Hamas War

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Snow Scam?

I keep hearing all this hype about "major snow storm" or a "blizzard" that is expected here in the hilly, OK mountainous parts of Israel, like Jerusalem, Gush Etzion and Binyamin-Shomron where Shiloh is located.

Jerusalem and all of the regions surrounding it have canceled school long before even one snowflake has fallen from the heavens. And that's long before any numbers have actually stuck to the ground. In order to guarantee that they stick, Jerusalem's Mayor Barkat wants the roads emptied. Maybe he's hoping to ski. Now, if you want clear roads, and only a couple of inches of snow, if any, are really going to fall, then keep the vehicles heating and melting the snow. With all the cars, buses and trucks around, we can probably save money and have clear roads for free.

For years I've been mocking these well organized media "snow panics." It's clear why they are being done. Someone is making money. The television media stars and cameramen, probably directors and producers, too, have been out for hours or more all bundled up ready to interview the first snowflake. They had better watch out with the lights, or the poor thing will melt before he or is it she or it can get a name out. That would be a shame, wouldn't it?

And the other people/unions who/that make money from these snow scams are the "snow removal experts." No doubt they're the ones who have instructed Barkat on how to make sure the snow looks impressive by emptying the roads so the snow can pile to its maximum. They really want to show their prowess on the snowplows. Maybe I'm wrong, but I keep thinking of their trying to puff up the flurries on a flake version of Viagra. 

Nu, so I decided to do some independent research. Instead of reading the news headlines and interpretations of the forecast numbers. I've been going to the weather sites that give me simple to understand numbers. Remember that I'm a CPA's daughter...

Let's start with Arutz 7, which has me totally confused. I checked both Ariel and Jerusalem. The temperatures for both are almost identical, but the drash, the interpretation is different:
Ariel
4-13°Today January 06
Windy 
0-4°Wednesday January 07
Rain Mixed with Snow 
0-5°Thursday January 08
Rain Mixed with Snow 
0-4°Friday January 09
Rain Mixed with Snow 

Jerusalem
3-12°Today January 06
Windy 
0-4°Wednesday January 07
Heavy Snow 
0-4°Thursday January 08
Heavy Snow 
0-3°Friday January 09
Heavy Snow 

And here's another weather site that shows us Shiloh:


Tue.
J. 6
Wednesday
January 7
Thursday
January 8
Friday
January 9
Saturday
January 10
Sunday
January 11
Monday
January 12
Local time200208142002081420020814200208142002081420020814
Cloudiness,
%
Precipitation,
mm
Temperature,
°C
+9
+7
+8
+5
+5
+6
+8
+6
+6
+6
+6
+3
+4
+4
+5
+5
+5
+6
+7
+6
+5
+4
+6
+8
Feels like,
°C
+5
+3
+4
+1
+1
+1
+5
+3
+3
+2
+4
-1
+1
+1
+3
+2
+2
+3
+5
+2
Pressure,
mm
687
687
686
686
688
690
692
691
692
691
690
689
691
691
692
690
689
688
689
691
695
696
698
697
Humidity,
%
405760847065687877777885666669798581838583808175


Please look carefully at the numbers. Shiloh's weather is between Ariel and Jerusalem. Even their "Feels like," which would be considered "wind chill factor" isn't as low as the temperatures on the Arutz 7 site.

And here's another one, Weather in Jerusalem:
Wednesday 07 Jan
 
rain
chance of precipitation 83%
Thursday 08 Jan
 
rain
chance of precipitation 88%
Friday 09 Jan
 -2°
mixed rain and snow
chance of precipitation 93%
Saturday 10 Jan
 
light rain
chance of precipitation 51%
Sunday 11 Jan
 -1°
rain
chance of precipitation 40%
Monday 12 Jan
 -1°

Maybe someone forgot to tell them that the password is "snow." Perhaps they're not on the "take." Granted I may be wrong. I'm just a nobody at a dead-end job who blogs for my sanity. The joke may be on me. But I can't imagine the blizzard that's being hyped... Not this week at least.

Last year's blizzard

9 comments:

Hadassa said...

Shalom!
I would call it a combination of snow paranoia and not wanting a repeat of last year, when many people not prepared for the snow.

Batya said...

You're giving them too much credit.

Esser Agaroth said...

Well, I guess we will find out shortly.

Hadassa said...

Shalom!
Last year when drivers didn't stay home they didn't clear the streets. They got stranded. They ignored warnings and then complained about being stuck in life-threatening weather conditions. When they were rescued, instead of thanking the crews for risking THEIR lives, they kvetched.

Snow has already started to fall - and in some case stick - in some regions of Israel. It will be interesting to see what the rest of the day, and week, bring.

MAOZ said...

LOL! "... a flake version of Viagra"

Batya said...

Esser, Hadassa, more in Shiloh than Jerusalem
MAOZ glad someone likes it...

Adventures in AliyahLand said...

I think it's funny, as you know already. I do understand that they wanted to avoid a repeat of last year's balagan... and that what constitutes "too much" can be a matter of opinion.
One year in Toronto, they got so much snow that the mayor called the army to come help shovel. He never lived down the mockery from the rest of the country, which is a LOT farther north, colder and with a ton more snow than Toronto.
One thing I enjoyed: on Phil Chernofsky's Torah Tidbits Audio, he opened the show this week by recapping the weather, practically minute by minute. I felt like I was there!
At least dd19 didn't get stuck in Yerushalayim again this year... :-)

Tzivia in AliyahLand said...

Oops... I meant "what constitutes 'too much' preparedness can be a matter of opinion." Left off the critical word "preparedness."

Batya said...

I think that if for safety sake taxes were eliminated from tires, driving in the snow/slush would be safer.
Jerusalem hardly had any snow for most of the "snow vacation."