Couldn't Stand the Weather (Service)

Where are the severe thunderstorms that I was promised? Where's the 60-70 mph winds? The dime to quarter-sized hail? Apparently they've vanished. Or maybe they're just going to be a little late.

This was supposed to be a fishing report. And it likely would have been a good one, too. It's Friday, so not many people on the water. Overcast which is always good. Rain coming, also good. Nice and cool, at least early. Winds from the west (fish bite the best) and/or south (blow the bait into the fishes mouth) at 5-10 mph. Should have been a banner day for fishing on the Potomac. But I had to listen to the weather man.

It's not like they're looking at sheep's intestines or anything. That might actually work.

I don't know what I was thinking. I mean, we've only been doing weather forecasting for what, centuries? Why should I expect such a new-fangled "science" to be reliable? It's not like they're looking at sheep's intestines or anything. That might actually work.

Before I went to bed last night I did one final check of the weather. Everything looked great. Nice cool temperatures, a little wind but not too much. Isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Like, say 2 pm. By which time I would have been long off the water and back at my desk working. I had the boat hooked up, packed up, charged up and ready to go.

So I got up at 5 am -- something I almost never do, even when I'm going fishing. I figure I'll take one last peek at the weather before I go, just to see what the winds are gonna be like. And of course the National Weather Service issued a Severe Weather Alert, promising 60-70 mph winds and quarter-sized hail. They did say "isolated" storms. What they didn't say is that they would be isolated 60 miles away from where I'd be fishing.

I understand that north of Baltimore they did get some serious storms. High winds and hail. Blah blah blah. Down here we got nothing. Zip. Nada. Never. No shrubs. So my fishing day was cancelled pointlessly. I'll try again tomorrow but of course the river will be like a parking lot on Saturday.

I will want to get a weather report before I go. Anyone have any sheeps bladders?

Posted by John at May 21, 2004 2:32 PM