THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 14, 1996 TAG: 9601120017
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
Time for a reality check. ``Face-off with a blizzard'' proclaims the Sunday, Jan. 7, headline in 108-point type. Meanwhile, the scant 5 inches of snow that quietly blanketed South Hampton Roads Saturday night was rapidly being dissipated by Hampton Roads' ubiquitous rain.
Webster's defines ``blizzard'' as ``a violent storm of powdery, driving snow and extremely cold winds.'' Arguably, the 1980 Northeaster was a blizzard. Yesterday's gently falling snow was not. What is the point of this weather hype?
In the 25 years I've lived in Norfolk, I recall numerous prognostications of fierce weather, but only a handful of them actually materialized - an occasional tornado, a few really powerful thunderstorms and Nor'easters, one or two memorable snowfalls, no hurricanes.
I am reminded of the story of a young shepherd boy who, just for excitement and attention, cried, ``Wolf! Wolf!'' After three such episodes, the townspeople ignored his subsequent calls. When an actual wolf attacked his flock, no one responded. Similarly, many Hampton Roads residents no longer believe media predictions of extreme, violent weather. If ever such warnings are truly needed, will anyone respond?
Predicting the future, weather or otherwise, is an iffy prospect. At best, one can state with certainty only what actually can be seen: the presence of weather fronts and their movement. All the rest is conjecture. Maybe you should back off the hyperbolic rhetoric and save the superlatives to describe a real blizzard - if one ever comes.
CAROL H. POSEY
Norfolk, Jan. 7, 1996 by CNB