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| Over-compensating or what... |
I hate weathermen. Weatherwomen. Weathergirls. Weatherboys. Meteorologists. Whether or not it’s going to rain or not.
Hmm… I just got that… weather and whether.
A typical weekday has me getting up early to get my son ready for daycare and senior kindergarten… and of course me ready for work, which is a form of kindergarten.
Because it’s Autumn, I like to check the weather to see how he and I should be dressed.
I flick on CP24, a Toronto all-day news station and lo and behold – they say it’s going to rain. I flip to the Weather Network (because well, the network is all about weather - it's the one thing they are supposed to do well) and that today's Toronto forecast is cloudy – but no rain!
Who's right? Who's wrong?
How does one dress? It’s supposed to be 18C – so it’s not exactly freezing! But do I need to dress my boy in a raincoat and rain boots – meaning he’ll be safe from the wet stuff; or do I dress him as though it’s a warmish day, running shoes and no rain coat… so he can run around at recess and have fun?
I chose the latter… it’s the Weather Network, after all.
After dropping him off at daycare, I head home and prep for a trip I need to make for a magazine interview – which is lucky, otherwise I’d drop him off and immediately head for work in downtown Toronto.
With an hour before I need to leave, it begins as I arrive back from the daycare. And not just a spit or dribble, but a full deluge that would have had Noah shaking in his sandals.
So… how can the Weather Network get the weather so wrong? I go back in and check the station… they are STILL showing it to be a rain-free day, even while I am toweling off.
Because I had some time today, I was still able to drive back to my son’s daycare with the appropriate clothing and footwear – no thanks to the weathermen.
You know… should I actually be so inept at my job – being incorrect several times a week, I’d be fired and be looking for work in a new profession! How do these so-called weather professionals keep their job? Is it going to rain or not? Is it raining or not? If I stick my head out the window, chances are pretty good I can tell if it’s raining at this very moment or not.
I’ve watched the weather on these two stations repeatedly – no one is more correct than the other…. Though both have managed to get it completely wrong at the same time.
I know weather prediction is not an exact science – but what science are they using? My slightly arthritic knee is a more accurate predictor of rain than whatever doppler radar system used by the so-called professionals.
So… even while weathermen (and women) have a 50:50 chance of being correct, or conversely incorrect, it’s still a better percentage (okay - ratio!) than say a baseball player: hitters are gods if they succeed 30 per cent of the time, while a pitcher must succeed about 75 per cent of the time – not that has anything to do with anything.
But it does make me wish I had a job where I only need to be accurate 50 per cent of the time – and NOT get called onto the wet carpet should I not even make that percentage.
You know what I hate? Phony-baloney weather people who can’t even tell me if it’s going to rain – even when it’s raining.
