Monday, February 06, 2006

Two inches?

Hmmm. Funny how that 2 inches of snow they were calling for last night looks a whole lot like rain. Maybe Alabama snow is different from the Georgia snow I grew up with. In my experience, Alabama snow is clear, wet, and warmer than the frozen powder I used to get in Georgia growing up.

Heh.

I also find it amusing that the ONLY headline in the Decatur Daily this morning reads, "Look outside, it might be snowing." Heh. Gotta love going to press with something then having it simply NOT happen.

Why can't Alabama meteorologists figure this one out? Did they ride the short bus to meteorology school? Was 'meteorology' an elective they took at truck-driving school? Were they shocked to learn that they would not, in fact, be studying 'meteors'? Does that blue screen they stand in front of giving forecasts cause brain damage? Or is it that they simply like tormenting children (and adults) who were looking forward to a day off for a snow day?

Odds are, if you forecast snow in Alabama it's either going to (1) do nothing or (2) rain. Reluctantly, I figured this out a few years ago. I believe in exceptions, and there have been some significant snowstorms over the years. So I hold on to hope. In fact, the cold weather pattern we're settling into for February would suggest that snow is at least a possibility. There are two more small opportunities this week, with the real opportunity possibly materializing this coming weekend. I'm going to go with the odds that it will only rain, but when cold air is in place, anything's possible for the rest of the month.

I'll give them this. Last night at about midnight, the weather.com radar showed a LOT of snow over our whole area. Only problem was, NONE of it was hitting the ground. It was all up there a few thousand feet then evaporating before it could reach the freezing masses of excited (or whining) people below. Given dynamics like that, maybe forecasting snow really is tricky.

So maybe that elective weather course in truck-driving school at least taught them something. Maybe there's one near here I can sign up for myself.

Yee-ha!

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