An Interpretive Guide to Weather in Cedar City

[rockgremlin]

I'm waiting in line at the DMV, so I decided to kill some time by cluttering the Bogley servers with useless observations about the local weather.

While you guys up north are busy shoveling snow and sliding your Hyundai sideways into a snow bank, us southern folk have been basking in a relatively mild winter so far. I keep a close eye on the weather forecast because in lieu of a gym membership I go on a 1 - 2 hour hike in the mountains behind my house every day.

In the past three months, I've missed about two days due to weather. During this time I've noticed a very consistent pattern of misleading weather forecasts for this area. So I decided to compile a guide to help reconcile what the weatherman says versus what he/she means.

WHAT WEATHERMAN SAYS: 10 - 20% chance of precipitation.

WHAT WEATHERMAN MEANS: Get out that suntan lotion, you're going to need it.

WHAT WEATHERMAN SAYS: 30 - 50% chance of rain/snow.

WHAT WEATHERMAN MEANS: Feel free to go for a long walk, wash your car, or start that gardening project you've been procrastinating.

WHAT WEATHERMAN SAYS: 60 - 80% chance of rain changing to snow.

WHAT WEATHERMAN MEANS: Mostly sunny. An errant cloud or two might blow through, but feel free to paint the fence or play a round of golf because the weather sure won't stand in your way.

WHAT WEATHERMAN SAYS: 90 - 100% chance of rain/snow.

WHAT WEATHERMAN MEANS: You may see a five minute drizzle in the morning, but otherwise expect another mild, windy day.


So.. @Scott P...Why the consistent glaring discrepancies? How can the professionals be so egregiously wrong so often? What's going on here?