By Nicole Baker
Staff Writer
“This storm could produce some of the largest amounts of snowfall we’ve seen in quite a while.” Or so we were told by meteorologists across the tri-state area of last week’s “nor’easter.” Different areas ranging from New York City right on up to dear old Albany had estimated snowfall amounts of anywhere from 12 to 24 inches. With estimations of this caliber, many people went to the grocery store to stock up on food. Others went to gas stations to fill up their tanks. I know personally because I went out to do those same exact things. We were all preparing for the worst.
As Tuesday morning rolled around, I know I couldn’t have been the only one to hop out of bed to see if the snow had stacked up to my second story window yet. I can certainly guarantee that upon opening up the blinds, I was not alone when I asked, “That’s it?” To be honest, it was actually a disappointment. While the storm did produce a few good inches, it was nothing like the meteorologists had predicted. Those 24 inches that we were supposed to get turned more into something like six at the most. This left many people to wonder how meteorologists can keep their jobs even when they never seem to get anything right.
Even so, we must not forget that these weather forecasters weren’t completely wrong. In places like eastern Long Island and certain parts of Massachusetts, weather predictions were on point. These places received more than 30 inches of snow and hurricane-force winds. It was the unpredictability of Mother Nature that caused the storm to intensify farther east than most forecasters thought it would. But with all the technology that meteorologists rely on, shouldn’t they have been equipped to predict such changes?
For everyone wanting to know the answer to this question, let me propose something to you. The weather that we experience on a daily basis is influenced by many things, such as the water cycle, air masses, the jet stream, and solar distance. While forecasters have come up with some high-tech ways to locate and measure these influences, changes in one variable can affect all the rest, which then influences the weather that we experience. The volatility of each variable therefore makes weather forecasting quite challenging.
As a result, with the unpredictability of Mother Nature, forecasting the weather is never going to be an exact science. In my eyes, it’s a miracle that forecasters even have the technology to help them predict that a storm is coming or what the average temperature might be for the day. While meteorologists may not always be completely accurate, we cannot forget the many cases in which their predictions are correct. For example, Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy were instances in which weather forecasters were right on the money with their predictions. The devastation that was left in their wake serves as proof.
While we all might have laughed at the results of the recent “nor’easter” and the forecasters who predicted it, we must not forget that they were not incorrect in their predictions for certain areas. Meteorologists have a difficult job, and they do the best they can with what they have. We often take for granted the information that they give us on a day to day basis. We should be grateful that they can give us such insight into what we can likely expect during a given time range in regards to weather. This at least allows us to prepare accordingly for rain, sleet, snow, etc., even if the exact amount may not be completely set in stone.
In the end, did Albany get the 24 inches of snow that was expected? Not exactly. Do I care? Not really. At least I was prepared for the worst possible scenario. Another plus, I don’t have to go food shopping for quite a while.
