Wordsmith Day
Wordsmith Day is observed next on Saturday, May 3rd, 2025 (201 days from today).
Communication meteorologists are responsible for distilling vast amounts of atmospheric information in a manner that promotes informed decision-making by recipients of distributed prognoses. This is especially important in times when mixed media messages can cause misconceptions.
If our message is not clear enough for this effort; if the end user is somehow prevented from expressing a warranted response to expected meteorological situations, it can also imply that the forecaster has failed her or her objective in assisting others to minimize or prevent potential adverse effects that could have been defaulted to the circumstances described. If we do not communicate clearly, people will not have the opportunity to gain knowledge and insight that would otherwise be useful to them.
Today's circumstances provide many opportunities to demonstrate potential inadequacies in communication and further enact the claims inherent in this relationship. The mere juxtaposition of explanatory statements and peripheral explanations does not in itself constitute a basis for asserting that useful information is indeed being delivered. Furthermore, it has been suggested that nontrivial over-disclosure will impede effective delivery and thereby perpetuate an inadequate or inappropriate public response to possible measures was made.
Today's weather forecast is a case in point. Appropriate time series analysis reveals a complex set of weak to moderate and negative centers of vertical motion, each associated with patches of clear sky or areas of showers depending on weather conditions. Figure scattered showers and some thunderstorms from the Midwest into the Ohio Valley and central Appalachians.
In contrast, the retrograde cyclonic circulation that caused rain to spread westward across New England yesterday continues today. This means periods of rain and drizzle from Connecticut to Maine.
In an area dominated by neither the New England cyclone system nor scattered showers and clear patches further west and south, dry weather predominates. With a mix of clouds and sunshine, afternoon temperatures will hit 70s today and tomorrow over much of New York and Pennsylvania. It's just that simple. Why waste words? Why add verbiage?
Looking ahead into the weekend, there are strong signs that the Great Lakes and subsequently the Northeast will experience the negative vertical movements common in large-scale anticyclic generalization scenarios. The correspondence between the different horizontal components of the mean vector and the negative longitudinal mass transport is obvious. The resulting adiabatic heating in the absence of moisture flow unmistakably leads to the conclusion that precipitation should not be predicted. In short, we have an area of high pressure so it won't rain. However, since the origin of the retrograde is north of us, the anomalous thermal expectations are justified accordingly. This clearly shows the need to strengthen anthropogenic heat stores at night and in the morning. The negative effects of inadequate response in this regard are well known. You feel cold. Basically, the weather will be cool and dry by the end of the week... that's it.
Observed
Wordsmith Day has been observed annually on May 3rd.Dates
Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023
Friday, May 3rd, 2024
Saturday, May 3rd, 2025
Sunday, May 3rd, 2026
Monday, May 3rd, 2027