Where are you Mockers now?

So the Groundhog has spoken today. This morning in the dawn hours, the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog club in Pennsylvania, witnessed Phil seeing his shadow after he emerged from its hiding/hibernating burrow. It has been a German tradition that if a hibernating animal sees its shadow on February 2nd, which is a Christian holiday of Candlemas, then winter would last another six weeks. If the groundhog does not see its shadow then we would call it as six weeks of early spring.


This practice has been there since 1887, when people did not have advanced forecasting methodologies or weather reporters who would rely on modern-day satellites and equipments to make the forecasts. They would decide whether to plan for their gardening and other works during early spring, based on whether the Groundhog saw its shadow or not. These days, we have minute to minute forecast on weather and devices to track storms and how the storms are developing and what route it would take, dropping how much rain or snow on us.


I have heard people talk or rather read many blogs and reports where people would ridicule and pock fun at the weather channels when they would come up with their weather reports. Times when their prediction fails to a greater extent, people would say, ‘there was no need even to carry an umbrella but they made a big booboo on the forecast of snow’ or ‘we could depend on the Groundhog more than our weather channels’. Where are those people when the weather reporters reported about the snow storm during the week of Christmas, 2009? Where are those people, when the snowfall happened this past weekend according to what the reporters had predicted?


We or rather the weather channel can only use the data that they have in hand to make such forecasts to warn us ahead of time. If they keep quiet about it, you will point the fingers at them and say that they did not warn you of any storms. If they warn you and if it does not happen, then they would hear complains about ‘all that preparation is for nothing’. It is a catch-22 situation. At least they are doing their jobs in warning us as needed. It is up to you to be prepared for it or not. Better safe than sorry.


This winter there has been so much snow that the DC area (Virginia, Maryland and D.C.) has gone over budget in prepping for the storm (putting salt/sand on roads), cleaning the roads using snowplows, making sure that the roads are safe during and after storms. They are asking help from other departments and locals to cover the costs to prepare for the storms that are lined up ahead. There are calling in for more snow this evening and on Friday. While some will say that they do not want any more snow, they will be the ones who will become Baristas at home. So have fun while it lasts.