has failed to materialize this morning.
Remember the scene in "Back to the Future II" when Doc and Marty arrive in the future? It's pouring rain as the two get out of the DeLorean. Just as Marty wonders why they're about to get soaked when they could stay in the car instead, Doc says "wait 10 seconds" and it stops raining. Apparently, by the year 2015 weather forecasting will be precise - to the very second.
But before that time comes, meteorologists will hopefully learn to be a little more cautious in "crying wolf" about major snow events.
Omaha's "most-trusted" meteorologist cried wolf a couple days ago, then backpedaled harder than James Tiberious Kirk's near-fatal fling over a cliff in the new "Star Trek" trailer. Another prominent meteorologist led off his forecast Sunday night with talk of snow totals in the "four to six-inch range" but used the rest of his time that night to talk about the possibility of "lesser amounts" which basically covered the 1-2, 2-4, and 4-6 inch range.
By mid-afternoon Monday, the National Weather Service forecast office kept the winter storm advisory in effect for northeastern Nebraska, but announced that the approaching storm would be "less severe" than expected earlier. Too late. The local news had already assigned their reporters to report on the rush of sales of snow shovels, salt and higher-than-normal traffic at grocery stores.
My point? Proceed with caution. It's better to say that these "computer models" used for forecasting can vary wildly, particularly more than 48 hours out from a possible weather event. And to some TV meteorologists' credit, that is what they said. But the majority did not. So as I look out over my deck, which is just as dry as it was when I went to bed last night, I can't help but wonder when I can start trusting the "most trusted" meteorologist in Omaha again.
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