W: We'd better looking for sales on down jackets and thermos under wear. It's going to be really cold this winter. M: Well, you didn't expect it to be warm, did you? W: Of course not, but I heard the national weather service's prediction for the next 90 days. They said it's supposed to be much colder weather than usual. M: Yeah, maybe. Personally, I think those long-range forecasts are useless. W: Not as useless as you think. M: Oh, come on, when you're talking about what's going to happen three months later, you might as well just pick a forecast out of our hat. W: Well, you're partly right. They aren't very good at the amount of water falling on the earth. But they are much better for temperatures especially for this time of the year. M: Really? So I should take them seriously about the cold but not count too much on a lot of extra now? W: Exactly. M: But what did you say about this time of the year? Do some seasons really give them more problems in making forecasts? W: Autumn is the worst; apparently weather patterns change so much then. Just think how variable our weather has been the last three months. M: That's true. It probably would have been hard to predict all those changes back in the summer. You know, you're beginning to convince me there is more to forecasting than I thought. How come you know so much about it? W: I get my information from an expert -- my sister. |