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Storm of the Century: Maybe We Have an Unhealthy Obsession with Weather Forecasting

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Jan 23rd, 2026 · 12:43 PM EST

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Thought this was funny for some reason:

I’m not trying to be a wise guy. But instead of hashing in two big areas, most of your map, saying totals will be lower, why don’t you issue an updated map with lower ranges? It’s okay to change totals as the storm develops. That’s expected. Your hashed map is confusing people.

— Cecily Tynan (@CecilyTynan) January 23, 2026

Yeah really. What’s with the hashed map anyway? (starts Googling “hashed map”)

NWS Mount Holly replied with:

“The color tables and ranges are pre-set so all forecast offices in the US use the same color tables and ranges. This was the best way for us to indicate where totals would be on the lower end of the range, rather than the higher.”

Here’s the real question –

What’s the difference between 8 inches of snow and 16 inches? Aren’t 99% of us going to be stuck inside regardless? Unless you’re a first responder or essential personnel or doing an important job (not sports blogging), then you probably don’t have any plans for Sunday. You’re gonna be shoveling snow just like everyone else and trying to survive feral children afflicted with cabin fever, or, if you’re single and/or have no kids, then it’s a binge TV and NFL weekend. You bastards.

The obsession with forecasting has always been interesting. “My app says 6 inches of snow, but this meteorologist is predicting 7!” Who gives a shit? It’s not an exact science anyway. The experts just look at computer models and try to make the best predictions with the available data.

Yet, when those informed guesses are off, they get absolutely lambasted, while some losers in the journalism world can make up a bunch of fake news or be completely wrong with a report and people simply look the other way.

Accountability for thee, but not for me!

At some point, regardless of what the meteorologists predict, you’re gonna look out your front window and see what’s actually happening. And that’s going to inform, with finality, your decision on whether to venture out or plant your ass on the couch. Sure, we all want to be able to plan ahead with the best information available, but forecasting has become less important in recent years with the cultural switch to hybrid and remote work. Plus, most of the schools and daycares and similar institutions now err on the extreme side of caution, and cancel and postpone out of an abundance of safety. The worst-case scenario is that your kid is remote learning from home while the roads end up being totally clear, then the decision makers defend it by saying they took the lowest-risk approach, and it’s hard to argue against that.

Cancel first, ask questions later, tack on a day in June if necessary.

But think about it; how often do the weather people end up being completely wrong? How many total busts do we have these days? Not many, especially in the winter. It happens more with rain predictions during the first week of the Phillies’ season than anything involving January snow. At some point, we all have to accept that nothing is perfect and we’ll just have to see what ends up happening.

The only thing we know for sure about this upcoming storm is that it’s going to be cold. It’s gonna be gray. It’s gonna last you the rest of your life.