Have you ever noticed how often weathermen get it wrong? Isn't it amazing? I have often wondered, especially while trying to undo the damage caused by a rainstorm that I had not been expecting (and that had, of course not been predicted), why that is.
You see, I have long suspected weathermen of lying on purpose. Not to deceive us, but to hedge their bets (a bit like stockbrokers and bankers, if you remember my earlier rant). And yesterday, I finally got the proof I needed to confirm my suspicions.
I was watching the news on one of the Dutch channels, and the weatherman gave the most interesting report. He said (well, he said this in Dutch, of course... I took the liberty of translating it) the following:
'The forecast for tomorrow's weather is good, but I do have two marginal notes. It is going to get wet, and it will be very cold. Also, there is a chance of fog. And motorists should beware that it is possible that wet patches may freeze over, so the roads could be quite slippery.'
You have to wonder, of course, what this particular meteorologist defines as 'good weather'. It seems to me he is trying to give us a positive message (and is therefore hedging his bets) by not only calling severe wintery frost 'good', but also by giving us four downsides instead of the two he promised. A clear case of hate the message, not the messenger. In any case, the only thing I knew for sure after this report: it's going to be variable.
And now I'll go search for my umbrella and my sunglasses. I need to go kill a weatherman, you see.
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