How the weather is forecast...

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Linnea
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How the weather is forecast...

Post by Linnea » 03-01-2002 11:24 PM

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Cherry Kelly
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Post by Cherry Kelly » 03-02-2002 11:28 AM

cute cartoon! I sometimes wonder. But I do know they use some very high tech equipment and several different types - and still can get it wrong....

Linnea
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Post by Linnea » 03-02-2002 05:41 PM

Ha ha! I think great strides have been made by the study of forecasting and climatology. But, in the end, I guess you cannot really predict the weather to a certainty. You just can't control Mother Nature.

I wonder how much actual esp and guessing go on?
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alaskandevil
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Post by alaskandevil » 03-02-2002 06:43 PM

well when I went to school for air traffic control we were taught the state of the art weather gathering technique.

They told us that even with all the fancy gadgets they have the tower controller still had to step outside and take weather readings.

You did this by first feeling for the wind so you would know which direction it came from. Then you felt for moisture to see if it was raining or snowing. then you looked up in the sky and guessed at how much of the sky was covered by clouds(50%=partly cloudy, 25%=partly sunny,etc.)Finally you then had to guess at how high those clouds were so you would know the ceiling.

I thought that the instructor was joking but he wasnt.

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Post by Joe K » 03-02-2002 08:39 PM

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by maryals:
Yes, the equipment used for Weather Forecasting today is very high tech, State-of-the-Art! Rainmaker's darts are made of Space-Age Titanium and the Board he throws the Darts at is a new, self-sealing artificial cork Image

</font>
I'm snitching on you to Rainmaker, Maryals! The darts are Tungsten, not titanium. LOL

Joe
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God Bless America, and keep our kids safe

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Post by Guest » 03-02-2002 09:52 PM

Greetings to all,

Actually, with respect to the cartoon, often times the truth is much sadder. In many cases the higly trained meteorologist - who collects the data and works with the sophisticated ocmputers and does the analysis and makes the forecast - is not considered "telegenic" enough to impart that information to the public. Instead, that job goes to either a weather clown (think Willard Scott) or a weather bunny, selected for glibness and looks. What you end up with is a version of the "telephone game" many of us played as kids. The meteorologist tells the talking body what is going to happen, using very simple words, and then the body goes on the air and forgets them all. Sad, but true - pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

Rainmaker



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