Farmers' Almanac Predicts a Wild Winter 29

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/tech/2004/aug/29/082908489.html ^ | 08/290/2004 | David sharp

[R. Scott]

…while it will be milder in the southern half of the country.

YES!

I really dislike high electric bills, snow & ice, sleet, freezing rain - in short, winter.

[R. Scott]

It's around 90 percent.

I kept track of the local forecasters for awhile when they started doing “Accurate, dependable” 10 day forecasts.
They were about 90% accurate for the 24 hour forecast, but their accuracy dropped fast after that. I believe the 48 hour was about 50% and beyond that near 0.

[lawgirl]

I cannot believe what a cold "summer" we have had here across the lake in WI. I hope our winter is really mild!

[SheLion]

And you shovel and shovel and there's nowhere to put anymore snow. It's over your head. Okay, I'm nuts. I gave away a perfectly good snowblower because I hated it. It wasn't 'me'. So I shovel and curse the air blue from Nov. until March.

I have a guy that snow plows for me, and thank God, my yard is big enough that he just pushes the snow way over to the one side.  But I do get mounds of snow on each side of my drive-way from the City snow plow guy.  Lord, how I hate that man.

And you shovel and shovel and there's nowhere to put anymore snow. It's over your head. Okay, I'm nuts. I gave away a perfectly good snowblower because I hated it. It wasn't 'me'. So I shovel and curse the air blue from Nov. until March.

I have a guy that snow plows for me, and thank God, my yard is big enough that he just pushes the snow way over to the one side.  But I do get mounds of snow on each side of my drive-way from the City snow plow guy.  Lord, how I hate that man.

[Phsstpok]

If forecasting weather is so easy, two years in advance no less, how come the daily weather person is OFTEN wrong?

As others have pointed out the weatherman is remarkably right most of the time. Besides that, the almanac is predicting a seasonal average, the weatherman is predicting a binary (as far as most people see it) set, good or bad. Averages give a lot more leeway.

[Exit148]

Lots of rain in NJ, too. It's been awhile that grass has been green into and thru August.

Weather is fascinating! DH and I took a course in it years ago and now with all the info on the Weatherchannels, it is absorbing.

[nmh]

You're certainly entitled to your opinion however I disagree.

[rwfromkansas]

True.

They are normally correct around here though.

But.....we don't have lake effect snows, which are really tricky. Nor do we have Nor'esters, mountains to mess forecasts up etc.

[rwfromkansas]

Definitely the coolest summer I can remember in a very long time....

[rwfromkansas]

10 day forecasts? They are just trying for ratings.

The stations here just go out 7 days and readily acknowledge that the best they will get with the last couple days is a rough guess based on what the pattern appears to be like.

Trying to act like it will be accurate 10 days out is just dishonest.

[commish]

I cannot believe what a cold "summer" we have had here across the lake in WI. I hope our winter is really mild!

Been a "cold" summer here in Alabama too. ONly averaged in the mid-90's this year.

[mlmr]

Yuh! I once dug myself out of my second story window when I lived north of Skowhegen.

[Madame Dufarge]

Uh oh.

[R. Scott]

Trying to act like it will be accurate 10 days out is just dishonest.

No, no, no… it’s “creative marketing"!
I was surprised at how many people actually believe them.

[Texas dog]

"I live in NY and am a weather nut"

I may be moving to New York soon;

I'll put up with the weather if we can do something about those horrible senators of yours.

;)

[7.62 x 51mm]

Politics and weather forecasting; two industries where they get paid for lying and being wrong, but don't get into legal trouble.

[R. Scott]

Now ain't that just a bite in the butt?