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In lugnet.off-topic.fun, Jason Maxwell writes:
> 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-)
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.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Geek Speak?
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| (...) 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 (...) (24 years ago, 12-Nov-02, to lugnet.off-topic.fun, lugnet.off-topic.geek)
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