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This week in Jersey county Illinois we had the first
blizzard of the New Year. The wintry mix included high winds,
several inches of sleet and snow over top a thin layer of ice.
This is nothing new for the hardy folk that live in and around
Jersey County, but what was remarkable for this storm is the forecast
predictions from the national weather service and local St. Louis
meteorologist.
Before I comment on the blown forecast I feel that I must first
say that I understand how difficult it is for meteorologist to
make accurate accumulating snow predictions. In fact I find it
amazing that they get pretty close most of the time.
And when you do make a prediction on accumulating snow I think
it is good for people to prepare for the worst and be plesently
surprised when it does not snow as much as the forecast called
for.
But this last storm that some were calling the storm of the century
fizzled out much faster than anyone was predicting. Parts of Jersey
County were in the 12 to 24 inch band. Even as the storm was winding
down on Tuesday afternoon they were still calling for the 12 to
24 inch.
Sunday morning was the first time I seen a forecast
that was calling for a major winter storm. Angela Hutti on Fox
2 news was calling for 8 to 14 inches. And that is about what
we got up here in Jersey, Green, and Calhoun Counties. As the
storm got closer, the whether forecasts were getting bigger and
bigger. Channel 5 news would up the snowfall predictions and every
body would watch that forecast. Then Channel 4 news upped it again
and every body would watch that forecast. By the time that the
storm was on us, all of the meteorologists from the St. Louis
area were all predicting big snowfall accumulations. But it never
did happen.
As I spent all day on Wednesday digging out of the wintry mix
I wounded what was driving the snowfall predictions up. Was it
atmospheric data that was not accurately interpreted, or was it
TV ratings.
Matt Capps
matt@avalonn.com
Jerseyville Carpet, Furniture, Bedding,
Appliance, & TV Galleries
1672 S. State street
Jerseyville il 62052
618-639-9858
Call 618-639-9858
Ask for Matt
For the best price on flat screen
TV's
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