Someone recently asked me how I choose my column topics. Well, there is usually something to say about the weather even when there isn’t much going on.
Most of the time, I sit down at my computer about an hour or two before my 6 p.m. deadline and have no idea what to write about. However, there are days when I keep pretty aware of the happenings outside, usually signs of nature and activities of local residents. Almost everything is influenced by the weather, and even if things are rather calm, as they have been for some time, there is plenty of activity taking place.
I heard my first cricket of the year Wednesday. It was competing with a frog in the woods behind my home. It was hard to tell which one was a bit off key; they actually didn’t harmonize too well. But, hey, they had spirit. Many of nature’s creatures, big and small, react to changes in weather and can certainly sense the changing of the seasons.
One of the first things I do is to review the myriad computer models, forecaster discussions and other data. I usually come away with some gut feeling of what we can expect, then add my intuitive feelings. I also review the day’s high and low temperatures from around the region and any tidbits of weather news.
