Maintaining a passion for weather

Not a lot of cheering goes on when a meteorologist hits a snowfall forecast right on the money. But oh my, miss a forecast in the metro area by a couple of inches and you can get an ear full. As Ricky used to say to Lucy, You’ve got some splaining to do!

Forecasters who stay in the profession a long time have a passion to take on the challenge when it comes to a difficult forecast. It’s like getting to the World Series game and wanting to be the starting pitcher. We take it tough, ala Billy Martin, when we come up short. But we get up again, blow the snow off our shoulders and give it another go.

Early in my 34 year career with the NWS it was hard to let a busted forecast go. Sage old timers warned I would not survive if I took the criticism personally. For more than three decades I had my share of less than perfect forecasts and I still feel inadequate when the forecast misses its mark.

I was hoping to get a book for Christmas on How to make a perfect forecast every time, but ended up with a recycled copy of Weather forecasting, it’s as easy as looking out the window!

CE