The Magic Valley Could See a Line of Violent Storms

The weather in a high desert climate is sometimes difficult to call.  I had friends who moved to Hawaii 30 years ago, and they wrote that weather forecasts were usually brief.  “Today, sunny and 80.  Tomorrow, sunny and 80,” sums it up.  Here in summer we have 95 and sunny, day after day.  Until a pop-up thunderstorm, often violent, arises from the sagebrush and rumbles through in late afternoon or evening.  A couple of weeks ago, I was driving home, looked at the clouds forming, and I knew we would be getting some rain.  Three hours later, it roared through, and then 20 minutes later was gone.

Political Polling is Easier than Predicting the Weather

On Wednesday morning, a forecast I follow predicted late-day rain next Tuesday.  Later on Wednesday, the forecast changed, and the storms were removed.  On Thursday morning, next week still looks clear, but as I write, thunderstorms are now predicted for late afternoon or early evening on Friday.

I’m not being scientific, but my own experience is that the weather looks to be far easier to predict in fall and winter.  In summer I wonder if I need to roll up my car windows before bed.  In winter, I’m worried about driving conditions every morning.

Throw a Dart and Get Better Results Where it Lands

Summer predictions are like a crapshoot.  One recent day, I mentioned before I got off-air that sunshine was on the docket all day.  Then, as I drove home 20 minutes later, raindrops began splattering on my windshield.