A forecaster at the National Weather Service office in Juneau prompted a deluge of social media activity Tuesday with his or her discussion of weather models.
“Picking a model of choice for the day is a little like speed-dating: Too little time/information to make up the mind leading to regrets by the end of the date/shift,” the forecaster wrote, before launching into a comparison of various models and what they see in Southeast Alaska’s developing weather systems.
The forecaster eventually decides to date/choose the European weather model, but wonders if the North American Meso model might be the better choice.
The online post lead to a flurry of posts on Twitter on Tuesday, and is still being shared on social media today.
Haha! Probably “the” best forecast discussions I have ever read. Thanks @NWSJuneau! pic.twitter.com/h8nlIFNP62
— Brian Alonzo (@wxprobrian) May 14, 2014
Alaska weather nerd finds love in computer models during the overnight shift: http://t.co/P0eRjczuSj pic.twitter.com/SwYDj2qxjx
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) May 14, 2014
The Washington Post’s Weather Editor Jason Samenow gave the forecaster a shout out. So did Slate’s Future Tense blog.
Juneau National Weather Service Meteorologist in Charge Tom Ainsworth declined to comment on the post, citing a desire to not make it into a big story. In general, Ainsworth said the agency has guidelines for how posts are supposed to read.
It’s not the first time Alaska weather service meteorologists have had some fun with the forecast discussion. During last year’s federal government shutdown, the Anchorage office included the hidden message “Please Pay Us” in a forecast analysis.
