| |
In lugnet.off-topic.fun, Dave Schuler writes:
> In lugnet.off-topic.fun, Jason Maxwell writes:
> > In lugnet.off-topic.fun, Dave Schuler writes:
> > > While we're at it, I've
> > > noticed that meteorologists love to refer to "rainshower activity," which
> > > uses seven syllables when one ("rain") would be just fine.
> >
> > You don't live in Washington do you? There's a big difference between rain
> > and rainshower activity here. Not to mention drizzle, mist, showers,
> > thundershowers, downpours...
>
> Well, that's the whole point, isn't it? It's like the apocryphal saying
> that Inuits have 47 (or so) words for snow. In fact, they don't; they have
> a word for fluffy snow, a word for wet snow, a word for dry snow, a word for
> drifted snow, a word for falling snow, a word for slushy snow, etc... But
> none of those is the same as the word for "snow." If "rain" is an
> inadequate descriptor, then "rainshower activity" is surely no more
> descriptive! Let the forecasters use the other terms you cited, so they can
> speak with greater specificity.
I guess I just inherently know what is meant by each of those words
including rain and rainshower activity when used by a Western Washington
forcaster after having lived here my whole life. Rain means that the area
in question is going to have steady precipitation for the majority of the
day. Showers means it will be on and off. Rainshower activity means that
there will be on and off showers in small areas but not over the whole area.
Drizzle means a light precipiation most of the day. Downpours means a whole
lot of water for a good part of the day. Mist is obvious, as is thundershowers.
Of course, in L.A. these words probably all mean something else. Our
drizzle is probably a downpour to them. 8-)
|
|
Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Geek Speak?
|
| (...) I live in Northern California and those words mean exactly the same thing they mean to you. BTW I spent most of my teenage years in Western Washington and never owned an umbrella until I went off to college-- in Baltimore! Maggie C. (22 years ago, 12-Nov-02, to lugnet.off-topic.fun, lugnet.off-topic.geek)
|
Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Geek Speak?
|
| (...) Well, that's the whole point, isn't it? It's like the apocryphal saying that Inuits have 47 (or so) words for snow. In fact, they don't; they have a word for fluffy snow, a word for wet snow, a word for dry snow, a word for drifted snow, a (...) (22 years ago, 12-Nov-02, to lugnet.off-topic.fun, lugnet.off-topic.geek)
|
18 Messages in This Thread:
  
 
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
This Message and its Replies on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
