Sometimes, Bad Weather is Good

Weather forecasting for our area is always unique; it can become even more so with the drought we’ve been in.  I’m not talking about the ease or difficulty of making the forecasts themselves…I’m talking about breaking the news gently to you!

As we approach fall and the temperatures typically start to cool, we start to see some more of those festivals and fairs, not to mention local high school and college football.  This means many, especially toward those weekends, want to see nice, quiet, dry weather.

We’re also in a severe drought.  Farmers, water resource managers, fire departments, those who count on our rivers and lakes for their livelihood, and home gardeners all want to see more rain, and would happily take a few days that are pure washouts.

That puts us weather people in an awkward position.  If we go about our merry way with smiles on our faces talking about a great run of sunny weather, more than a few people who are going through dry-weather induced hardships are probably muttering something nasty about us under their breath.  Likewise, if we say “great news for our drought, it’s going to rain all day”, it’s not that great for those who were counting on nice weather for work or play that day.

Remember, everyone’s idea of a “nice day” is going to be different, especially when we’re in a severe drought.  Don’t harm the messengers if we seem happy about rain chances or if we’re happy about sunshine…we want and need both.