We’ve had a great run of good weather recently and it’s very welcome. We appreciate it because it is a rare occurrence. When the sun shines here for more than an hour, we get covered in a mixture of sun cream and BBQ smoke. It’s great. It helps us to forget the previous ten months of misery.
It’s not that long ago we were either being washed away, up to our knees in snow or being knocked over by storm force winds but that’s all forgotten about now. The sun has a magical quality that erases all bad memories and replaces them with happy thoughts.
There is one side effect though and that’s the possibility that we might all die from the drought. We are already being advised to water the garden with a can instead of a hose and not to fill the paddling pools or wash the car. This is advice from Irish Water.
How we can possibly be short of water after the winter we’ve had is beyond me. It’s only a short while ago we thought we were all going to drown and suddenly we’ve become a desert. We need to calm down a bit. It won’t be too long before we get more rain because it’s never too far away and even I can predict that.
Weather forecasting is a serious business and there is a lot of science involved in it. It’s way too technical for my small brain and I’m just happy to see the weather people smiling and giving us good news for a change.
We’ve seen too much of the National Coordination Group in recent months. These people only get together when the forecast is looking grim. When you see them on the TV standing in front of maps and charts, with soldiers on one side and gardaí on the other, then you know things are about to go pear shaped.
They’ve had some major incidents to deal with like Ophelia, the Beast from the East and Storm Emma and they are learning from those experiences. In fairness to all involved, they are very good at keeping everyone informed and they do their best to keep us safe. They have access to the best technology and the best experts so the information they give us is usually spot on.
In normal times, we rely on the forecasters on our local radio stations to keep us in the loop but they’re not always as accurate. The weather can change at the drop of a hat and it’s not unusual to experience the four seasons in one day. It’s changeable and we hear that expression every day and it covers a multitude.
Local forecasters can often be at odds with one another too and it’s not unusual to get different weather predictions for the same locality. That’s hardly surprising given that we are a such small little island where a change in the wind direction can alter our weather very quickly and these people don’t have access to the same resources as the National Coordination Group either.
So sometimes we put on the winter woollies, hat, scarf and gloves but as soon as we leave the house, we find that the sun is shining, and the sweat is running down the back of our necks. By the time we change into a T-shirt and shorts, it’s snowing and we’re exhibiting signs of hypothermia.
Billy Connolly, the Scottish comedian, was describing the weather in his native country and he said there were only two seasons, winter and July. That sounds familiar and it could be applied here too.
So, it must be hard to get it right which is why I’m wondering if maybe the local weather people just throw a bit of everything into the mix to cover all the bases and hope for the best. I have a reason for thinking this.
We hear traffic reports on the radio at rush hour every morning and they can be very useful, especially if there is an obstruction like a traffic accident or road works causing delays. It helps drivers when they get a warning and that’s a good thing.
But regular listeners to the traffic reports will notice that they feature the same problem areas every day, which is understandable. All cities have their bottle necks at rush hour, so it stands to reason that these will be mentioned often.
The M50 in Dublin, for instance, is clogged up so often that some call it the biggest car park in Europe. The Headford Road in Galway is another spot I often hear mentioned and the Dunkaethal Interchange and the Lower Glanmire Road are regulars too.
In my previous life, it was normal to get calls at the garda station from local radio stations in the mornings, inquiring about the traffic situation. When I had the time, I checked the CCTV cameras across the city, or I asked the guys on patrol to give me a clear picture of the traffic flow and I passed this information on.
But there were also times when I didn’t have the time. On those occasions, I just repeated the same information that I had I given on previous days based on my knowledge of the usual hot spots. On the law of averages, there was a good chance that I was going to be right. At least some of the time.
Which brings me back to the local weather forecasts. Maybe there are guys in these radio stations who are too busy to check the weather, so sometimes they just give a decent guess at the forecast and if they’re wrong, there’s no big deal and we put it down to an unexpected change in the wind.
I’m only guessing of course.