Snowy mess

This morning’s commute in Central Jersey was a bit messy, but not the tough trudge that forecasters were predicting yesterday. But that is normal.

We tend to overreact to weather forecasts, assuming that what is being predicted is going to happen — or, more often, we hear regional forecasts and localize them in our minds. So when New York television stations predict 6 or 8 inches for points “north and west of the city,” which ends up being the headline and the promo, we assume that 6- to 8-inch storm across the state, ignoring the maps showing that southern Middlesex County, the Shore area and Burlington were likely to get significantly less.

So, the drive was fine for me, heading from Kendall Park to Princeton. And I have a half day at the office — it’s Annie’s birthday — but I will have to clear the driveway when I get home.

I hate the winter.

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet