How Cold Is It Going To Get? Stay Tuned...

November 24, 2013
Sunday
It’s about 7:00 A.M.

I was amused last night watching the 10:00 news.   I guess marketing studies show that viewers will hang on through the “news” reports of shootings, fires, or the ridiculousness of the latest outrageous politician’s antics to find out what tomorrow’s weather is going to be.
I love how they tease the weather at the beginning of the broadcast.
“It’s going to get cold, folks.  So prepare to bundle up.”
“How cold is it going to get?”
"Stay tuned for that and more later on in the broadcast.”

Why? Why do I have to wait until later on in the broadcast?  Why can’t you tell me now?

Okay I admit it.  My ears perk up when I hear Sam Champion’s voice.  I will look up from my knitting to catch a glimpse of the weather map with the various swirling color coded areas indicating low/high/steady pressure systems and cold/warm/stormy fronts.
None of it really makes any sense to me.
Ross takes a quick glance at the map and with his apparently acquired amateur meteorologist’s knowledge, seems to understand the darn things.
He’ll say, “See? That dot right there?  That’s us. It’s raining.”

 If I wanted to,  I can always instantaneously find out the weather.  No, not by tuning into the weather channel.  Because the weather channel teases the weather too.  We have to endure the horror stories of  extreme weather events before we get our local weather on the eights.
What does "on the eights" mean anyway?

And no I don’t mean by checking the weather.com app on my phone.   Although, that is probably the most concise way,  it doesn’t always seem to be the most accurate.

I can do what I did this morning.  First, I looked out of my window. Next I stepped out of my door.  When I had to  pull my robe a little tighter around me and my hair was blowing I knew that it was cold and windy.

Then I looked at my great big thermometer and guess what?  I was right.  It's a cold day today, folks!


By the way, it is the end of November and we are in the North Eastern part of the country.  So, why do the weather forecasters get all euphoric when the wind blows?