Locals take weather reports with ‘grain of salt’
There are hundreds of ways to find out what the weather is, or will be. With the tap of a finger, anyone with a smartphone can find out anything from the temperature to the ten-day forecast.
TV news stations spend millions (admittedly an educated guess) of dollars on weather technology, from radars to helicopters, which is boiled down to a 3-minute segment a few times a day.
However, Wednesday proved one thing. It doesn’t matter if you get your weather updates from the newspaper, TV, radio or smartphone, the weather can be unpredictable.
It began with talk of a nor’easter over the weekend.
Then inch counts of snow slowly rose from 1-3 to 3-6, and eventually up to a potential foot of snow. Most reporters stressed how unpredictable the storm was, and as late as Monday evening, it was possible the storm would miss this region completely.
It sounds like a tough job. And Chelly Pazdan of York Township agrees.
“They were preparing us for the worst I think, and it never came to be,” she said. “I don’t think the weather can ever be forecast with any real accuracy. We’re lucky they are right most of the time.”
The 44-year-old said she watches WGAL at 11 p.m. for her weather update, and will also check weather.com. She said she did additional research for the storm and still “none of the sources were really sure even as of (Wednesday) what they were calling for,” according to Pazdan.
So how much should you trust a weather report?
“I take the weather forecast with a grain of salt,” Pazdan said.
But still, she admits she was hoping the forecasts were right. “I was disappointed. I woke up with all hopes of a big snow, since the roads were covered and it was still snowing, I called off work, because they said it was going to get worse as the day went on, but it seems I wasted a day off.”
Rebecca Duffy used to live in York, but now lives in Baltimore. She seems to be fed up with weather reports. She was studying for an exam and was hoping for the day off. From now on, she says she will trust “the sky and my cellphone … no more TV for me.”