digitS'
Garden Master
I know, go outside.
Sure. I spend a lot of time outdoors during the growing season. Often, I don't have a choice as to what days and hours I'm out there. It is nice to be prepared.
In the spring, I have considerably more flexibility as to time for outdoor work. And, I have considerably more responsibility not to mess up and freeze or cook plants in my greenhouse. It has very little that is automated. Besides, I don't have too much trust in the smaller systems that might work for it. There's quite a lot riding on my ability to pay attention to the weather.
And, it is fun!
I pay very little attention to the teevee for weather information. Okay, they are good for a quick glance as I'm going out the door anyway. First, there's hype. Second, if the "personality" drifts very far from what the Weather Service has to say - it is usually wrong!
The Weather Service doesn't always get it right. Still, they are a lot better than I am standing around looking at the sky with my finger in the air . . . Even the teevee networks are relying on it for satellite and radar pictures. Golly, we pay these people to record & predict the weather -- might as well pay some attention to them.
When you access your local weather.gov page you have just opened the door to far more information that most people would ever want. Read their forecast discussion if the graphics & a quick look at the radar leaves you wondering. The local weather history is fun - it is all there. I also like to click on the name of the local weather station - that leads me to the local WS newsletter. I can spend just a little time every 3 months, finding out what was unusual about the previous season's weather and what the WS is expecting.
Here is something for the expectations - remember, it isn't just a couple of guys hanging out at the airport. This is a network and a lot of equipment. The Weather Prediction Center (link) Hey! Lots of good animated maps and stuff there.
Also, every single state in the US ~ with the exception of Tennessee, for some strange reason ~ has a state climatologist. I think this is just the meteorologist at their land grant university who takes on this task. You can find them here, just look for the one in your state: Association of State Climatologists (link)
They put out newsletters also. As well, there is all this information on their webpages about your local weather, mostly historical but some even pay some attention to national & international conditions.
Steve
Sure. I spend a lot of time outdoors during the growing season. Often, I don't have a choice as to what days and hours I'm out there. It is nice to be prepared.
In the spring, I have considerably more flexibility as to time for outdoor work. And, I have considerably more responsibility not to mess up and freeze or cook plants in my greenhouse. It has very little that is automated. Besides, I don't have too much trust in the smaller systems that might work for it. There's quite a lot riding on my ability to pay attention to the weather.
And, it is fun!
I pay very little attention to the teevee for weather information. Okay, they are good for a quick glance as I'm going out the door anyway. First, there's hype. Second, if the "personality" drifts very far from what the Weather Service has to say - it is usually wrong!
The Weather Service doesn't always get it right. Still, they are a lot better than I am standing around looking at the sky with my finger in the air . . . Even the teevee networks are relying on it for satellite and radar pictures. Golly, we pay these people to record & predict the weather -- might as well pay some attention to them.
When you access your local weather.gov page you have just opened the door to far more information that most people would ever want. Read their forecast discussion if the graphics & a quick look at the radar leaves you wondering. The local weather history is fun - it is all there. I also like to click on the name of the local weather station - that leads me to the local WS newsletter. I can spend just a little time every 3 months, finding out what was unusual about the previous season's weather and what the WS is expecting.
Here is something for the expectations - remember, it isn't just a couple of guys hanging out at the airport. This is a network and a lot of equipment. The Weather Prediction Center (link) Hey! Lots of good animated maps and stuff there.
Also, every single state in the US ~ with the exception of Tennessee, for some strange reason ~ has a state climatologist. I think this is just the meteorologist at their land grant university who takes on this task. You can find them here, just look for the one in your state: Association of State Climatologists (link)
They put out newsletters also. As well, there is all this information on their webpages about your local weather, mostly historical but some even pay some attention to national & international conditions.
Steve 
