02/15/08 Weather forecasters

Very few occupations rank with ranchers and farmers for stick-to-itness, but one ranks very close. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back in one minute to see if you agree. Call it stubbornness, optimism, faith or whatever, but something keeps ranchers and farmers looking forward to the promise of next year's crop of grain, vegetables, colts, calves, lambs or Llama little ones. One other occupation comes to mind that might rival the faith ranchers put in next year. This group puts undaunted trust in the success of tomorrow's forecast. You might have guessed it, this fearless bunch are weather forecasters. I've watched this group for years and can remember when their forecasts were enriched by the felt pen drawings on bulletin boards of beaming suns, fluffy clouds, and swooping lines to designate windstorms. These fearless forecasters now manipulate satellite images projected on a clear screen overlayed with local geography to pinpoint just where and when wind, rain, snow, ice and any other storms are going to hit. But, just like ranching and farming predictions Mother Nature has the last say and can blow a weather forecast higher than a locked in high pressure system. I think sometimes Mother Nature sends in imitation clouds and decoy low depressions just to mess up a forecaster's analysis of an offshore system. I have to admire those guys because the very next night they are right back at smiling and predicting, but maybe just once they might say  90 percent of chance of rain, or  not. I'm Jeff Keane.