Another Well Known Figure Among Us !!

[VtSteve]

I was working in Boston at the time, and living in Framingham. Believe me, the forecasts didn't call for anything of the sort. Until around 9 or 10:00 am, it was flurries or some snow. As the highway departments decided whether they would strike that day or not, the snow mounted up on the roadways.

hundreds of vehicles were stranded on Route 495. Most were abandoned. It took me 2 1/2 hours to make the journey home that day. The following day, it took me quite awhile to fine my car amidst the drifts. Nobody was a hero that day, especially the weathermen.

[Rose]

Originally Posted by VtSteve

I was working in Boston at the time, and living in Framingham. Believe me, the forecasts didn't call for anything of the sort. Until around 9 or 10:00 am, it was flurries or some snow. As the highway departments decided whether they would strike that day or not, the snow mounted up on the roadways.

hundreds of vehicles were stranded on Route 495. Most were abandoned. It took me 2 1/2 hours to make the journey home that day. The following day, it took me quite awhile to fine my car amidst the drifts. Nobody was a hero that day, especially the weathermen.

I'm sorry, VtSteve, I'm confused. I'm assuming you're referring to the Blizzard of 78, but I'm not certain which post this is in answer to, if any.

Thanks

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by Rose

I'm sorry, VtSteve, I'm confused. I'm assuming you're referring to the Blizzard of 78, but I'm not certain which post this is in answer to, if any.

Thanks

In my opinion, he is replying to post #14. I agree with him on the one issue, the forecast the morning of the storm was for 1-3 inches of snow,(Boston). It wasn't until the storm was literally upon us that most of the forecasters started pulling out all the stops.

BT

[Rose]

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

In my opinion, he is replying to post #14. I agree with him on the one issue, the forecast the morning of the storm was for 1-3 inches of snow,(Boston). It wasn't until the storm was literally upon us that most of the forecasters started pulling out all the stops.

BT

If that's the case, I'd have to disagree

Scroll down to the usenet posting quoting Bob Copeland

also:
http://www.boston.com/news/weather/a...zzard_of_1978/

The timing was off, but the forecast was there from many of the meteorologists who were more comfortable relying on the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models. Onset of precipitation can still be a very difficult variable to forecast.

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by Rose

If that's the case, I'd have to disagree

Scroll down to the usenet posting quoting Bob Copeland

also:
http://www.boston.com/news/weather/a...zzard_of_1978/

The timing was off, but the forecast was there from many of the meteorologists who were more comfortable relying on the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models. Onset of precipitation can still be a very difficult variable to forecast.

I'm sorry Rose, what I meant to say was that I specifically remember listening to Don Kent on 'BZ Radio that Monday morning, forecast 1-3 inches of snow. I was a senior in High School at the time. I remember it like it was yesterday. Also, don't get me wrong, I truly feel that Don Kent is a legend as I posted earlier in this thread. I don't want to leave the wrong impression.

Blue Thunder

[Rose]

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

I'm sorry Rose, what I meant to say was that I specifically remember listening to Don Kent on 'BZ Radio that Monday morning, forecast 1-3 inches of snow. I was a senior in High School at the time. I remember it like it was yesterday. Also, don't get me wrong, I truly feel that Don Kent is a legend as I posted earlier in this thread. I don't want to leave the wrong impression.

Blue Thunder

No worries, Blue Thunder. I just wasn't sure if VtSteve was referring to the Blizzard of 78, which was forecasted by some meteorologists, or the forgotten snowstorm of Jan. 20-21, 1978 that SteveA referred to, which was not forecasted.

With regards to Don Kent, my memory is not of his forecasts but of my parents constantly saying Don Kent was always wrong. But he certainly was a weather vanguard. I love this snippet from an interview of him by Eric Pinder: "But the going wasn’t easy at first—the Weather Bureau jealously guarded its treasure trove of data from private meteorologists like Kent, who were in effect competing with the Bureau. Kent began with no Teletype machine and thus, no easy way to get the data vital to a forecast. To learn what was going on, he bought some old ham radios and eavesdropped on airplane conversations between Boston and New York. The pilots would frequently ask about or relay the weather conditions and Kent would listen in and jot down the data on a map." Boy, have times changed. I can remember during the World Series in 2000, one of the National Weather Service forecasters in New York mentioned the "Subway Series" in a forecast discussion (a somewhat technical discussion of the reasoning behind the forecast not usually read by the general public but available to them). The private forecasting firms screamed bloody murder that the NWS was competing with them. [insert crybaby smiley here]

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by Rose

No worries, Blue Thunder. I just wasn't sure if VtSteve was referring to the Blizzard of 78, which was forecasted by some meteorologists, or the forgotten snowstorm of Jan. 20-21, 1978 that SteveA referred to, which was not forecasted.

With regards to Don Kent, my memory is not of his forecasts but of my parents constantly saying Don Kent was always wrong. But he certainly was a weather vanguard. I love this snippet from an interview of him by Eric Pinder: "But the going wasn’t easy at first—the Weather Bureau jealously guarded its treasure trove of data from private meteorologists like Kent, who were in effect competing with the Bureau. Kent began with no Teletype machine and thus, no easy way to get the data vital to a forecast. To learn what was going on, he bought some old ham radios and eavesdropped on airplane conversations between Boston and New York. The pilots would frequently ask about or relay the weather conditions and Kent would listen in and jot down the data on a map." Boy, have times changed. I can remember during the World Series in 2000, one of the National Weather Service forecasters in New York mentioned the "Subway Series" in a forecast discussion (a somewhat technical discussion of the reasoning behind the forecast not usually read by the general public but available to them). The private forecasting firms screamed bloody murder that the NWS was competing with them. [insert crybaby smiley here]

That Jan 21-22 storm was the foundation for such deep snowpack after the Blizzard. We had 18 inches here in that one and then the Great Blizzard dumped the 30-36 inches on top of it. We plowed the roads with bulldozers and front end loaders, which by the way, weren't anywhere near as common as they are today. One for the ages, for sure. Thanks Rose.

BT

[SteveA]

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

That Jan 21-22 storm was the foundation for such deep snowpack after the Blizzard. We had 18 inches here in that one and then the Great Blizzard dumped the 30-36 inches on top of it. We plowed the roads with bulldozers and front end loaders, which by the way, weren't anywhere near as common as they are today. One for the ages, for sure. Thanks Rose.

BT

.. our copy of the Boston Globe for 1/21/1978. We have it saved somewhere because of our sons birth. I recall the headline was something like, Storm of the Century

[trfour]

Originally Posted by Rose

No worries, Blue Thunder. I just wasn't sure if VtSteve was referring to the Blizzard of 78, which was forecasted by some meteorologists, or the forgotten snowstorm of Jan. 20-21, 1978 that SteveA referred to, which was not forecasted.

With regards to Don Kent, my memory is not of his forecasts but of my parents constantly saying Don Kent was always wrong. But he certainly was a weather vanguard. I love this snippet from an interview of him by Eric Pinder: "But the going wasn’t easy at first—the Weather Bureau jealously guarded its treasure trove of data from private meteorologists like Kent, who were in effect competing with the Bureau. Kent began with no Teletype machine and thus, no easy way to get the data vital to a forecast. To learn what was going on, he bought some old ham radios and eavesdropped on airplane conversations between Boston and New York. The pilots would frequently ask about or relay the weather conditions and Kent would listen in and jot down the data on a map." Boy, have times changed. I can remember during the World Series in 2000, one of the National Weather Service forecasters in New York mentioned the "Subway Series" in a forecast discussion (a somewhat technical discussion of the reasoning behind the forecast not usually read by the general public but available to them). The private forecasting firms screamed bloody murder that the NWS was competing with them. [insert crybaby smiley here]

I must add that my very large family, from NH VT MA CA FL UK SA AU and many others.... and Don got some forecasts wrong, but we would all put our bets on Don getting the forecasts right over any other weather forecaster, To This Very Day, here in NH and New England.

Just my $4.00 worth.

[VtSteve]

Thanks so much for the links, memory must be a wonderful thing

I didn't remember the earlier January storms either, merged them into one just as many have. But my memory of the February blizzard was not too bad.

Interesting how after this bad winter, it actually (so far), has ended pretty early.