Snow in Hawaii?

It is now just past 3pm EST here in Waltham, MA. It is not snowing. It appears that there might actually some precipitous formations dropping from the skies, but it does not qualify as snow in my book. As we wait for the latest nor'easter to hit us, I continue to be baffled by our collective reaction to the snow (and for the potential snow). Every year the same things happen. At the beginning of the season, when the first storm hits, everyone exhibits behavior reminiscent of Tom Hanks' Saturday Night Live character - Mr. Short Term Memory. They forget how to drive in the snow. This normally causes lots of crazy traffic and accidents. Do our cars get nervous? No. Just the drivers.

Inevitably, there is 1 big storm that the weather forecasters get totally wrong early in the season. Either they predict tons of snow that never hits us or they claim that some storm will slide off to the south and miss us and then, surprise - a foot of snow. Yet, we continue to hang on their every word like they are much more specific Farmer's Almanac. Although I think a very vague weather prediction like chance of snow, cold is pretty much in line with the Farmer's Almanac's predictions. At least these girls have invented something that we really need - the nippleometer.

We've got all this new technology available - super doppler radars, massive statistical models and countless years worth of data. Yet, we (the collective we, but mostly Weather Peeps (since they are now some lovely ladies of weather in addition to good old reliable weathermen)) can not seem to do any better with weather predictions. Why is that?

The WPs are like Steve Martin in the Jerk trying to guess our weight. Guess your weight, win some crap. Ahh, I get it - it's a profit deal. I think Jimmy the Greek had a better streak of success than these folks do (on average).

Wait, I think I have just realized why there are now more women WPs. Just like many other jobs in the media, we've recruited more humans that are easy on the eyes to deliver information that is less than exact or potentially useless. Like when we went through dozens of attractive, less than informative sideline reporters during sports broadcasts. That seems a little sexist, doesn't it? Oh well. I just know that no Dick Albert or Bruce Schweggler would be getting a job in the current, umm, climate.

The other thing that really annoys the crap out of me is the trend to over react to the potential for snow accumulations. I was once in North Carolina when they had a ice storm a few years back. That area is ill equipped to handle this kind of weather - they don't have plows or batches of sand or salt ready to spread on the roadways. It crippled the state for a week or so. We've even seem more of this type of thing in the Mid-Atlantic this past week. Yes, I'm talking about Snowmageddon. Some of those areas don't normally get much weather like this - it's hard for them to deal with.

I know I'm taking a long way to get there, but my point is that WE LIVE IN NEW ENGLAND. Why do we act like we can't handle some snow? How can the City of Boston cancel public schools the night before a (potential storm) that was not even predicted to hit until around noon-ish? Have we collectively become such idiots and pussies that we have to close up shop and stay home because it MIGHT snow heavily? I really don't get it.

I work with a client based in Syracuse, NY - it snows there (on average) almost 12 feet EVERY YEAR. And it is quite regular for it to snow almost every day for most of the winter. Do they shut down school at a hint of snow? Nope.

It's snow, not the end of the earth.