and get reports on astronomical activity so that the star-gazer in everyone of us can run outside and fully appreciate the heavens from earth.
Celebrate the Year of Astronomy - Hug a Meteorologist!
6 comments:
when i can get a week's notice of a hurricane heading my way, I'm stoked. and the fact that the meteorologists can accurately predict the weather here in florida in the summer, right down to when and how long our mid afternoon showers will last, is nothing short of amazing.
I'm always annoyed when my dad goes off on how little meteorologists know and then cites an example from *20 years ago*.
Sure, it's frustrating to step outside without an umbrella into the pouring rain but let's face it - if these guys are off it's usually by a minute margin. Nothing is exact.
Love that picture, btw.
The shape and placement of that weather pattern... He must be a popular guy.
All I could see was a penis.
Being psychic has nothing to do with predicting weather patterns. As someone with psychic ability, I wouldn't even waste the energy on forecasting rain or shine. Those things don't even matter. There are deeper things in this dimension then inches of snow.
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