Wednesday, February 03, 2010

The Fantastic Mr. Foot

Even as we dig out from last nights snowstorm reports are coming in about an even larger storm heading our way this weekend. Of course it has often been said that weather prognostication in Maryland is a fool’s game. Take last weekend for instance. Most forecastors called for that storm to be no more than a dusting and we ended up getting about 5 inches of snow. That’s some dusting.

One forecaster got it right though. Foots Forecast accurately predicted that the storm would be much more than a light dusting.

The real surprise is that Foots Forecast is put together by a group of high school students in Dundalk and their ninth grade earth science teacher, Rich Foot. According to this story by Frank D. Roylance in The Sun the students “do real science. They factor in such weather esoterica as Canadian snow cover, the North Atlantic Oscillation, and the moisture content of the approaching storm. Then they do the math.”

And they are pretty often “spot on” with their forecasts.

So what does Foots Forecast call for this weekend?

They are calling the storm a “SuperKahuna” and that “this storm will not be for the faint of heart.”

“If computer model trends continue as they have in the past 24 hours, this storm has potential to eclipse December 19, 2009 ; February 15-18, 2003 ; January 6-8, 1996 ; March 11, 1993 ; February 11, 1983 ; December 1966, and could rival March 18-22, 1958.”

Better make that trip to grocery store before Friday.

7 comments:

Tom Coale (HCR) said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Yahoooooo!!!! Bring it on! After I get my groceries of course;-) Can't do anything to stop it so might as well enjoy!

Bob O said...

What was in that deleted post?

I have to say that we run and interpret NOAA's supercomputer model at work everyday, and one of my co-workers has called every weather event for the past four years. To top it off, he's a native of Columbia and is intimately familiar with Maryland's somewhat bizarre weather patters.

As of this afternoon he said, "Hunker down. Snow will start early Friday, go through the day, through the night, all day Saturday, and end late Saturday night or Sunday morning. This is the big one."

I'll update you tomorrow after he reads the NOAA tea leaves again. Man, graduate degrees in Physics and Engineering really do work!

Goon on ya', Mr. Foot!

Bob O said...

GOOD on you, Mr. Foot!

Doh.

Anonymous said...

That typo was lol funny. HOcorising, there was no prob with that post. Why remove it?

Anonymous said...

Sorry guys, we will have to wait and see. I still think meteorologists are still paid 100% of their salaries to be 50% wrong.
HH

ho.co.po said...

More like Mr. TWO Foot, after this winter!