As I sit down to write this, a storm front is moving through the area. Should I keep calm and carry on or stop everything and go turn on the television? I am home alone at the moment and I don't like stormy weather. I call a friend to see what she is doing. I interrupt the good movie she is watching and she informs me she hasn't noticed anything going on with the weather. I must gather information and act on my own.
No subject I can think of leads to as much thought, discussion and decision making as the weather. On the rare occasion we get a perfect day, we just can't say enough good things about it, and the same is true of our complaining when things are too wet, dry, cold, hot, windy, still, stormy or any combination of the above. Weather is one of those aspects over which we have absolutely no control, yet the impact it has on our lives is tremendous. Most of us attempt, at least to some extent, to adjust our daily activities around this ever-changing, widely-swinging, and often seemingly-random influential factor. The challenge is clouded -- pardon the pun -- by the fact that even in today's advanced world, with plenty of effort and focused attention, not to mention advanced instrumentation, we still never really know what the weather will do until it occurs.
Here in our area, anything can happen, and sometimes does, whether or not it has been accurately predicted. Extremes may swing from summer-like days in December to a blanket of snow in May, to many things in between.
Several years ago, my son Zack lived on the island of Maui for a while. During our phone conversations, I would often ask him about the weather there. Finally, after a few times, he said something like, "Mom, the weather here is warm and perfect, and it is the same every day, so the answer to that question will probably never change."
I stopped asking and started trying to imagine living someplace where the weather remains virtually unchanged. How different that would be! No guessing about the kinds of clothes to wear for the day or monopolizing closet space to store everything from big, heavy coats to lightweight jackets to sleeveless blouses. News broadcasting teams could have fewer meteorologists on staff, or possibly none at all. Little or no special training would be necessary to forecast weather that never changes, it seems.
But, it is very different here. Weather reports are often a main focus of newscasts. Not only that, we can use apps on our hand-held electronic devices that keep minute-by-minute information literally at our fingertips, if we so wish.
With all the impressive improvements in live broadcasting, Doppler radar, computerized projections and other gadgetry in the field of meteorology, weather reporting has become very sophisticated. This is helpful in ways, of course, but as I said above, weather prediction is still far from an exact science. Just like it was fifty, a hundred or a thousand years ago, if you really want to know what is happening, keep an eye on the sky and stay ready to adjust accordingly.
If there's a dangerous storm brewing, staying glued to weather reports can be a great advantage, maybe even life-saving. Attention to freeze warnings, rain patterns, etc., is helpful to those trying to grow crops or do other outdoor activities. But, for most of us, the subject may get more than its fair share of attention.
My friend probably has the right idea. Just relax, carry on with whatever you are doing and let it pass.
Annette Rowe is a freelance writer from rural Gentry and a speech-language pathologist at Siloam Springs High School. She may be reached by email at [email protected] expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 04/16/2014