I'm dreaming of a white...

ShadyGuy said:

Here in the “Sunny South” -

at elevation 4k+ ft we have had a total of over 3 feet of snow this season with total melt offs in between snowfalls. Our biggest snowfalls are generally late in the season. I saw 40” in a single weekend one year but it melts quickly. Low temp so far this season was -6 F last week. Now its mid 60’s.

In the 'Upstate' region of SC, just below Asheville/Hendersonville, we have broken several low temp records. It is in the 70s now.  Every year, when this occures, people get out their motorcycles and convertibles and think its picnic time.  February/March are our coldest months.  It will freeze again here, probably numerous times. Hitting the teens is not impossible.  This trend routinely worries peach farmers and others because premature budding is killed off, reducing yields.

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po18guy said:

In the Seattle area

A half inch of snow paralyzes the city. Dire pseudo-news reports of an impending "Arctic blast", "Big chill" or "Near blizzard conditions" certaianly do pump ratings up, but blood pressure tends to go up with it. For that reason, I do not watch TV, listen to radio or subscribe to a newspaper. We are not to remain completely ignorant, but neither are we to live in a world of constant processing of fabrications or hyperbole.

Po, 

I worked in college admissions for seven years at one of the oldest colleges in the United States -- a school with an excellent reputation.  Nationwide, the two academic majors that attract the absolutely weakest students are (1) Education, and (2) journalism/media.  This is well documented.  It does not mean that NO students in those areas are exceptionally bright, just that such is far from the norm.

I was tutoring a class in formal logic one day (a job I had as an undergrad), and I kept thinking that one of the women looked familiar.  Finally I asked if she was a public personality, and she replied, "Yes ! I'm the Weather Bunny at Channel **."  She had no degree of any kind, but was the stations "weather expert."  She said to the class that she was hired for her appearance and wanted a change.   Many media people say stupid stuff because they simply do not know anything.  I see this trend as likely to only get worse, but of course it does not just affect educators and journalists.   Attempts at dumbing down society have succeeded.  I also refuse to watch TV, and get news from sites that I trust online.  For weather, I go to the Weather Channel online for the forecast.  No talking heads, no one speaking at all, no editorializing. The high, low, and chance of rain are the only facts anyone actually has any interest in anyway. Local news has become entertainment and chit chat, and difficult to stomach for a large segment of society.

max