– by Steve Sakiyama –
It’s been a while since my last Weatherwit article, and many people (well actually three) were asking when my next one would appear. I take these queries as compliments, although I wonder if there are many who think I should stick to things that I’m really good at. You know, those risky adrenaline-pumping activities like shopping at Costco without a list.
Actually those who can point out something that I would have otherwise missed are really, really helpful people in my life. They are the ones at an elegant dinner party that whisper: “Great smile Steve, but is that a broccoli cluster wedged in your teeth or a Douglas fir?”
My most recent example of this occurred while on a trip, madly rushing to catch a flight at an airport somewhere. I just passed through the metal detector with flying colours when Mr. Security politely asked me to wait. When there was a pause in the traffic, he asked:
“Sir, those jeans you’re wearing, are they new?”
“My jeans? Uh … yes they are new” I said nervously.
“Well sir, they are still covered in price tags and labels, so you should remove them”
Yep. There they were, in all their glory.
“Oh silly me. Thank you so much … in a hurry … didn’t notice … ha, ha, ha,” I said while rolling my eyes and spinning awkwardly around pulling the tags off as fast as possible. At that moment it seemed that I was the pre-flight entertainment to millions of amused passengers walking by.
“Have a good flight, sir …”
Thank goodness for those with a keen eye of observation and training to point out important things that otherwise would be missed – like doctors, detectives and parents. I include meteorologists in this illustrious group as they can look at the sky and point out signs in the clouds and winds that most people would not notice, such as the potential for a thunderstorm to form or the indications of an approaching cold front. They analyse and synthesize information that includes weather observations from around the world, charts of various parameters such as air pressure, and output from sophisticated computer models. Since the atmosphere is always changing, they constantly review this pool of data, extracting messages about its current state and finding signals that point to future conditions.
Well, what is the atmosphere and ocean telling us about what to expect for our March weather on the south Island? The long-range outlook points to a greater chance of warmer than normal temperatures, which is always welcome news. For precipitation the signals are not that obvious, as the outlook has no preference toward wetter or drier conditions.
No matter what kind of weather shows up, we are guaranteed to see nature begin its parade of this year’s spring attire with vibrant colours under glimpses of blue skies. So in our rush to fly from A to B, take a good look at what is around outside and don’t miss the obvious. The spectacular emergence of nature’s spring wardrobe is a panorama that can’t be described by any label, or valued on any price tag.
Weather questions? Email weatherwit@gmail.com
